City blocks river access with weeds

 

I have a dog named Sage who is a son of a Lab, so he likes to swim.  We usually go to the river access below the Wastewater Treatment plant, just East of where the river trail climbs to Spruce Street and drops closer to the river.  Lately we have been unable to go down there because the city has not cut its weeds sufficiently to be safe for dogs and people. 

This year, the city cut the cheat grass, foxtails and star thistle only a few feet off the paved river trail and cut the foxtails narrowly on the branched paths to the river to a height that would put seeds into shoes and socks.  Sage rolled in the cut foxtails above these two trails last week and got seeds into his harness and fur that I had to remove.   A star thistle is head high on me, right below the fork in the path upstream.   Tall cheat grass bow gracefully over said path, dangling their sticker seeds and blocking it.

            This is a place along the river where people could, until this summer, safely take kids and dogs to wade.  Fisherman used the concrete block and the shingle along the shore to fish.  The current is out about 20 feet and the water is shallow and calm upstream and downstream of the fishing block, protected by rocky bars upstream and the block.

 The next river access downstream has strong current very close to the bank and is not as suitable for swimming.  Sage got swept downstream and thereafter waded close to the bank.  The sticker grasses are not so bad, but it is not a good place for kids or dogs. 

The City has cut off river access to the public with poor weed control, including blackberries along the banks.  Cheat grass is head-high along the river trail above the blackberry banks, tall, yellow and screaming “Fire hazard!” for those with eyes to see.

I know that the city kills noxious sticker weeds in some places, because I looked at weeds West of the pedestrian bridge to the end of the park, which are at least soft and pretty and have no sticker seeds above the river trail, and few below it in the rough.  Blackberries above the trail appear to be cut frequently, having no flowers or old canes.

Please get rid of noxious weeds on city property instead of breeding them!  Reopen our river access and get serious about killing noxious weeds on all city property. 

Speech to the Grants Pass City Council, 7-6-2022

 published at GardenGrantsPass.blogspot.com and shared on Facebook.

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 Rycke Brown, Natural Gardener          541-955-9040           rycke@gardener.com