Non-Native Invasive Exotics & Other Plants Overgrowing Trails in Mission Trail Nature Preserve

Obscured Trail in Mission Trail Nature Preserve
Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA.
Scientific Name: Genista monspessulana
Common Name: French Broom
Distinction: Non-Native Invasive Exotic

Not only does the City’s General Plan/Coastal Land Use Plan Coastal Resource Management mandate “trail maintenance and clearance” annually, it encourages the removal of both intentionally introduced plants and invasives. As depicted in the photo above, Genista, a non-native invasive exotic, is overgrowing the trail. On other parts of the trail system, encroaching ivy and poison oak are overgrowing the trails. In short, non-native invasive exotics and other plants are overgrowing the trails in Mission Trail Nature Preserve due to a lack of trail maintenance and a failure to adhere to the General Plan/Coastal Land Use Plan.

Reference:
General Plan/Coastal Land Use Plan Coastal Resource Management
Mission Trail Nature Preserve

Selected relevant excerpts, as follows:

P5-118 Avoid removal or pruning of native riparian vegetation except for drainage channel and road/trail clearance and/or for the purpose of new native indigenous tree/shrub establishment. (LUP)

O5-28 Prepare annual maintenance plans for habitats within the Preserve. Encourage native vegetation to re-establish on sites previously mowed, cut, or invaded by exotic species. (LUP)

P5-124 Consider removal of both intentionally introduced plants and invasives by instituting an annual program through joint efforts of contract workers and volunteers. (LUP)

P5-125 Research the most appropriate time for mowing grasses to encourage the growth of native plants and discourage exotics and schedule accordingly. (LUP)

P5-140 Formalize a trail through Martin Meadows. (LUP)

O5-35 Implement the Mission Trail Nature Preserve Master Plan maintenance provisions. (LUP)

P5-153 Mow meadow grasses to reduce the risk of fire (June.) if consistent with special status plant management needs. (LUP)

P5-156 Conduct trail maintenance and clearance (June - August.) (LUP)
(Source: http://www.ci.carmel.ca.us/, Planning, General Plan & Local Use Plan Revisions, Coastal Resource Management Element PDF, Mission Trail Nature Preserve)

Sources of information about weeds and invasive exotics, as follows:

Extremely invasive horticultural introductions that replace native species are among the most serious weeds. Known as Invasive exotics, they include species of Genistra (brooms). Invasive exotics are “threats to our native flora.”
(Source: http://www.stanford.edu/~rawlings/bulspec1.htm#weeds)
Click on post title above for short article.

An interesting article about non-native invasives, “Do You Sell Broom?” by Sally de Becker.
(http://www.stanford.edu/~rawlings/broom.htm)

California Invasive Plant Council
http://www.cal-ipc.org/ip/inventory/index.php#inventory

TABLE 1: Invasive Non-Native Plants that Threaten Wildlands in California
http://www.cal-ipc.org/ip/inventory/pdf/Inventory2006.pdf

For images of Genista,
The Nature Conservancy
The Global Invasive Species Initiative
Genista monspessulanus (French Broom)
http://tncweeds.ucdavis.edu/esadocs/genimons.html

Another interesting web site, the California Native Plant Society.
http://cnps.org/cnps/nativeplants/