INVASIVE GARLIC MUSTARD PROJECT

 
In early Spring of 2022, the District was approached by Chris McDonald with the University of Riverside Extension concerning a newly discovered invasive garlic mustard infestation within the district boundaries in Hook Creek near Lake Arrowhead. Garlic mustard is highly invasive in the eastern United States, and this is the first known invasion in California. This invasive plant grows for two years with the second-year plants flowering and dropping the seeds for the next generation. The invasive weed crew strategically focused on the second-year plants and pulled them from the base (to prevent re-sprouts) and bagged them in plastic bags for removal to the USFS disposal facility.

Through partnerships with the UCANR, the US Forest Service and an MOU with Inland Empire RCD a crew was dispatched for three days in June of 2022 to remove the garlic mustard. Future mapping efforts are planned for this fall to conduct surveys in other nearby water ways for more wayward garlic mustard infestations.