Please join members of the Jacksonville Woodlands Association for the annual Scotch Broom pull. We’ve been doing this for about 15 years, and it’s now become a bit of a double-edged sword. On one hand, it’s easy to pull plants we find because they’re small, but on the other, it’s getting harder and harder to find them. That’s not a bad thing!
Scotch Broom (one of four broom species found on the west coast) is an invasive weed, having originated in the U.K. French, Spanish, and Portuguese brooms are the others. When we first started our control efforts, the broom plants were so thick behind the Britt Pavilion that a person 15 feet off the trail couldn’t be seen! It’s vitally important that we continue our efforts as one neglected plant allowed to produce seed, could set us back years!
We’ll start at 10:00 am on Friday, February 12, and wander around looking for broom plants until high noon. Rain will not stop us. Hey, this is Oregon! Wear suitable clothing for the day, and bring gloves—the ones with the silicone-type palms really grab those little plants well.
Before we start, we’ll go over a bit of history, as well as plant identification. It’s always been a fun way to spend two hours, and saving our woodlands from such a destructive plant couldn’t be a more noble cause. See you then.
Questions – please give me a call at 326-2549, or write me at bob_budesa@yahoo.com.
Bob Budesa
The Weed Wrangler
Bob Budesa moved to Jacksonville from Alturas, California in 1989, retired from BLM after 38 years where he oversaw the noxious weed program with Medford District BLM (850,000 acres), worked in the Wild Horse Program in1970’s, and has been a member of the Jacksonville Woodlands Association since 2009. Bob is still involved with noxious weed education and awareness, primarily through the Jackson Coordinated Weed Management Area he helped start several years ago.