Invasive Plants Threaten Gardens, Parks and Natural Landscapes; The Nature Conservancy Promotes Education, Control Methods in Minnesota and Worldwide
 
(Note: TNC calls such alarmist propaganda 'education.' Hogwash! Crown vetch is a wonderful ground cover and soil stabilizer. 'Softening up' the public mindset by using vagaries like 'invasives can' -- when useful and helpful plants DON'T do most of the things that TNC says they do -- is merely a language stalking horse for a massive control agenda aimed at taking control of all uses of private property away from normal people. Many 'native plants' do far more damage and are much more 'invasive' than those that actually add to flora diversity. What TNC touts is the exact OPPOSITE of what they appear to promote. By limiting species and only 'allowing' certain ones -- an agenda that makes a LOT of money for them, by the way -- 'diversity' is gutted, not cherished. Just as 'sustainable growth' is anything BUT -- and the decimation of America's resource providing, self-sufficient very heart and soul is being laid at the altar of the false god, Greed -- so, too, is the slick 'snake oil sales pitches' that are seeking nothing short of Control of all Land, Water and People.)
 
April 16, 2002

Minneapolis, Minnesota - PRNewswire - With spring underway, The Nature Conservancy is asking people to check their yards and gardens for plants that can "escape," spreading and crowding out native species and causing tremendous damage to both the natural environment and the economy.
 
Gardeners and homeowners can help by removing these "bad plants" and replacing them with native plants and other non-invasive alternatives.
 
Invasive or non-native species represent one of the largest threats to biodiversity, and directly impacts the Conservancy's mission: to preserve plants, animals and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on Earth, by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive.

'Invasive species' are second only to 'habitat destruction' as threats to native ecosystems and imperiled species; they are more harmful than pollution, overexploitation and disease.
 
The cost to the U.S. economy -- due primarily to losses in agriculture, forestry, fisheries and accessible waterways -- is estimated to be $137 billion per year and growing.

"It's especially important to look for and remove 'bad plants' if you live in or near natural areas such as parks or preserves," says Jenny Brown, Director of Conservation Science for The Nature Conservancy.

Why?
 
Invasives can:

* change ecosystem properties
* change fire frequency or intensity
* change erosion or sedimentation around streams
* push out or hybridize native plants
* carry disease * alter succession
* rob birds and annuals of shelter and food

According to Brown, invasive species to look for and remove in our yards and gardens include:

* Bird's foot trefoil has attractive yellow flowers and has been popular for roadside plantings because it can stabilize slopes, and is still sold as a wildflower and pasture nitrogen fixer. The problem: it invades native prairie areas. Recommended prairie flower alternatives: black-eyed Susans, blanket flower, yellow coneflower, wild sunflowers, hairy puccoon, coreopsis. Nitrogen fixer alternatives: partridge pea, round headed bush clover, purple and white prairie clovers, American vetch, showy tick trefoil and wild lupines.

* Crown vetch is a problem in all Minnesota prairie areas, yet is still promoted and sold by private and government interests. It takes advantage of areas with poor soil and sparse vegetation, is tenacious and hard to control. Recommended alternatives: same as for bird's foot trefoil.

* European buckthorn is widespread in Minnesota, and has escaped from yards where it was intentionally planted to overtake places like the Conservancy-owned Ottawa Bluffs Preserve, a native savannah/woodlands preserve near Le Sueur. It forms dense thickets and crowds out native species and is spread by birds, mice and elk that eat the fruit. Small seedlings can be removed with a hoe. For larger plants, stump removal is the only way to permanently prevent resprouting.

* Exotic bush honeysuckles, which are a problem in Twin Cities parks and along streams in the metro area, as well as southeast and central Minnesota. This plant invades native prairie and savannah areas. Some people like to plant these species in their yards because birds eat the berries.

* Garlic mustard is not yet widespread in Minnesota but is a big problem in the metro area and is on the move in woodlands throughout the state. In a forest, it can completely dominate understory vegetation and prevent native seedlings from growing. Seeds are easily spread in several ways: the seed pods explode and shoot seeds for several meters, and also are spread by hikers' shoes and vehicle tires. This plant is not sold in nurseries.

* Leafy spurge is a deep-rooted, relentlessly spreading plant from Europe with tiny yellow flowers. It can overtake pastures and choke out native grasses. It is toxic to cattle, and the USDA estimates that the plant costs ranchers in the Dakotas, Montana and Wyoming more than $144 million a year. The Nature Conservancy has been working with South Dakota landowners on a biocontrol solution to the problem, collecting flea beetles -- which eat leafy spurge (roots and all) -- and transporting them to ranch land to help prevent new infestations of the invasive plant.

* Purple loosestrife, also known as the "purple plague" is an ornamental plant promoted for its purple flowers. It has the ability to produce millions of seeds, which spread easily by wind or water. Once limited to gardens in the Northeast, it now chokes wetlands across the country. Small amounts can be removed by pulling or using herbicides, but large amounts are almost impossible to eradicate. A good alternative is blazing star, which has pink/purple flower spikes.

* Siberian elm is a popular tree for yards and windrows, but it becomes a problem when it spreads rapidly into urban parks, old fields and prairies. It is a problem throughout central and southern Minnesota. This tree is still and promoted for shade and wind breaks. Recommended alternatives: green ash, red and sugar maples, and white, red and bur oaks.

* Kudzu, which is a huge problem in the South, could become a problem in Minnesota as the climate warms, and species migrate north. Most states have banned sales of this plant, but the seeds are still available on the Internet.
 
Copyright 2002 PRNewswire

The Nature Conservancy is a private, international, non-profit organization established in 1951 to preserve plants, animals and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive. To date, the Conservancy and its more than 1 million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 12 million acres in the United States, and have helped through partnerships to preserve more than 80 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Canada, Asia and the Pacific.