|
Invasive plant species spread trouble to
trails
(Note: Catchy as it's worded, the author fails to mention that the
U.S. Soil Conservation Service and Extension Service -- now a tentacle
of the the USDA known as the Natural Resources Conservation Service http://www.nrcs.usda.gov -- offered
multiflora rose to farmers as an alternative
stock-proof fence. "Beginning in the 1930s, the U.S. Soil
Conservation Service promoted it for use in erosion control and as
"living fences" to confine livestock. State conservation
departments soon discovered value in multiflora rose as wildlife cover
for pheasant, bobwhite quail, and cottontail rabbit and as food for
songbirds and encouraged its use by distributing rooted cuttings to
landowners free of charge. More recently, multiflora rose has been
planted in highway median strips to serve as crash barriers and to
reduce automobile headlight glare. Its tenacious and unstoppable
growth habit was eventually recognized as a problem on pastures and
unplowed lands, where it disrupted cattle grazing. For these reasons,
multiflora rose is classified as a noxious weed in several states,
including Iowa, Ohio, West Virginia, and New Jersey." Source: http://www.nps.gov/plants/alien/fact/romu1.htm )
June 3, 2005
Sandy Moy, executive director of Tarrywile Park, examines autumn
olive, an example of a non-native,
invasive species of plant in Connecticut. - Autumn
Pinette photo.
By Robert Miller bmiller@newstimes.com
or 203-744-3130
Danbury News-Times
333 Main Street
Danbury, Connecticut 06810
203-744-5100 or 203-731-3362
Fax: 203-792-8730
To submit a Letter to the Editor: editor@newstimes.com
Danbury, Connecticut - "Horse High. Bull Thick. Hog Tight"
was the way they used to advertise multiflora rose. It was going to be
the ideal hedge, the "living fence" for penning livestock in
a field. They forgot to add "Spreads Like a Rumor" to
the copy.
What horticulturists of the 1930s failed to realized was that
multiflora rose wouldn't stay put. Its heavily thorned stalks were
soon forming thick clumps in the middle of meadows across the
Northeast.
Today, multiflora rose is high on the unwanted list of non-native,
invasive species, along with phragmites, Oriental bittersweet, garlic
mustard and autumn olive — plants that have escaped into the wild
and are taking over.
"People are beginning to understand," said Helen Pritchard.
"These plants come with hardy roots. When you get a plant like
Japanese barberry into the understory of a forest, it chokes out
native plants like lady slipper that aren't strong enough to
compete."
Pritchard, a long-time member of the Danbury Garden Club and of the
Connecticut Invasive Plant Working Group, will spend part of National
Trails Day on Saturday telling hikers at Tarrywile Park about the
noxious pests blooming along the paths and highways.
After her talks, those attending can go out into the park and see for
themselves the damage invasive plants can do.
"We have plenty of species to look at," said Sandy Moy, the
park's executive director.
Pritchard's talk will touch on some of the species on the state's
invasive plant list. She'll also talk about the problems they cause --
especially a reduction of biodiversity -- as well as how to control
the invaders and how to avoid their spread by buying native species.
"The nursery industry is now starting to market some
alternatives," she said.
Moy said the park's staff decided to invite Pritchard to speak in part
because of the new management plan for the park, drawn up by the Yale
School of Forestry and Environmental Studies.
That plan looks at seven areas of importance in the park, including
studying the diversity of the park's field species and the need to
educate people about the park. Moy said having Pritchard teach people
about invasive species addresses those two areas.
The Yale plan lists eight non-native invasive species at Tarrywile:
Japanese honeysuckle, Japanese stilt grass, reed canary grass, cypress
spurge, multiflora rose, autumn olive, burning bush and dame's rocket.
Like multiflora rose, many of these plants were once touted for their
practicality. People planted groves of autumn olive to stabilize land
against erosion. Landscapers still use burning bush because it can
thrive in many soils and climates and because of its colorful fall
foliage.
And there are always new plants coming into the state and getting
loose. In 2002, the state discovered giant hogweed growing along the
side of the road in Litchfield County. It's now been found in seven of
the state's eight counties.
And there are pests like kudzu -- a vine that has blanketed the South
-- that can't survive in the colder New England weather. But if the
plants begins to adapt to colder weather, it could be a huge problem,
Pritchard said.
All this underlines the seriousness of the invasive plant problems the
state and the region face.
"The whole point is education," Pritchard said. "It's
the best way to get people involved."
Helen Pritchard will talk about non-native, invasive species at Tarrywile Park in Danbury on Saturday at 10 a.m., and noon as part of the park's celebration of National Trails Day. For more information, call the park at 203-744-3130.
"this story has been read 667 times"
Copyright 2005, The News-Times.
More language deception -- or, er ...
"news" -- about "Invasive Species:"
|