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by David Houston
Published 29-Dec-2001
For the past three years, volunteers have
painstakingly planted native grass plugs throughout Arastradero Preserve
by hand, but only very small areas can be planted this way in any
one year. This November, the project rented a seed drill from Elkhorn
Native Plant Nursery, and with the help of Foothills Park Rangers
and their tractor, we drilled native grass seeds into a third of an
acre.
Rather than using herbicides to kill non-native grasses, the seeded
area had been mowed for two years to reduce the quantity and competition
of non-natives. The site will be mowed again this spring, since non-native
grasses grow much faster and the native grasses will bend under the
tractor's blades. Look for natives springing up near Gate A, the main
entrance into the preserve.
GIS mapping of the preserve's weeds took a giant leap forward this
year. First we downloaded mapping freeware ArcExplorer and began using
GPS-created data to map yellow star thistle locations and our mowing
project sites. Later we were able to upgrade to the considerably improved
mapping software ArcView, through a generous donation by longtime
project supporter and former Arastradero neighbor Burke Knapp.
The City of Palo Alto's Open Space & Sciences Department recently
contracted with the Arastradero Stewardship Project to conduct a large-scale
weed and native grass mapping project of the preserve. Patrick Aldrich,
a wildlife biologist with lots of ArcView experience, walked into
our lives just in the nick of time to conduct the mapping project
and help us learn ArcView.
But it's not all weeds. Tex Houston has been mapping the preserve's
bird boxes in order to create maps for volunteers who monitor the
bird boxes, and to pinpoint the best locations for maximum nesting
success. Thanks also to Doug Johnson for his gracious technical assistance.
About the author: David "Tex" Houston
is Chief Steward of the Arastradero Stewardship Project. His love
affair with little birds led to his new nickname, TexBird.
Acterra's Arastradero Preserve Stewardship Project
 Arastradero Home Page
Map and panoramic Quicktime 3D photos of the preserve
 http://www.virtualparks.org/parks/arastra-qtvr-map.html
Palo Alto approves Arastradero gateway facility
Gateway Facility
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Volunteers meet every other Saturday to work
at Arastradero, planting natives, removing non-natives, and more.
Contact us.
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