South Bay Clean Creeks Coalition encourages and participates in invasive plant removal to promote waterway health. Invasive plants such as anise, ivy, and arundo overuse valuable water and spread aggressively in our mild climate, but they don’t provide any tree shade, so nearby water temperatures rise above what our wildlife needs to sustain a healthy environment. On the other hand, native oaks spread their limbs across the water and promote cooler waters for a much more conducive ecosystem for all of us.
In 2016, we secured the necessary permit approvals to launch an invasive plant removal project on private property along the Los Gatos Creek in Campbell.
We will be seeking additional sites and partnerships as we are working toward improving the habitat along our local waterways.
In late 2017, we worked with the local Conservation Corps teams to clear wood and trash debris along the Coyote Creek. Funding was provisioned through Council Member Tam Nguyen’s office. This work was but a small piece of a combined effort by SBCCC and Santa Clara Valley Water District City of San Jose to help prevent future flooding and to create a fish-friendly environment.
D3 Revegetation Project on Los Gatos Creek
The D3 is a grant we acquired from the Santa Clara Valley Water District to conduct a Revegetation Project along a 10-acre section of the Los Gatos Creek. This site stretches from Lonus Street to Cherry Avenue.
We were given this grant in 2019 but due to covid, we had to wait a few years to start work. It was in October of 2023 that we were finally able to break ground and start our removal process. We have conducted 8 removal events since (updated 7/12/2024). We have been focusing on the removal of Arundo Donax, English Ivy, Cape Ivy, and Himalayan Black Berry.
This is a 4 step process starting with removal. We have about a year more worth of removal work before we can move on into implementing erosion control measures and then to planting. We have 1,500 gallon sized California Native specimens that will be planted along the areas that invasive species were removed. After these activities have been completed, we will start our 3 year monitoring program.
This project is a part of a section that salmon have to migrate through. However, our monitoring shows that salmon do not spawn in this section of the creek. We believe this is because some invasives produce toxins harmful to reproduction and the temperature of this section is higher due to a lack of natural shade. This project is meant to restore this salmon spawning ground. Removing invasive species is beneficial as it will allow native plants to thrive and provide necessary stream conditions that are beneficial to Chinook Salmon spawning.
Our project partner Ecological Concerns Inc. has provided procedures and biological assessments for the project area. With their expertise, and willingness to work on weekends, we are making great headway on this project.
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