Saturday, December 10, 2011

2011 Lewis Center Refuge Mohave tui chub Mark Recapture Video

Check out the ...2011 Lewis Center Refuge Mohave tui chub Mark Recapture video on Youtube! This video was directed and produced by Mr. Steve Orsinelli in the AAE Digital Film Studio, and assisted by Jacob Painter.

Cattails and Bulrush Be Gone



Deppe Pond's West shore before burning

Early in the fall of 2011 the Lewis Center's Mojave River Conservation students and I started a process of removing the pond-side (emergent) vegetation around Deppe Pond, one of two ponds that comprise the Lewis Center's Mohave tui chub refuge. This has been a chore of ours since the initial clearing of the pond began back in 2007-2008 in preparation for renovating the pond for receiving Mohave tui chub in the fall of 2008.


Cut and dried and piled Cattails and Bulrush.


A Fire Explorer and...


Apple Valley Firemen using a fusies to light off the piles .

This time around we first allowed the pond's water level to drop by not replacing water lost to evaporation, transpiration and infiltration with well water in late August. Once the pond's water level dropped by 2-3 feet, we cut all the Cattail and California Bulrush (our two target species due to their invasive growth habit) while they were still green. We repeated this process once more in mid October. Next, Steve Parmenter along with some of his mark-recapture team from the Bishop office of the CDFG and some students followed with a third effort to to surgically remove any remaining individuals of our target species after the Fall 2011 Mark Recapture effort.


East shore piles up in flames.

Each time we cut and removed the target vegetation from the pond's shore we would piled it up in long rows parallel to the highwater line where it dried so that we could burn it after Southern California's notorious Santa Anna fanned wild fire season (Sept-Dec) was declared over. This year, on 12/10/2011, the Apple Valley Fire Department accompanied by a squad of Victor Valley Fire Explorers, used fusies to set fire to the dried rows of vegetation. Within an hour the pond's parimeter piles were reduced to smoke and ash. Since the shore was moist and our last rain (that fell two weeks earlier) had increased the fuel and soil moisture, the fire did not burn as much of the rooted material as we hoped it would. Next week, we will raise the pond level help decrease energy production and subsequent root regrowth.


East shore, looking North, before the burn...


After the burn.


Uncut, partially green "3 side" looking east before the burn...


After the burn.

West shore looking south before the burn...


After the burn.

In the Spring of 2012, Lewis Center's Mojave River Conservation students and I will assess if cutting, followed by flooding followed by burning followed by flooding, is a good prescription for slowing down the advance of Cattails and Bulrush into Deppe Pond's shallow shore zone. Stay tuned..

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Looking South from below the dam after the burn.