Open Space and Trails finds new way to combat invasive weeds in Brush Creek Valley

Three agricultural ponds, abandoned and overrun with invasive plants, dot the Brush Creek Valley near Snowmass Village.

All three an eyesore and detrimental to native plants and animals, Open Space and Trails (OST) decided to do something about them. Two of the ponds reverted back to an effective habitat, but one remains.

Two years ago, work began on the third upper pond, which continues to serve a purpose throughout the valley. 

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“There’s a ditch that comes out of Brush Creek that provides water to private landowners,” Liza Mitchell, OST’s natural resource manager, said.

Initially, OST planted native wetland “plugs,” which are wetland plant seedlings that were inserted by hand into the mud surrounding the pond. These plugs are small, but it requires hundreds of plants and labor hours. And even then, much of the area remains available for non-native plant competitors, like reed canary grass, to come back.

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Reed canary grass, a long, green stemmed plant tipped with a cream-colored seed head, is an invader that suppresses native plants and reduces plant diversity, Mitchell said. It is very common in the West, particularly in disturbed wetland or wet agricultural areas, and it is very difficult to get rid of.

This was not a viable method of restoration to continue, Mitchell said. So, OST turned to a solution that has been in restoration circles in wetland environments across the country for a couple of years now: biodegradable, coconut fiber mats.

OST found a wholesale supplier in Idaho that could ship to Pitkin County. The supplier produces these wetland sod mats by weaving ative wetland species into coconut fiber rugs. 

The mats, which are dense enough to shut out invading plants, were laid around the pond’s edge in June. They act as a barrier for the seedlings as they work to take root. This is an ideal application because it saves an immense amount of time and labor, Mitchell said.

“It is a new technique for us and the restoration-ecology field,” she said. “It holds a lot of promise because it can quicken the re-establishment of wetland plants.”

Think of coir mats, those rough, tan-colored welcome mats that may greet guests at a house but 100 feet long and filled with water sedge, beaked sedge, and common spikerush. 

Although the roll was 100 feet long, OST was able to cut it in half widthwise and get more coverage for their money. The roll cost OST $1,400. 

The organization did this because the sod cannot be too far from the water’s edge, otherwise the plants would die. Over half of the pond’s perimeter is now covered with this rug-like wetland sod.

OST will continue to evaluate if the sedges and rushes spread beyond the original sod application. If they fill in the areas between the sod, then this application method could work in other areas and on a larger scale.

Because the mats contained wetland plants, timing of the shipment was crucial. If the shipment took too long, the plants would dry up and die. If the shipment came too late or early in the season, they may not survive once they are planted.

“All in all, it took 48 hours,” Mitchell said. “Wetland plants have to stay moist at risk of them dying. We also have to plant them in prime time.”

She said results from the new approach will be documented. Three weeks after installation, the sod is doing well, and roots are growing past the matting and into the soil onsite, which is one indicator of long-term success.

Passersby on the Brush Creek Trail can watch this work in progress, as well. Just make sure to stay on the paved trail that parallels Brush Creek Road, Mitchell said.

“This is why I love restoration work because it’s about adaptability, and it’s constantly changing,” Mitchell said. “Ecological restoration takes time, monitoring changes, variables change. Patience is key with ecological restoration.”