Dry Creek Watershed Red Sesbania Removal - Placer Resource Conservation District

Red sesbania (Sesbania punicea) is a highly invasive deciduous shrub that is rapidly spreading throughout the Central Valley and Sierra Foothills. According to the California Invasive Plant Council (Cal-IPC), red sesbania has earned a “high” overall invasive score, which translates to severe negative impacts on native plant communities and abiotic ecosystem processes. The plant grows in dense clusters and impedes water access for humans and wildlife. Since 2007, Placer RCD has collaborated with the Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency (SAFCA) to manually remove red sesbania from creeks and streams in the Dry Creek watershed and mitigate streambank erosion and flooding risk for downstream communities. The RCD has hired a contractor to remove the invasive shrub every summer on approximately 31 riparian miles on Dry Creek, Secret Ravine, Antelope Creek, and Miner’s Ravine.