Reclaim Inc. goes after blackberries

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Russ Dixon of Ashland demonstrates how his invention of a steel hand attached to a Bobcat can tear out bushes such as this Oregon wild rose by the roots, especially useful for blackberry eradication.Sean Jeter

June 15, 2009

By Greg Stiles

Mail Tribune

Editor's note: This is one in a weekly series of profiles on locally owned and operated businesses in Southern Oregon.

What do you do and how long have you been doing it? I provide landscape maintenance, fire suppression and demolition of concrete patios and plants that are too close to buildings. I've been doing this for about 20 years.

How long have you lived in the Rogue Valley? I moved here in 1989 from Los Gatos, Calif. I grew up in Oregon City.

What inspired you to go into this line of work? Blackberries. This area is renowned for blackberry invasion and I designed an implement for my Bobcat specific to blackberry removal. I found that the implement is so well-designed it will move boulders, pull out other shrubs, and clean and rake the area around a house or pasture to eliminate fire hazards.

What decision or action would you change if you could do it again? I probably would have gotten into it sooner. I didn't realize the importance of blackberry removal. When I saw the need for ladder-fuels extraction I designed an implement to remove those and became a licensed ladder-fuel appraiser for the state Forestry Department. I sort of left my landscape architect business behind.

What's the toughest business decision you've made? Whether to borrow money or not for business expansion when I developed this implement five or six years ago. I decided I could do what I needed to do with my Bobcat, but it was necessary to have the implement built. Hasfell Fabrication in Ashland built it for me.

Who are your competitors? I don't have any competitors that will remove blackberries by the roots; there are others that mow them, but I remove the plants with the roots.

What are your goals? Since I'm so close to retirement I would like to continue on and do my best for blackberry eradication until the day I die. If the ground is level I can remove an acre of blackberries with the roots in an eight-hour day. If there are rocks, trees or topography problems then the extraction is slower.

What training or education did you need? My degree from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is in landscape architecture. It takes general experience in running a Bobcat to do this. You have to have sensitivity to certain native plants, wildlife habitat, wetlands and erosion control and drainage.

What's your advice for budding entrepreneurs? Train under someone who really knows what he is doing and be very sensitive to the environment and homeowners.

To suggest ideas for this column, about locally owned businesses that are at least five years old, contact reporter Greg Stiles at 776-4463 or e-mail business@mailtribune.com.

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