[APWG] French Broom Removal

[Holly Sletteland]

We have a project scheduled to remove French Broom on a coastal preserve 
in San Luis Obispo, California this winter. We will be removing larger 
plants with saws  and weed wrenches and smaller plants with shovels and 
pulaskis, as well as a few flamers. This activity is going to cause a 
considerable amount of soil disturbance - some of which will be on 
relatively steep slopes. Initially, I had planned to spread native grass 
seed with straw to reduce the potential for erosion when we were through 
working an area. However, I am having second thoughts because French 
Broom is such a copious seed producer and its seeds are so long lived, 
that I'm sure we're going to be going back over the same ground for 
years. I'm thinking a non-native annual such as barley or soft chess 
might be a more cost-effective and pragmatic approach, given that 
whatever we plant is likely to have a hard time getting established and 
the preserve is already dominated by European annual grasses. Do others 
on these lists have any experience with broom removal and any advice? 
(And my apologies to those of you who may be on both lists :-( )

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Holly Sletteland