I had a great time clearing invasives and rescuing native plants with a wonderful group of volunteers this weekend in the Long Canyon section of the Balcones Canyonland Preserve (BCP) in Travis County.
My thanks to Chris Warren, a biologist with the BCP, and for other volunteers for teaching us all about the native plants in our Central Texas area, as well as the nefarious invasives that are crowding them out. Chinese Privet, Ligustrum sinense, was our main villain, and there were many to be seen.
We cleared out a bunch and made room for native plants, including Ashe junipers, which provide essential habitat for the endangered Golden-cheeked Warbler. We saved many native plants, especially a small, but growing, tree as you saw in the video above.
Credit: Austin Water Wildland invasive removal group photo
Down with invasives!
This is Commander Ben, signing off.
Commander Ben 
Hi Ben, I really like your website.I found it while I was trying to identify which kind of privet is growing so prolifically around here.Since I discovered they are the most invasive plant in the area I’ve been pulling them up by the hundreds. Last fall a year ago I cut down two large privets and covered the stumps with large rocks and they didn’t really sprout back. As creative as you are I wish you would offer a better solution than glyphosate.Any plant will die if you block the sun long enough and there are plenty of natural ways to do that.Leaf piles mulch, logs, and rocks work well. Plus invasives provide alot of organic matter that I think could be put to good use creating habitat for wildlife. I’m glad you are enthusiastic about getting rid of the problem, but I think glyphosates are dangerous to human health and the environmment and think it would be great if you could figure out a way to put all that organic matter to work.
Hi Amy,
Thanks for visiting my blog!
You have lots of creative ideas for controlling invasives.
Keep up the good fight! 🙂
Your friend,
Ben
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