Vegetation Management

You might be surprised to learn that a few of your favorite ornamental plants are invasive to California and can “escape” your yard causing big problems in the wild. When plants escape landscape and garden boundaries, it is often due to seed distribution or aggressive roots. An invasive plant species can…

By Kevin Marini, UC Community Education Specialist: Natural Resources From The Curious Gardener, Spring 2023 In this day and age, it can be challenging to find common ground on a myriad of social and environmental issues that confront us in our modern societies. It has become a societal norm to hold a…

My Four-Legged Fuel Reduction Strategy When I took this job as the UC Cooperative Extension Livestock and Natural Resources Advisor for the Central Sierra Multi-County Partnership, I purchased a home on six acres between the Calaveras County communities of Mountain Ranch and Railroad Flat. My home sits…

Invasive species are reshaping California’s natural and urban landscapes. UC IPM’s new Invasive Species Mini-Series explores the many ways invasive species impact our lives, from harmful garden pests and aquatic hitchhikers to destructive tree pests, invasive weeds, and the policies that guide prevention and…

Dogs use their keen sense of smell to help humans every day. Their powerful noses alert us to danger, aid in search and rescue operations, and even have the potential to diagnose diseases. But did you know that some dogs have been trained to sniff out potential invasive pests? Enter—the detector dogs! …

The dotted paropsine leaf beetle (Paropsis atomaria), an invasive pest native to Australia, was first discovered in California in 2022 and is rapidly spreading throughout Southern California targeting eucalyptus trees. Both adult beetles and their larvae feed on eucalyptus leaves, causing significant…

Tumbleweeds rolling across the landscape may make you think of classic old Western movies, but tumbleweeds, or Russian thistle, is more common today than you might think. This invasive plant can grow anywhere the soil is disturbed and once it matures, it breaks off its stem and the dried plant blows across…