11 June 2008 - 09:24, Tinman said
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The determined group of volunteers attacked primarily blackberry on The Ledge this month. This takes bravery and persistence, as the blackberry canes are equipped with thorns that will put your eye out or at least rip up your palms, arms, neck, and anything else they can reach.

Nonetheless, blackberry (Rubus discolor) is one of Mt D’s most acute invasive weed problems, so attack it we must. Left alone, a blackberry plant produces numerous canes from its central root crown—up to 525 canes per square meter in fact. The root crown can grow to eight inches in diameter and must be removed in order to take out the plant. (See more details here.)

Here is what one sees when staring into the heart of a thicket:

And here is what a root crown looks like when extracted:

This one didn’t set any records, but you can see how extracting it required a fair bit of effort.

We’re gradually pushing back the blackberry infestation from “good” areas such as The Ledge, the ridge that runs from the Mt D summit to the northwest. Along this ridge is an impressive Pacific reed grass community full of other native plant co-travelers. As we extend this managed area into the neglected areas, you can see a clear demarcation of Good vs Evil:

The work is painstaking because it must be done by hand in order not to cause more problems than we solve. Still, anyone walking through Adolph Sutro’s tree plantation on Mt D can see how much progress our efforts have produced.

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