Here's your chance to be a predator.
Giant reeds with no natural enemies are sucking the water and driving out native vegetation along Sabino Creek. A posse of volunteers is needed, starting this Sunday, to eradicate the beasts.
Naturalists have set a goal of eradicating Arundo donax (giant reed) from the Sabino Canyon Recreation Area within three years and notching the first local success story in the multipronged attack on invasive species, said Mark Hengesbaugh, volunteer coordinator.
The invasive Eurasian reed can grow 4 inches a day and reach heights of 30 feet.
You might have seen it choking the stream just above Sabino Dam. It has spread downstream to the recreation area's southern boundary and upstream as far as the fourth bridge along the popular Sabino Canyon hiking road, Hengesbaugh said.
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Volunteers will cut, bundle and bag the reeds for disposal and dig up the roots, or rhizomes. Hengesbaugh said the volunteer groups and the U.S. Forest Service have agreed on a three-year attack to rid the canyon of the giant reeds.
After they are removed, they will be sprayed with an herbicide and monitored for regrowth, he said.
"We have to be as aggressive as the Arundo is to defeat it," he said.
Last year, volunteers worked 2,842 hours, removing 617 40-gallon bags of roots and rhizomes and 895 bundles of canes, according to a release from the Forest Service.
Pima County and the University of Arizona are signed on to aid the Forest Service, which manages Sabino Canyon, along with Friends of Sabino Canyon, Master Watershed Stewards, Tucson Audubon Society and Tucson Clean and Beautiful.
If you decide to join the fight
Arundo eradication begins Sunday from 7:45 a.m. to noon and continues on the first Sunday of each month through March 7.
To volunteer: e-mail tucson.arundo@gmail.com or call Kendall at 971-2385.
Volunteers are advised to wear sturdy shoes or boots, long-sleeved shirt and pants, a hat and sunglasses or safety glasses. Tools and gloves will be provided. Parking for Arundo volunteers is free. Volunteer windshield parking passes can be obtained at the registration table.
— Information from U.S. Forest Service
