MEDIA RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                            March 23, 2007

contact:   Mitch Basefsky, Tucson Water  791-4331  (cell 419-8365)

Buffelgrass Eradication Controlled Burn in Avra Valley

Interview and Photo Opportunity

As part of an extensive buffelgrass eradication program, Tucson Water will be conducting a controlled burn on approximately 600 acres of Utility-owned property in Avra Valley . Weather permitting, the controlled burn is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, March 27, 2007. The property with the heaviest population of buffelgrass will be burned beginning at approximately 11 a.m. The staging area for the event is located along Reservation Road approximately 1 mile south of Manville Road (see attached map). The controlled burn will be monitored by representatives of the Avra Valley Fire District and several other local fire districts. University of Arizona buffelgrass expert Travis Bean will be available for interviews.

Tucson Water’s Avra Valley property primarily consists of retired farmland purchased to acquire the associated water rights. The Department manages the property with the intent to return the land to native vegetation. The controlled burn is part of a comprehensive pilot program designed to test various buffelgrass eradication methods to determine the most effective and efficient strategy for eliminating this invasive plant. Tucson Water has designated 1,200 acres for this research. Approximately six hundred acres will be burned, followed by spraying as soon as the surviving plants leaf out after the fire. Four hundred acres of the property have been mowed and will be sprayed once growth begins, and the final two hundred acres will be sprayed only. Monitoring the reduction of buffelgrass populations resulting from each of these alternative methods will help the Utility develop a successful eradication program.

Buffelgrass is an African plant that was introduced to the Tucson region approximately 75 years ago as animal fodder. It has become a highly invasive weed that can crowd out native species by competing for space, sunlight, moisture, and nutrients. Because it burns hotter than other Sonoran Desert grasses, it can cause extensive damage to native plants during a wildlands fire. The City of Tucson and a number of other entities are engaged in an on-going cooperative effort to reduce buffelgrass in the region. For additional information on these buffelgrass eradication efforts, please visit http://wwwpaztcn.wr.usgs.gov/buffelgrass/

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