Lately the Santa Fe New Mexican has been full of articles on the question “what’s a weed,” with many definitions of what constitutes a nuisance. I happen to be a devotee of wildflowers, native plants, and grasses, but there’s one that questions my faith: goatheads. This little devil hits our trails with a spikey seed that punctures tires. It particularly likes disturbed areas such as trail heads.
A first for Dale Ball Trails: removal of goathead infestation next to a newly-planted tree at the old Filter Plant Building site, Sept. 5, 2018
You can be a help to your fellow bikers by pulling them up whenever you find them. Pulling up by the root is the best, but if it breaks off, that helps too, by preventing the seeds from maturing.
It’s a shame to think of our trails being ruined by goatheads. If everyone plucks a few from trails and trail heads, the problem goes away without poisons. Please help!
Margaret Alexander
Big thanks to