Arundo: false bamboo, or giant reed, can rapidly spread through our waterways; even into thickly vegetated areas, and crowd out the native plants. It can grow up to four inches per day and 30 feet tall and a square yard of Arundo consumes as much as 500 gallons of water per day. This bamboo looking plant shares a network of shallow roots that trap sediment, becoming a tremendous flood hazard and disrupting stream flow; often times the roots become undercut and break off taking soil with them causing landslides, clogging culverts and channels and redirecting the water.

Arundo is highly flammable and burns even when green. When it carries fire into a waterway, riverside trees are killed and buildings may be destroyed; but Arundo grows back rapidly from its roots, thicker than before; with no competition from other plants. Arundo transforms a naturally fire-resistant buffer along our waterways into a threat to our environment and our homes.

This plant with its unpalatable/toxic chemicals within its tissues provides no food or habitat for native animals; and its virtually nonexistent canopy allows sunlight to raise the water temperature, causing water loss through evaporation and poor habitat for the fish by increasing water temperature. It is also a poor habitat for land animals due to no protection from predators and the weather.

Scotch Broom: was introduced as a garden ornamental by early settlers. It spread far beyond the bounds of cultivation and now covers many acres of the west. It is a woody upright shrub with bright yellow pea-like flowers and is a prodigious seed producer.

The seeds of Scotch Broom have hard coats enabling them to survive in the environment for up to 80 years. The seeds are transported from place to place in mud stuck to vehicles, equipment, shoes and the feet of animals. Seeds may be carried via runoff from roads into streams and gullies and then establish along stream sides and along gully walls. Because of this, this plant is highly invasive, especially after disturbances such as fire or logging. It crowds out native plants and is a fire hazard because these plants are extremely flammable.

All parts of the plant are highly poisonous. If a person ingests any part of the plant it could lead to vomiting, excitement, muscular weakness, and/or convulsions. This is caused by a chemical in the plant called Quinolizidine alkaloids.

Tree of Heaven: Chinese Sumac, Ailanthus altissima, is a deciduous tree up to 60 feet tall, with gray bark. This plant produces abundant root sprouts and seeds, thus forming large areas of thickets that displace native vegetation, especially in riparian areas; shoots typically have a life span of 30 to 50 years.

Tree of heaven produces chemicals that may prevent native plants from establishing near by. Because they spread rapidly and continuously, they often need to be eliminated, posing a health concern for those who remove them. Hand pulling of young plants is effective, provided most of the root is removed so that resprouting does not occur; but wear gloves, long sleeves shirts, and long pants and make sure no open cuts, ruptured blisters, or other breaks in the skin are exposed.

If the sap from the tree gets into any of the openings in the skin, you can become sick. The sap of the tree of heaven contains proteins called quassinoids; that may cause myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle) and other heart and gastrointestinal symptoms of illness.

For more information on how you can get involved in your watershed, please contact Jeannie Habben at 559-642-3263 or .

This watershed project is being funded with a grant from the California Department of Conservation. The above statements are informative only and are not necessarily those of the DOC or its employees.

What is a watershed?

A watershed is the "area of land" where all of the water that is under it or drains off of it goes into a common waterway, such as a stream, lake, estuary, wetland, or ultimately the ocean. Watersheds come in all shapes and sizes; and cross county, state, and national boundaries.

Why are we interested in watersheds and why are they important?

No matter where you are or live, you are in a watershed, and our individual actions can directly affect it. If your septic system is faulty it can affect your well and even your neighbor’s well (drinking water). If you inadvertently plant invasive weeds in your garden or don’t clear noxious/invasive weeds from your property, they can spread to adjacent wild lands and can compete with the native plants for water. If fire breaks are not created or dead trees not removed this could create a fire hazard which then in turn uses up our water to try and stop the fire. If a flood should occur, eroding stream & river banks can impact your water quality. These are just a few ways our watershed can be affected. Since, watersheds do not follow town, county, state, and national boundaries we need to work together to guarantee future generations clean and useable drinking water. What happens in one area does have a positive or a negative effect on an entire watershed. What we do individually and as a whole watershed community makes a difference in your watershed everyday.

What does the Watershed Coordinator do?

A Watershed Coordinator offers assistance to citizens interested in the voluntary approach to watershed management and conservation. This is done through engaging stakeholders in the watershed and developing committed support for watershed protection and restoration from landowners, local government, state and federal agencies and the local community organizations. The Watershed Coordinator focuses on collecting area information and providing education regarding water conservation, noxious weed eradication, ground water, and fuel reduction through a Watershed Council. This voluntary Watershed Council will be made up of volunteers, community stakeholders, and other interested citizens. The Watershed Council will develop the priorities of each watershed as well as provide local assistance through workshops, a web site, and educational materials for this voluntary approach to watershed management and conservation.

Chowchilla/Fresno Watershed Goals and Objectives

Goals:

1. Support and promote the integration among watershed efforts with the coordination of stakeholders working together through community involvement and providing public education regarding watershed issues.
2. Support and promote grants and program application that achieve our goal for sustainable watershed health and the continuance of Watershed Council Coordinator.
3. Provide expertise, advice, educational information and present opportunities to landowners, government agencies and the general public.