State and federal officials have both been working on the problem of arundo donax, which has a highly complex root structure that is labor intensive to eliminate; the root ball cannot be ground down as it will only spread the growth. It costs about $3,000 an acre to remove arundo.According to a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service spokeswoman, the arundo is not a native plant, has no natural enemies and has grown unchecked.Arundo donax was imported from Asia at the turn of the 20th century as an ornamental miniature bamboo; it grows as high as 15-feet.Plans for the $7.1 million could include restoration projects and/or working with non-profit agencies to protect sections of the river.The Santa Clara River cannot continue to be “Continually encroached upon. . .it needs the space to be the dynamic river it is,” said Denise Steurer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife environmental contaminant coordinator. “Land acquisitions and conservation easements can help the river maintain more of its natural flow.”
Santa Clara River targeted for $7M restoration
August 17, 2001
Santa Paula News
The Santa Clara River will be the site of a multi-million dollar restoration effort including trying to find a way to eradicate a weed that choking the river’s flow.
By Peggy KellySanta Paula TimesThe Santa Clara River will be the site of a multi-million dollar restoration effort including trying to find a way to eradicate a weed that choking the river’s flow.More than $7 million is slated to be spent this year on the river, the result of a settlement from Arco; the oil conglomerate’s pipeline ruptured during the January 17, 1994 Northridge Earthquake, sending up to 195,000 gallons of oil into an 11-mile stretch of the river between Santa Clarita and Piru.The cleanup cost Arco more than $10 million and took more than a month to complete, but not before about 700 fish and birds - including several federally listed endangered species - were killed. About 64,000 gallons of oil was sucked up by vegetation which also eventually died.But not the large colonies of arundo donax, which has become a major concern since it took hold along the river and has proved so tenacious that the spilled, if anything, was considered a snack.The hardy, bamboo-like plant offers little habitat for river species and sucks water away from existing foliage; when it has no water source it dries quickly and becomes highly flammable. The Santa Paula Fire Department last year had to fight a stubborn river fire that moved into the arundo.
