For the rest of the season, the SCA Native Plant Corps Crew at Saguaro National Park will be eradicating buffelgrass...with backpack sprayers...in the 110 degree desert. With that orb of oppression blaring down on us. Yep. I didn't stutter.
Buffelgrass is an invasive grass in the Sonoran Desert that is compromising habitat for native desert vegetation, as well as acting as high fuel concentration for desert fires. Saguaro National Park has conducted several seasons of buffelgrass removal using herbicide as the main eradication method. In order for the herbicide to be effective on buffelgrass, the plant needs to be at least 50 percent green. Thankfully, the summer monsoon rains have greened the plant right up!
We have spent the last few weeks acclimating to the desert climate by hiking several miles each day to do desert re-vegetation and systematic mapping of buffelgrass. The crew seems to be acclimating well, and we've finally figured out everything we'll need on our person to survive while we're in the field!
*At least 6 litres of water
*Salty and sweet snacks (We get pretty creative)
*Sustain (Salt Tablets)
*Emergen-C packets (Vitamin C)
*Vitalyte (Electrolyte Supplements)
*Wide brim hats
*SUNSCREEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Saguaro National Park has trained us well, providing us with a full week of GPS/Navigation/Data Collection Training, Conservation Ethics, Invasive Plant Idendification, Herbicide Mixing and Storage, Field Preparation and Buffelgrass Spraying/Field Work. We will be working with a very experienced NPS crew for the rest of the season. It is wonderful to know that we'll be working with staff that knows EXACTLY what they're doing, how to keep safe in the field, and how to have fun! On Thursday we participated in a "dry run" of a day in the field, AKA "A Day in the Life". We met at 5 AM at the NPS Helibase and prepared for the day. We filled water jugs, mixed the backpack sprayers (with just water and dye for the practice run), suited up with snake/cactus chaps and loaded the trucks. Then we headed to the trailhead and hiked out 3 miles with backpack sprayers filled with 2 gallons of water and blue dye on our backs and camelback hydration systems on the front of our bodies. This was a good precursor to how it will feel hiking with all that weight on our bodies...Although the hiking we'll REALLY be doing is off trail, up hill and through forests of loose rocks and cactus...
Along with backpack sprayers and personal hydration systems, we'll be hiking out shade structures, herbicide mixing kits, herbicide spill kits (in case of a spill emergency), herbicide crew kits, action packers containg herbicide for the field, dry bags filled with ice, gatorade and extra water, first aid kits, GPS units, 2 way radios, NPS radios, and data sheets. Am I missing something? Probably...
The buffelgrass spray season is a large operation, and we are excited to be a part of it! Although it will be extremely challenging physically and mentally, we feel ultimately prepared thanks to the awesome Saguaro National Park Resource Management Staff!
Stay tuned for updates and progress while we're in the field over the next few months. In the meantime, please enjoy some pictures of the landscape we'll be working in, some logistics and preparation photos, as well as some random photos of desert vegetation and crew shenanigans :)
