Basin Stories

Schroeder Riparian Grant No. 13-04 002
Reflections and Ruminations One Year Post-Planting

By Ardis Schroeder, June 2006

Control of Non-native Species

We were notified in January 2004 that our Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board grant application had been accepted. At that time we were unable to walk the boundaries of our property because of these non-natives, including reed canary grass, hawthorn trees, Himalaya and evergreen blackberries, and a climbing wild rose that twined itself 30 feet up into the alder and ash trees in the wettest portion of the riparian area.

The Schroeders and Michael McMahan, TRWC Council member, looking at the successful and surviving Willamette Valley pines planted within the past two years.

Reed Canary Grass

By the time we were able to go beyond the wild blackberries, the reed canary grass was 5-6 feet tall. I was very concerned about walking through the area, as the grass was over my head. I was unable to see in front of me and very unfamiliar with the lay of the land. Additionally, on my first attempt at spraying the reed canary, I had stepped into a clearing where I was startled by fresh deer entrails -- someone had cleaned the animal and left hurriedly, within 100 feet of our home. We hired a crew who sprayed the reed canary with Garlon and “mowed” it with their chain saws down to a 3 foot height so we could continue the battle ourselves.

We continued to spray the reed canary until the winter rains made it impossible to access the wetlands. The following spring, 2005, our grant overseers ordered about 4,000 native seedlings that were planted by hired crews, volunteers, and the two of us. We found it almost impossible to find the tiny bare-root seedlings in the reed canary as it had a long-established history. We devised a bucket barrier to protect the native seedlings from our spraying efforts by cutting a 5-gallon bucket in half vertically and attaching a 4-5 foot handle. We placed the shield between the plant and the spray nozzle, spraying a 180° swath, then moved the shield to the opposite side of the plant and completed the spray circle.

The vole population took violent exception to our planting of grand fir and began girdling the little seedlings, so we fought back valiantly by wrapping the trunk of each with a 4” aluminum foil collar. The deer enjoyed the luscious red cedar “candy” we provided, as well as sampling the new growth of the valley ponderosa and deciduous seedlings.

We find now that we have battled the reed canary on our property pretty well into submission, but in doing so we have killed about 95 percent of the native seedlings that were planted in the reed canary area. Our neighbors do not attempt to control their reed canary grass, tansy and thistle, so we have a continuing battle. We would strongly recommend that grant recipients be given at least one full year—and preferably two full years—to overcome the non-native species in order to maximize the survival of the tender natives and minimize the need and expense of replanting.

Hawthorn trees

Thirty to forty 3-5” diameter hawthorn trees grew in the grassy area close to the river where we had planted valley ponderosa, grand fir, western red cedar seedlings, as well as native deciduous trees and shrubs. We decided to try an experiment by using two variations of the forestry practice of “hack and squirt.” In October, 2004, on about half of the trees we did the usual practice of opening a gash through the bark of the hawthorn tree and spraying undiluted Roundup concentrate into the cut. For the other half, we sawed the tree completely down as close to the ground as possible and immediately sprayed the entire cut stump with undiluted Roundup. Result: the gashed trees all died, and we cut them down this spring. We have no sprouts from either the downed trees or the gashed trees. Hawthorn gone!

Blackberries

We found, to our surprise and delight, that Crossbow worked fabulously even in February when sprayed on blackberry canes which had kept their leaves through the winter. By summer of 2004 with the help of the spraying crew mentioned above, we had huge dead blackberry thickets. We were able to enter the wettest portions of the wetlands and do battle with the climbing rose. We hired a man with a Bobcat and flail to grind the dead canes, and by the end of the morning we had a “park” with mulched blackberry and rose canes mowed flat! What a lovely sight!

We continue to battle the regrowth. We also use the method we found so helpful with the hawthorn -- cut the blackberry cane at the ground and immediately apply full-strength Roundup with a small spray bottle.

Wild Rose

Our Bobcat-owning friend ground up all the accessible thickets of rose on the ground, but two years later there are still long strands of dead rose vines hanging in the trees. Every windstorm blows a few more down. The rose itself continues to try to come up from the roots, and it is tricky to discern the difference between the newly sprouted rose and the snowberry that has been planted in the area. We find that the dead rose canes are very volatile in a bonfire, so we haul them away rather than stacking them on the burning pile.

Other Challenges

January 2006 brought yet another challenge to our wetlands. The Tualatin River rose to within 100 feet of our house and covered the entire wetlands, some of it to a depth of 4-6 feet for the full month. Of course we were very concerned about our seedlings. We watched wood ducks, herons, mallards, geese and other wetland species enjoying their huge new playground. We worried as a duck blind and a duck boat floated by, both blind and boat hanging up on our fences. After the water receded, we were able to tell where the duck blind had dragged across a row of our new seedlings and mowed them down. We didn’t feel particularly sorry about the loss of those seedlings, however, as they were several native hawthorns that we planted very reluctantly to provide bird cover and berries.

As the water receded, we found our native seedlings encased in cocoons of mud. The deciduous seedlings looked dead but most have slowly been fighting their way out of their mummy cases. The grand fir and the western red cedar have taken a real beating and at least 80 percent of both species have perished. The biggest surprise of all is the valley ponderosa, which came through the flood with almost 100 percent survival and now most sport leaders of 12-18 inches since winter!

As soon as we could access the conifers, we fertilized them to encourage growth. Of course, this also benefited the grasses and created a lot of competition for light and nutrients. Possibly the grass has also provided some shade from the hot sun.

April 2006 found Northwest Oregon in a heat wave and 90 degree weather. This was the final blow to many of the struggling grand fir. We replaced some of the dead grand fir with little plugs of redwood obtained at a very good price at a local auction house.

Now in June we are suffering through another record-breaking hot spell. We’re wishing we could water our little plants, but watering four acres either by hand or with hoses and sprinklers is a bit daunting! Maybe Mother Nature will come to the rescue.

End of August P.S.:

Very little rain has fallen this summer and most of the little redwood plugs have given up the ghost. The surprise of the season is the vigor of the valley ponderosa pines that continue to shoot up. They are easily visible above the grass now and are still pushing new growth. It will be interesting to see whether they will stand straight in the next flood or be bent sideways by the heavy current.

We are excited about this opportunity to change the habitat of our little strip of riverbank and we enjoy hosting people who come to look in awe at those pines! Who knows what potential lies latent in our four acres of wetlands?