Catalina State Park

The Catalina State Park Buffel Slayers group was formed in January 2015 as a volunteer effort for a Beat Back Buffelgrass Day event. Since that time they have organized regular buffelgrass digging events November through April on the first Saturday of the month. Their goal is to preserve native Sonoran Desert vegetation including magnificent stands of saguaros, their palo verde nurse trees, and beautiful wildflowers in the state park which are endangered by invasive plant species. They also spray and dig fountain grass and Sahara mustard in the critical riparian areas which are extremely important to a variety of plants and animals in the desert.

For more information, go to their Facebook page.

Map of the Catalina State Park Buffel Slayers activities
Map of Catalina State Park (orange boundary) showing Buffelgrass, Fountain Grass, and Sahara Mustard patches identified and then with treatments.
The Catalina State Park Buffel Slayers group

Volunteers now hear about their efforts through the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum buffelgrass volunteer web site. They get participation from school children, retirees, corporate members, scout and church groups, and University of Arizona and Pima Community College students. The volunteers enjoy the beauty of the park, the shared teamwork, and the goal of saving saguaros.

Before and after clearing buffelgrass from a young saguaro
Nothing feels better than clearing Buffelgrass away from a baby saguaro
Starting work on a large patch of buffelgrass
This patch seems too big to be cleared in one morning.
Large patch of buffelgrass after being pulled and thatched
Cleared and thatched with hard work!
The Catalina State Park Buffel Slayers group at the top of a cleared hill