As of 2000, an estimated 80 percent of the vegetation in the Las Vegas Wash was tamarisk (Tamarix ramosissima), an invasive plant listed on the state noxious weed list. The following year, tall whitetop (Lepidium latifolium), also listed on the state noxious weed list, was identified in the Wash mitigation areas and was soon discovered throughout the Lower Las Vegas Wash area.
To address the growing weed problem, the multi-agency Las Vegas Wash Weed Partnership spearheaded an aggressive weed control program on the Wash. Each year all sites are surveyed and documented using GPS and GIS technology.
Just some of the plants targeted by the Partnership include: tamarisk (Tamarix ramosissima), tall whitetop (Lepidium latifolium), giant reed (Arundo donax), green fountain grass (Pennisetum setaceum cupreum) and Russian knapweed (Centaurea repens). Since the program's inception, more than 200 acres of tamarisk have been cleared, 175 gross infested acres have been treated and 40 stands of giant reed have been removed. To help dispose of cut material from the weed management program; six controlled burns have been conducted at the Wash, saving hundreds of thousands of dollars in disposal costs.
Community awareness is essential to the success of this program and documents and outreach materials have been developed to educate the public about weeds and encourage their involvement at the Wash. Several volunteer weed pulls have been hosted, "Good Weeds Gone Bad" was developed and the Wash was showcased in an educational DVD for the Clark County School District, "Las Vegas Centennial Celebration Education Grant Celebrates the History and Importance of the Las Vegas Wash," produced through the Clark County Cooperative Weed Management Area.
Funding for the project has been provided by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Clark County Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, National Park Service, Nevada Department of Environmental Protection and Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act.
Background
Managing invasive weeds is a vital part of the overall stabilization and enhancement of the Las Vegas Wash. To improve the effectiveness of the revegetation program in the Wash, the Southern Nevada Wwater Authority formulated the Las Vegas Wash Weed Partnership in 2002, with the assistance of grant funds from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.
The mission of the Partnership was "to promote awareness among the landowners and land managers within the hydrographic basin, facilitate cooperation and collaboration, create an integrated weed management plan, and implement on-the-ground weed management activities in the lower Las Vegas Wash." By September 2003, the final Integrated Weed Management Plan for the Lower Las Vegas Wash document was completed. The document outlined the Partnerships future activities and methods for accomplishing goals that support revegetation at the Wash. Within the document the weeds that were identified by the Partnership as potential concerns included tall whitetop, giant reed and saltcedar. The ongoing activities to reduce these invasive weeds have been crucial in the overall revegetation program.