Finding And Eradicating

Driving around, I have been seeing the bright yellow blooms of Scotch Broom, that nefarious invasive that keeps trying to take over our forests, the road banks and the riparian areas.

A few years ago, I had been up to the top of Saddle Mountain on a clear spring morning. The views were 360 degrees of awe. We could see ships on the Columbia River making their way toward Portland, make out the white caps of waves as they washed toward the shore near Seaside, and could see current and past patches in the hills that were logged.

From the patchwork, one could see current logging, some that was just a year or two old and that would have tiny seedlings already replanted, and areas that had been logged five to ten years ago. These areas were filled in with green and the bright yellow of the blooming Scotch Broom that were trying to take over the patch before the tree seedlings could get a good start.

The scene from this Saddle Mountain vantage point had many people gawking with binoculars while others were content to take it all in without vision enhancement. I overheard a couple exclaiming over the beauty of the yellow wildflowers as they pointed to the large acreage of Scotch Broom. I could not help myself and mentioned that the gorgeous foliage was not wild flowers but a plant that was slowly poisoning the ground with it’s toxicity.

According to Oregon State University extension service;

 

Although admired for its yellow blooms, the Scotch broom shrub has become an invasive species throughout the Pacific Northwest, where it competes with native plants and forms dense stands that are difficult to manage and remove.

Scotch broom was introduced from Europe as a garden ornamental by early settlers of the Pacific Coast. Later it was used to prevent erosion and stabilize banks and sand dunes. The woody shrub establishes quickly in disturbed areas, according to Andy Hulting, a weed specialist for the Oregon State University Extension Service.

“Its invasive habit and economic costs have landed Scotch broom on the State Weed Board’s list of noxious weeds, along with its relatives French, Portuguese and Spanish brooms and gorse,” Hulting said. Scotch broom costs Oregonians an estimated $40 million per year in lost timber revenue and control efforts.

While I walk around my farm, I am noticing quite a few new areas of infestation and am trying to pull the plants before they get to the yellow blooming stage. New plants are being found in the areas around the riparian, in the plots where we planted seedlings in the last three years and popping in in the skid roads of the forest.