Blast from Arundo's Past

Jean and Mark Hengesbaugh's work against invasives in Sabino Canyon was featured in the cover story of the most recent Desert Leaf! The article is called: "Caring for the Coronado."

(Click on this link, give it a bit to download, and then flip to page 33: http://trendmag2.trendoffset.com/publication/?m=12024&l=1  )

Here's more from Mark's files. (Photos and text by Mark Hengesbaugh.)

Sabino volunteers remove large stands of Arundo donax (Giant Reed) near Bear Bridge in 2009. In all, volunteers worked 6,000 hours to remove the invasive cane, clearing space for Sonoran Desert plants that native wildlife requires.

Peggy Wenrick consults a plant guide

In 2010 and again in 2012, Sabino Canyon Volunteer Naturalists surveyed seven test plots that had formerly been monocultures of invasive Arundo and counted 84 species of plants that had returned.

For more on this story, see this video powerpoint. 

Kudos to Jean and Mark for getting us organized to get the job done, against all odds (and oddballs : -)