Monday, August 5, 2013

Montclair Railway Trail

I rode down to the Montclair Railroad Trail in/near Shepherd Canyon and took pictures which I shared publicly on Google+.

Beginning of the Montclair Railroad Bike/Ped trail.

This is what the whole trail can look like, minus the re-sprouting broom.

These photos highlight the beauty of the trail and documents the vegetation management challenge.


French broom and eucalyptus are a vegetation management nightmare.

A good portion of the trail is infested with invasive species that tend to form monocultures, like french broom and Eucalyptus Globulus.

Eucalyptus branch suppressing an oak sapling.

French broom re-sprouts

There are some hidden gems under the invasive canopy.

Madrone in the corporation yard

Manzanita under eucalyptus, surrounded by broom.

By managing the vegetation properly, pulling instead of cutting broom, treating stumps with herbicide to prevent re-sprouts, and cutting the annual grasses in the spring when the seeds are soft, will make future vegetation management easier.