The City of San Luis Obispo is working with the Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo County and private landowners to remove invasive plants from the San Luis Obispo Creek before the rainy season.

“It grows to be 30 feet tall, and as you can see in various areas around us, the clumps are getting larger and larger and displacing native vegetation,” explains Jon Hall, stewardship director for the San Luis Obispo County Land Conservancy.

Arundo donax looks very similar to bamboo and is found throughout the San Luis Obispo Creek.

“There is a great deal of concern about flooding, it is eroding the banks of the surrounding rivers and there is a risk of fire,” Hall added.

The removal will occur along a section of the creek that runs nearly parallel to Highway 101 near Los Osos Valley Road and Higuera Street.

Hall says they have been working to remove the facility from the creek area since 1999.

“We come, cut down all the canes, remove the biomass and wait until it grows back to about three feet tall. Then we come and use wildlife-friendly herbicide formulas,” Hall said.

Conservationist Kiva Vigil has been working on this project for 25 years and trains members of the California Conservation Corps to carry out this work.

“Learning how to start a chainsaw, cut down a tree, build a trail, work off the highway and also be part of the team,” Vigil explained.

Monday was the first day of the project this year.

Hall says they start work around mid- or late August each year to spray the herbicides at a time when the plant is sending all its resources to the roots.

This causes the plant to die more quickly and this happens outside of the flood and bird breeding season.

He adds that a comprehensive ecosystem review is always carried out before work begins to ensure that native wildlife is not harmed.

“We did birdwatching a week earlier and didn’t find a nest nearby. In all other observations done by a certified biologist, we couldn’t find any frogs,” said Francisco Gomez, who works for the SLO County Land Conservancy.

“We continue to survey the entire stream each year, looking for newly emerging populations. Then we re-treat or survey any previously treated populations,” Hall said.

The removal of Arundo donax will continue until Thursday.

The herbicide spraying phase begins on September 16th.

Hall says he and his team expect to work on this project for about another 10 years.