News 12 covered the event: http://www.news12.com/articleDetail.jsp?articleId=281760&position=1&news_type=news
Our plan is to add information on invasive plant management on our website and organize community education events in partnership with other community groups.
I took this video of one of our Trail Stewards flame weeding invasive Japanese Barberry:
Experts all point to studies showing invasive plants are crowding out native species and disrupting native habitats. They say invasive plant species occupy valuable open space real estate as well as homeowner properties and risk the extinction of many endangered species, each a part of the web of interdependency in local habitats. The consequence: fewer birds, fewer butterflies, fewer fragrant flowers on the forest floor. In addition, there are also fewer native shrubs that produce food for our native wildlife.
Garlic Mustard is only one of many invasive plant species now threatening to choke out the understory of native plant growth in Fairfield County open space areas. Originally imported as a foodstuff to the U.S. in the 19th century it has since grown out of control, according to the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection. To eradicate it, uprooted plants need to be wrapped tightly in plastic bags so they eventually suffocate and die. Taking garlic mustard to a landfill site only deepens the problem as its seeds can survive for five years in soil.
In research conducted at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station another invasive, Japanese Barberry, has been associated with a seven fold increase in Lyme disease carrying deer ticks versus land where that plant is absent. The ticks seek out the moist ground cover from the shade that the barberry provides. Ticks don't like hot, dry conditions. The more barberry, the more ticks!
Japanese Barberry was originally imported as an ornamental plant but it has escaped from private gardens and grown out of control. It becomes a dense, spiny shrub that grows two to eight feet high. It is impervious to any pests or predators and quickly forms thick stands that become home for the white footed mouse, a host for the Lyme tick. The white footed mouse is protected by the spiny branches of the Japanese barberry, harboring it from the natural predators, mainly hawks. The ticks are then free to hop a ride on passing deer, humans and other animals.
In research conducted at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station another invasive, Japanese Barberry, has been associated with a seven fold increase in Lyme disease carrying deer ticks versus land where that plant is absent. The ticks seek out the moist ground cover from the shade that the barberry provides. Ticks don't like hot, dry conditions. The more barberry, the more ticks!
Japanese Barberry was originally imported as an ornamental plant but it has escaped from private gardens and grown out of control. It becomes a dense, spiny shrub that grows two to eight feet high. It is impervious to any pests or predators and quickly forms thick stands that become home for the white footed mouse, a host for the Lyme tick. The white footed mouse is protected by the spiny branches of the Japanese barberry, harboring it from the natural predators, mainly hawks. The ticks are then free to hop a ride on passing deer, humans and other animals.
Stay Tuned...
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