On Saturday, May 12, North Coast Land Conservancy staff and volunteers will be removing invasive scotch broom at Surf Pines Prairie Habitat Reserve, which the Conservancy had been managing for conservation for several years and which it recently acquired. It is located off U.S. Highway 101 just north of Gearhart. Volunteers will also get a look at blooming early blue violets and other native prairie species as they work on eradicating the Scotch broom.

This stewardship day runs from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. To participate, contact conservancy stewardship director Melissa Reich at 503-738-9126 or melissar@nclctrust.org.

Coastal property owners are encouraged to remove Scotch broom and other invasive plants from their own properties during Broom Buster Month as well; visit NCLCtrust.org/bust-broom-in-your-backyard for more information and tips. Widely planted and admired in the early 20th century for its bright yellow blossoms, Scotch broom out-competes native plants and is turning our open coastal prairies into a monoculture of dense, weedy shrubs, destroying the habitat that many coastal animals need to survive.