Kern County Fire Department Helps Audubon and Fish & Game with Invasive Weeds

Kern County Fire Department Helps Audubon rid the South Fork Valley of Invasive Weeds

Fire Crew Supervisor Randy Griffin and eight men from the Kern County Fire Department Type 1 crew out of Democrat Station helped to eliminate invasive weeds with staff from the California Dept. of Fish & Game and Audubon's Kern River Preserve. On Friday and Saturday, October 12-13, Fuels Crew 87 worked on this project in the South Fork Valley with the Kern County Fire Department's chipper brought down from Tehachapi. Their fuels crew removed and chipped invasive Tree of Heaven and Giant Cane off of private property between Onyx and Weldon. The arrangement was that this project was done at no cost to the property owner although Audubon and the Department of Fish and Game agree to diligently patrol this property to make sure the weeds do not grow back.

The South Fork of the Kern River is one of California's finest remaining native riparian forests. Through a diligent program of invasive weed removal Audubon, California Department of Fish and Game and the Southern Sierra Research Station lead the charge to keep the river and valley free of many exotic species that have decimated native forests throughout the southwest. The California Invasive Plant Council states that invasive plants displace native plants and wildlife, increase wildfire and flood danger, consume valuable water, degrade recreational opportunities, and destroy productive range and timber lands. In the Kern River Valley, the Department of Fish & Game and Audubon work with property owners, land managers, researchers, concerned citizens, and policy makers to protect our valley from invasive plants. You can read more about invasive plants in the Kern River Valley on the Kern River Preserve's website. http://kern.audubon.org/aliens.htm

Thanks to the Kern County Fire Department: Ken Stevens, Randy Griffin and Fuels Crew 87; Sean Borlena, Ben Hicks, Carlos Barbosa, Jordon Bert, Brandon Neighbors, Matt Bennett, Ross Janzen, and Brian Burleson.

For over 100 years Audubon has been protecting birds and other wildlife and the habitat that supports them. Our national network of community-based nature centers and chapters, scientific and educational programs, and advocacy on behalf of areas sustaining important bird populations, engage millions of people of all ages and backgrounds in positive conservation experiences.

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