The removal of invasive Himalayan Blackberries benefits the Crescent Valley creek and riparian area in a variety of manners. First and foremost it will improve the chances of native plant species and allow them to better compete with the invasive blackberries. When invasive plant species are introduced to an area they overrun the native species and interfere with the ecosystem. The removal of the blackberries helps to restore the ecosystem to its natural state prior to the introduction of the blackberries. Removal of the invasive blackberries will also beautify the creek area and result in a generally more pleasing appearance.

Crescent Valley Riparian Blackberry Removal

Background:
Himalayan Blackberry (Rubus Armeniacus) is an invasive species common in Oregon. bThe plant grows rapidly and is extremely aggressive. A single shoot can grow up to 20 feet in one season.Native species are often beaten out by the Himalayan Blackberry and die off.One square yard of land can potentially hold up to 500 canes (the foundations of the plant).

Goals:
Remove Himalayan Blackberries from a selected site.

Conduct removal in a manner such that there is a lasting impact.

Purpose:
The removal of Himalayan Blackberries will allow native plant species to regrow restoring the natural riparian ecosystem

The removal of invasive blackberries and regrowth of native species promotes the sustainability and ultimate success by preventing future outbreaks,

Past Efforts:
Efforts by the school grounds-keepers to cut back the vines have simply resulted in the stronger regrowth of the vines.

Another group tried to remove blackberries near the gym but the rootballs of the plants were not removed so they just grew back.

Sustainability:
To make sure our project was sustainable we made sure it met the four sustainable system conditions identified by the Natural Step:Fuels and metals should not be extracted.Should not contribute to the build up of harmful chemicalsPrevent the destruction of nature.Not dependent on social inequality or preventing others from meeting their basic needs.

Prevent the destruction of nature:

Our project was designed to restore the site to its naturalstate.

Our removal of invasive species enabled native plants to reclaim the area.

Should not contribute to the build up of harmful chemicals:

Our project did not contribute to the build up of harmful chemicals.

We opted to conduct removalby hand rather than through useof pesticides in order to meet this step.

Methods
Site selection

Blackberry removal

Disposal

Site Selection
Reviewed past efforts and determined where prior removal had been conducted.

Walked the creek to determine a spot in need of removal efforts.

Settle on the selected site after determining it was the easiest to access and most in need of removal.

Removal Strategies
Himalayan blackberries were removed from the selected site by both shearing and pulling by hand.Shearing: Using garden shears to cut the plant back as close to the root ball as possible.Pulling: Using gloves to pull up the roots of the plant.Tips and Tricks: Pulling is a more effective long-term removal strategy.Pulling the plant straight up increases your chances of getting the whole root.Targeting the base of the plant rather than individual vines can result in a quicker removal process.
Himalayan blackberry root ball.

Disposal:
The blackberries were cartedout of the work site usingwheelbarrows.

The blackberries were loaded into a trailer.

The blackberries are to be takento the Allied Waste compost facilitythis weekend.

Results:
Before
After

Discussion:
The blackberry removal was extremely successful, the removal of blackberries from our target area was thorough and complete.

We have hopes for the long term success of the project as we tried to completely remove the roots of the plants rather than simply cutting the vines back.