Page 5 - MountainEar Winter 2020
P. 5
“Controlling Invasives“ continues from page 1
Invasives in Your Yard
drainage ditches where fill from outside the Wildlands was The positive, fun part of the invasive spe-
brought in. cies issue is getting to know, understand
In managing the Wildland’s forests, one of the main and plant native Maine plants and seeds
challenges is the invasive beech bark scale insect and its to create habitat for other native spe-
accompanying fungus that decimate the American beech. cies and combat invasives at the same
These diseased beech are significantly altering the forest by time. Many native plants are available
reproducing so rapidly that they crowd out other species. from spring plant sales at county Soil
Without intervention, parts of the Wildlands will evolve and Water Conservation Districts and
into stands dominated by diseased beech. Fedco Trees & Shrubs. Wild Seed Project sells 60
species of native seeds and publishes a magazine full of
Managing Russian olive, autumn olive, information on reestablishing native ecosystems:
knotweed and beech bark scale insects https://wildseedproject.net/
A combination of several mowings and spot herbicide ap-
plication was used on Russian olive in 2012 & 13 and it was This past summer we used herbicide on two single knot-
successfully eradicated. We have also used spot herbicide weed plants and one small area about twenty feet square, all
application on autumn olive, and this past summer used me- of them in or next to water courses where any mechanical
chanical methods (digging and cutting) to remove disturbance is likely to send plant material that can regen-
it. It is tentatively under control, but because the shrub erate downstream. Their location is of special concern be-
germinates easily, cutting can cause it to spread. We are cause of knotweed’s predilection to take over water courses
monitoring it at present and expect some of the larger roots very quickly. Although the patch, which is near the bank of
may require herbicide application. Hot Hole stream, was treated experimentally with salt and
vinegar and covering with a tarp, the treatment was ineffec-
tive and we concluded that both salt and vinegar, so close to
MNAP Invasives the stream, may be toxic to fish and other aquatic organisms.
Guide For forestry purposes, we have treated several stands of
small, diseased beech with herbicide manually applied to
The Maine Natural Areas a small section of bark. We have also treated freshly-cut
Pro gram has just published stumps of beech to prevent root-sprouting and further pro-
an excellent new guide, liferation of diseased trees. Last year, our forester, Roger
Invasive Plants in Maine. The Greene experimented with “high-stump” cutting (the tree
3.75x8˝ field guide covers 46 stem is cut at waist height to prevent viable sprouts from
species of terrestrial and wet- growing) with promising results. He thinks it’s about 80%
land invasive plants and is effective, depending on the amount of sunlight the stems
waterproof, pocket- size, and get. It may be a reasonable alternative to herbicide treat-
ring-bound to allow for future ment, but running chainsaws with high levels of exhaust
additions. Each species account and oil emissions for hours at a time has its own environ-
includes key identification mental impact.
characters, growth form, habi-
tats invaded, control methods, The future
similar native and non-native The management of invasives is evolving and we will
plant species, and current sta- likely change our practices as other treatments and best
tus of the plant in Maine. This practices are developed. We are watching closely as two
is an excellent reference for other species of insects invade Maine, the wooly adelgid,
any landowner to identify and which attacks hemlocks, and the emerald ash borer.
deal with invasives on their
land. Invasive species are the second-greatest threat
to global bio diversity after loss of habitat. Invading
plants outcompete native species by hogging sunlight,
water, nutrients, and space. They change animal habitat
by eliminating native foods, altering cover, and destroy-
ing nesting opportunities. To buy the field guide or find
out more about invasives, go to the Maine Natural Ar- Jennifer Riefler,
eas Program (MNAP) website https://www.maine.gov/ Dave Doherty, Rosie
dacf/mnap/ If you want to help document invasives, or Pointer and Andy
see where they are, IMap has a great interface, also ac- Peake getting a sign
cessible on the MNAP website. just right.
5