Armed with pickaxes, digging bars and gloves, volunteers spent a recent Saturday weeding part of the Sonoran Desert.
To help reduce the spread of buffelgrass, an invasive grass that can crowd out native plants and animals, volunteers hike the Freeman Homestead Nature Trail at Saguaro National Park East on the second Saturday of every month.
Spread out on a 12-acre parcel, volunteers claw, scrape and pull at the earth, tossing aside clumps of loose buffelgrass, which was introduced to the Tucson area in the 1940s, said Bethany Hontz, biological science technician at the park.
"It was brought in primarily for erosion control and mine tailings, but also for cattle forage," Hontz said.
"If this buffelgrass were ever to spark, I mean it could annihilate this entire section," said Justin Kolb, an environmental restoration education intern at the park. "The saguaros, the ocotillo, the prickly pear, any of the native plants, they would all be destroyed."
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Pickax in hand, 57-year-old Gary Biamonte was among 20 volunteers who helped pull buffelgrass in the early morning.
"I do this to give back and do something positive for the environment and community," he said as he threw a clump of grass onto a pile.
Buffelgrass removal on the 12-acre section of the trail began in October 2008, with seven acres already cleared, Hontz said.
"We are making a lot of really good progress," she said.
Volunteer Lee Cooper, who also pulls fountain grass in the Foothills, just likes helping out.
"I love being outdoors, and it's a good way to give back," he said.
Those interested in pulling buffelgrass meet the second Saturday of each month for about four hours, gathering at the Rincon Mountain District Visitor Center at Saguaro National Park East.
For more information call Hontz at 733-5187.
Contact photographer David Sanders at dsanders@azstarnet.com or 573-4155.
