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On the March 15th workday, volunteers removed Sahara Mustard (Brassica tournefortii) from the Foothill Blvd parkway in front of the BFS and finished clearing the last bit of the trail around pHake Lake.

The very nasty Sahara Mustard was first spotted at the BFS in March 2012. At that time, we removed every known plant, but alas it keeps cropping up. The sticky seeds adhere to shoes and automobile tires, and the plant was first spotted in the Foothill Blvd parkway next to the entry drive. Last year, we also found plants alongside the path just inside the pedestrian gate, along the path west of the drive, below the Abilene gate, and near the Lowell gate. We want to keep this plant from spreading into the BFS, so this year we’re making a special effort to monitor frequently and remove every plant.

So far this year, we the Director and a few users have removed Sahara Mustard just north the pedestrian and along the path west of the gate, but we enlisted the volunteers to remove plants from parkway, which covers a large area. As you can see below, the plants are now gone. Unfortunately, however, two plants had already released a few seeds, so we can look forward to removing more next year.

Sahara Mustard growing near the entry gate. Nancy Hamlett.

Sahara Mustard growing near the entry gate. ©Nancy Hamlett.

 

Sahara Mustard removed. Nancy Hamlett.

Sahara Mustard removed. ©Nancy Hamlett.

 

Sahara Mustard growing near the entry gate. Nancy Hamlett.

Sahara Mustard growing near the entry gate. Nancy Hamlett.

 

Sahara Mustard removed. Nancy Hamlett.

Sahara Mustard removed. ©Nancy Hamlett.

Once the mustard was pulled, the volunteers went over to the lake and finished clearing the west side of lake trail, which we didn’t quite get to on the last trail-clearing day. Now you can walk around the lake easily!

The west portion of the lake trail before (left) and after (right). Nancy Hamlett.

The west portion of the lake trail before (left) and after (right). ©Nancy Hamlett.

 

The west portion of the lake trail before (left) and after (right). Nancy Hamlett.

The west portion of the lake trail before (left) and after (right). ©Nancy Hamlett.

 

The west portion of the lake trail before (left) and after (right). Nancy Hamlett.

The west portion of the lake trail before (left) and after (right). ©Nancy Hamlett.

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