County-based Weed Management Areas (WMAs) are an initiative of the California Invasive Plant Council (Cal-IPC), an organization that works to stop the spread of invasive plants across California. There are WMAs in every part of the state, including a newly re-invigorated WMA in Santa Cruz County. Cal-IPC also provides science-based tools and information to help landowners and others make informed choices when managing invasive plants.

A recent general meeting of the Santa Cruz County WMA, led by Ryan Diller, an Environmental Scientist with California State Parks, was hosted by the Land Trust at their Watsonville Slough Farm (WSF). It was a windy, somewhat chilly but still spectacular afternoon at the farm for the group’s first in-person meeting post-COVID.

Cara Clark, the Restoration Director for Watsonville Wetlands Watch (WWW) spoke to the group about their grassland restoration work on Cypress Hill at WSF, an area where a previous farming operation and its associated weed control had devastated the native plants and grasses. The Land Trust retired the area from farming since it was not optimal to continue doing so due to the area’s slope and sandy soil. WWW began a collaborative effort with local farmers to restore the area. These partnerships and the innovative use of ag techniques were critical to restoring the land as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Once the soil was tilled and ready for the native perennial plant seedlings, WWW used a tractor with a transplanting machine attached to get over 100,000 plants in the ground in just over two days. A broadcast seeder was used to spread additional seed and irrigation pipes were used to water plants during an establishment period.

The native plantings began thriving, but of course, so did the weeds. To knock back annual grasses and give the native perennials room to grow, WWW mows the area three to four times a year. Thistles have to be hand hoed. Occasional burning early in the season also helps.

Weed management can be complicated, time-consuming, and expensive and that’s why groups like the WMA have formed to share ideas and techniques for returning the land to native plants.

Visit our Watsonville Slough Farm web page to learn about the Land Trust’s future plans for the property, including a Community Harvest trail system to serve the community by providing fresh fruits and vegetables, a space to gather and learn, and boardwalks for viewing restored wetland habitat.