Notice the tall, thin shoots of cane growing in lines and clumps at this location. The banks of the Rio Grande from Big Bend National Park to the Gulf of Mexico are thickly infested with what Mexicans have called El Ladron de Agua –the water thief. Giant cane, or Arundo donax, is a Mediterranean species of river cane originally brought by Spaniards to Texas missions in the 18th century.
The cane is problematic because it draws enormous amounts of water, displaces native vegetation, and narrows the river channel by stabilizing silt and gravel which would otherwise flow downstream. Methods for cane removal generally include using combinations of fire, bulldozers, herbicide, and labor-intensive hand tools.