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Wednesday Weedwackers
November 12, 2018 @ 8:00 am - 2:00 pm
Free
The Weedwackers are dedicated to removing buffelgrass and other invasives from Tucson Mountain Park. A smaller group also works on the second and fourth Wednesdays of the month for about four hours. Originally the Weedwackers were supported by the Desert Museum. Pima County began supplying van transportation, bags, tools and gloves in 2002, and, since 2005, has also been helping with publicity. The Weedwackers could not continue without the support of Pima County personnel, including Doug Siegel and others. The Arizona Native Plant Society has also supported the Weedwackers from the beginning by paying for brochures and road signs.
Average Number of Volunteers for Wednesday Events:
between 4-10 volunteers. These folks are regulars!
Location of pulls:
Tucson Mountain Park. Initial work was carried out near the Desert Museum, and included clearing all of the washes above and below the Museum. The group then concentrated on the roadsides throughout the park. Since 2007, most of the effort has been directed towards clearing large infestations on the upper slopes of Tucson Mountains. In 2006 and 2008 much time was spent clearing a huge patch on the south face of Brown Mountain. For six months in 2007-2008 volunteers cleared the Trail’s End Wash, which was completely choked with fountain grass and buffelgrass. In March of 2009 weedwackers found the wash mostly clear of invasive grasses.
The Wednesday Weedwackers climb higher and work longer. They tackle the hard spots that would be difficult for the Saturday volunteers. Since September 2007, they have been working on the south-facing slope of Bushmaster Peak. They continue to remove patches of buffelgrass from that slope.
Seven miles of washes have been monitored in Spring 2008. The washes are mostly clear of invasive grasses, verifying that manual digging has been effective.
Contacts:
Marilyn Hanson mfhanson@comcast.net
Doug Siegel, Natural Resource Specialist, Pima County Natural Resources Parks & Recreation, 520-724-5177, doug.siegel@pima.gov