LOWER LAKE – The fifth annual “Goat Grass Grab: A Volunteer Stewardship Day” will be held at the McLaughlin Reserve on Saturday, May 29, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Serpentine areas in California provide some of the few remaining examples of truly native California grasslands/meadows. Over most of California, native grassland species have been replaced by invasive annual grasses from Europe and Asia.

Most of these invasive species are unable to tolerate the harsh soil conditions on serpentine, and so serpentine meadows have become a refuge for our native grassland flora.

Barbed goat grass is a noxious weed from the Mediterranean and Asia that shows unusual tolerance to serpentine. It is rapidly invading serpentine meadows and other grasslands throughout California, where it can dramatically reduce native species abundances if allowed to establish dense populations.

The mission during the goat grass grab will be to comb some of the best native serpentine meadows in the McLaughlin Reserve area, and selectively hand-pull goat grass before it has a chance to spread.

Bring work gloves. Lunch and refreshments will be provided, and they will cook a group dinner at the reserve field station at the end of the day.

Registration is required; the meeting location will be provided to registrants.

For those coming from a distance to attend this volunteer event, there may be the opportunity for overnight camping. Please ask if you are interested.

The McLaughlin Reserve is located at 26775 Morgan Valley Road, Lower Lake, Calif.

For more information, contact Cathy Koehler at 707-995-9005 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..