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Round-Up is being sprayed on all the invasive Blackberry from Yosemite Valley down to El Portal. This is a nasty invasive bush with lots of sharp thorns and is making hiking difficult in some areas. It is really taking over and spraying seems to be the only way to stop it as chopping it down just makes it grow more.

So be wary and watch out for the posted signs.

Invasive Blackberry Control in Rancheria - Beginning 9/27

Himalayan blackberry control operations will be taking place beginning

Monday Sept. 27thwest of El Portal Road to Foresta Bridge including

Rancheria and the trailer village. Crews will be gridding and mapping all

blackberry encountered. If blackberry occurs in the yards of residences a

poster will be hung up at the residence giving notice of our intention to

treat the blackberry in the week beginning 4 October. Away from residences

the treatments will be concurrent with the survey and mapping operations.

Himalayan blackberry is an introduced exotic pest that infests our creeks

and displaces our native vegetation. More than 100 acres of valuable native

plant habitat in Yosemite have already been impacted. The berries also

attract bears, and bring them closer to human habitat. The removal of

Himalayan blackberry is a HIGH priority in Yosemite.

Crews will treat plants with a dilute concentration of glyphosate

(Round-Up) that will be noticeable with blue dye. Sprayed areas will be

noted by a CAUTION sign. The blue dye will be visible for a few days. The

plants will take a few weeks to die back and should not be cut or clipped

until completely dead. If you have questions or concerns, please contact

the invasive plant crew leader Heather Smith (209) 742-3825, and/or

invasive plant program lead Martin Hutten at (209) 379-2006.