Tag Archives: SBNF

Battle of the Bull Thistle

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Another month has passed working with the folks here at the San Bernardino National Forest (SBNF). Time has flown, a testament to the fun I have had working in partnership with the Restoration team here. Despite the laughs shared in the field not every day has been a walk in the park, and this month was witness to a battle between us ecologists/botanists and the most angry non-native perennial herb one could imagine, Bull Thistle (Circium vulagre).

Stare down between myself (right) and some bull thistle (C. vulgare) (left) at Johnson’s Meadow.

We ventured out into the San Jacinto Mountains near Idyllwild, California arriving at a site known as Johnson’s Meadow. Equipped with serrated shovels, leather gloves, trash bags, and clippers in hand to go up against the large spikes of the thistles which are non-native to this riparian meadow nestled into the Southern California mountains. This area was identified as ecologically important due to the presence of a threatened species Scutellaria bolanderi ssp, austromontana a perennial herb native to California and found most commonly in wetland areas such as in the ephemeral stream that runs through this meadow.

Flowers of Southern skullcap (S. bolanderi ssp. austromontana) Source:Calflora: Information on California plants for education, research and conservation. [web application]. Berkeley, California: The Calflora Database [a non-profit organization]. Available: https://www.calflora.org/   (Accessed: July 30, 2024).

Johnson’s Meadow also happens to be a grazing pasture for a local farmer’s cows, and therefore exclusion fences were put up around the identified population of southern skullcap (S. bolanderi) in order to prevent the cows from consuming this threatened species as a tasty snack. There are additionally milk weed populations (Asclepias eriocarpa) at the meadow that rely on native pollinators which are often just as enamored with the thistles as they are with the milk weed.

A female monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) decides a prickly bull thistle flower head makes for the perfect landing pad.

In order to combat the threat to local biodiversity that bull thistle poses, a group of forest service field techs, myself and Arturo with the CLM internship program, and Lance Woolley the district botanist for the San Jacinto side of the SBNF joined forces on a 3-day weeding spree. The meadow was full of tall, spiky thistle plants peeking up above the dense grasses and native California wild rose (Rosa californica) that filled much of the area. When we came up upon a thistle plant we first had to check if any of the flower heads had bloomed or gone to seed. If they had even bloomed (the purple puff sitting on top of that green spiky ball at the end of each stalk) we had to clip the flower head and place it into a trash bag for removal from the area. If the flower head had already gone to seed we did our best to remove these carefully without releasing the wind dispersed seeds into the surrounding areas. This process was difficult on its own due to the large spikes that cover every inch of a bull thistle from the stem, to the leaves, to the flower head. These spikes were often large enough to pierce straight through our pig-skin leather gloves. The only safe spot to grab a bull thistle is from the underground root once you’ve wrenched the sucker out of the ground. The process was made even more difficult due to bull thistles seeming preference of growing either next to huge patches of California wild rose (R. californica), stinging nettle (Urtica dioica), or if you are really lucky you can get the trifecta of all 3 pressed up next to each other!

An example of a bull thistle plant with both the purple flower head (front) as well as the brown/beige seed head (back) spotted in Johnson’s Meadow.

In total after 3 days of work and a crew of forest service employees, interns, and a crew from the Urban Conservation Corps, we were able to remove the vast majority of the bull thistle biomass from Johnson’s Meadow. The population there had to have exceeded 500 and I wish we had kept an accurate count day to day of how many plants we removed but pulling thistle in the middle of July in Southern California is no joke, and we were lucky to remember our names at the end of the day let alone an accurate count. Regardless the district botanists Lance seemed to be pleased with our final result. The battle of the bull thistle ended with victory siding with California natives in Johnson’s Meadow primarily due to the intervention of people who care about conserving and protecting the diversity of our public lands! It was inspiring to look out and see how much we were able to make an impact, yet simultaneously it was daunting considering how many meadows just like this one exist that cannot be managed through human intervention. The battle of the bull thistle may have ended for this growing season in Johnson’s meadow, but something tells me the race for dominance between native and non-native species is just heating up.

Images of Johnson’s Meadow before (top) and after (bottom) removal of invasive bull thistle (C. vulgare).

To New Beginnings!

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Beginning work on a new project can be intimidating. Whether it is learning the rhythm of a new team, the native species in a new region, or just finding the right folks you need to talk to in a new office. However, that was far from the case beginning my work here at the San Bernardino National Forest (SBNF).

Day #1

My first week at the SBNF involved working alongside members from the Wilderness Volunteers, an organization providing volunteer opportunities to conserve America’s wild lands through collaboration with the US Forest Service, National Park Service, the BLM, US Fish & Wildlife, and others. It was, in my opinion, an excellent introduction as I was able to learn alongside the volunteers some of the processes involved in greenhouse management and restoration site maintenance. Myself, and the volunteers, got to see the journey native plants take as they transition from seed, to small yellow bullet nursery pots, to larger black bullet nursery pots, and eventually to outplants that are used in re-vegetating sites throughout the SBNF with the aim of establishing native populations in fire scar areas as well as areas degraded by invasive species and unauthorized OHV (off-highway vehicle) usage. I felt like I was watching the process through similar eyes as the volunteers; fascinated by California’s diverse and beautiful native species as well as the highly controlled protocols followed by the SBNF when growing and handling them. These strategies are in place to prevent the spread of the water-borne pathogen Phytophthora (responsible for root rot and other nasty plant infections) from the greenhouse to the wild populations we aim to protect and restore. Some of the species we handled on that first day in the greenhouse include: Rubber rabbitbrush (Ericameria nauseosa), Big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata), and Scarlet bugler (Penstemon centranthifolius).

Myself (left) alongside one of the Wilderness Volunteers transplanting seedlings which have outgrown their yellow nursery pots into larger black bullet nursery pots. (Photo by the Wilderness Volunteers)

Day #2

After spending day #1 getting our fingers dirty in sterile potting soil, day #2 and day #3 had us trek to actual restoration sites in the SBNF. Both sites were located near my new home away from home, one of the Forest Service cabins in Lake Arrowhead, CA. Therefore, I got to start my days with a short morning walk through the Manzanitas and yellow pines from the cabin to our nearby designated meeting point where we touched base before beginning the days work. After discussing our given restoration tasks (weeding, mulching, and watering) we took a short hike through some of the tall invasive cheatgrass surrounding the camp site until we reached our destination, a small plot of land tucked in right next to the local water treatment facility. That first day was HOT (one of the many joys of summer field work in Southern California) so it was amazing to see what good spirits the Wilderness Volunteers were in despite the harsh working conditions. We spent an hour or so weeding some of the invasive grasses and weeds that began to establish in the empty areas of the site. I even got the chance to take a few swings at using a root wrench to pull out the deep tap roots of large established Scotch Broom shrubs (Cytisus scoparius)! Some of those swings were successful and others were less so, but it was a great experience in team building and utilizing different peoples skill sets to achieve a common goal. After weeding there was mulch to be spread in order to prevent new invaders from colonizing the open ground remaining between the native outplants. We spread a LOT of mulch (approximately 8.5 yds3) using wheelbarrows and 5-gallon buckets to transport our precious cargo from the large mulch pile to areas of the site where it would be spread evenly. Throughout this process I could hear the sounds of curious volunteers asking about different native species, noticing a random wildflower, or even a butterfly dancing in the light breeze. At one point we even found a stow away western toad in our mulch pile! I enjoyed watching the ground cover transition from small patches of light brown with grayish-tan sections of open soil to a vast field of rich pine brown dotted with the beautiful light gray-ish green of many of California’s native plants throughout.

Day #2’s restoration site before and after a day spent weeding, mulching, and watering. (Photos by the Wilderness Volunteers)

Day #3

Day #3 with the volunteers was much the same as day #2 as we conducted similar restoration site maintenance at two additional sites around Lake Arrowhead, CA. These sites were bordered with large monocultures of Mountain Whitethorn (Ceanothus cordulatus), a native species which highlighted that not all natives are good for increasing biodiversity. Ceanothus is highly adapted to fire and thrives in disturbed areas with open canopy colonizing these areas and ultimately crowding out any other native shrubs, trees, or herbaceous plants from gaining a foothold post-wildfire. In addition to the ecological war for space waging at its border, this site had another unique challenge due to the plants being out-planted onto a hillside. This made moving mulch and water up to each of the plants a bit more laborious but just as with Day #2’s heat, the volunteers handled the harsh field conditions with a positive spirit that really had a way of rubbing off onto me and lifting my spirits in general. There is nothing like struggling a bit with a team to bring people together! Combining our brains and brawn together we decided the most efficient way of moving heavy buckets full of water and mulch up the hillside would be through forming a human chain and passing buckets from one person to the next so each of us only had to cover a short distance. This technique worked so well we were able to complete these sites and still maintain smiles on all our faces when we posed for a final group photo to commemorate the days work. 

Myself (center left), alongside botany tech Jorge Rodriguez (back right), and the Wilderness Volunteers posed in front of newly mounted signage calling attention to the sensitive species we were maintaining at day #3’s restoration site in Lake Arrowhead, CA. (Photo by the Wilderness Volunteers) 

The unknowns of new beginnings can be intimidating, however working alongside all the folks at the SBNF as well as the volunteers who generously offered their time and energy for the sake of preserving native habitat truly made me feel welcomed and inspired! In total during my first week I assisted in using 1200 gal of water on outplants, maintaining 1 acre of restoration sites, and transplanting approximately 320 plants in the greenhouse here at the SBNF. None of this work could be completed alone, and I cannot wait for what the rest of this season has in store for myself, and this team!