Summer may be coming to a close, but the Invasives Strike Force Crew is still going strong! The crew started off the month managing invasives at Mianus River Gorge Reservation to protect nearby native hemlocks. Our hemlocks are already being stressed by the invasive hemlock woolly adelgid, so reducing the impacts of invasive plants that are strangling or outcompeting this foundation tree species is critical for hemlock forest health. The crew also put the finishing touches on managing sticky sage in Dover, N.Y., helping to remove close to 30,000 plants on 55 acres acres! In this project, we collaborated with the Conservation Dogs team who helped scout and treat the areas with sparse sticky sage. The crew wrapped up some work at Vassar College, treating a total of 345 castor aralias and sapphireberries. Sapphireberry was also managed at Ruth Walgreen Franklin and Winifred Fels Memorial Sanctuary in Bedford, N.Y., where the crew found the biggest infestation they’d ever seen: 21 acres of a dense monoculture of sapphireberry. The crew braved thick brambles and thorns, but persisted to succeed in treating 11,132 sapphireberries over 2.5 acres! Much remains to be done, and the crew will be going back in October to continue the fight against sapphireberry in this area. In the final weeks of August, the crew began working on Japanese spirea, both at Three Arrows Cooperative Society in Putnam, N.Y. and at the Cary Institute in Millbrook, N.Y. At Three Arrows, the crew enjoyed collaborating with community volunteers and with members of the Aquatic Invasives Strike Force Crew to manage over 2,000 spirea plants! At Cary, the crew was able to explore the beautiful hiking trails at the facility while they worked. There, they managed a total of 689 Japanese spirea, chocolate vine, and Japanese angelica tree. Next, the crew managed a variety of species at Granite Mountain in Putnam Valley, N.Y. including yellow archangel, linden viburnum, and Japanese angelica tree. This project was important because of the Tier 2 emerging invasive groundcover plant, yellow archangel. This plant is not found in many locations in the Lower Hudson Valley so its management is crucial to prevent the spread of their seeds into more natural areas. The crew also worked at Pine Croft Meadow and Preserve in Waccabuc, N.Y. They enjoyed the opportunity to emerge from the forest and take a trip into a scenic meadow for a change. Here, they managed 551 cutleaf blackberry and bamboo plants. Last but not least, the volunteer-led ISF crew joined forces with Trail Conference Trail Stewards and several community volunteers to clear a 5,000 sq. ft. section of trail of Japanese barberry and multiflora rose along the Mashipacong Trail at High Point State Park (see photo of the team above). This volunteer-led team also engaged in manual removal and herbicide treatment of multiflora rose, barberry, winged euonymus and other emerging invasives from the Yellow Trail at Turkey Mountain in Morris County, N.J. in the middle of August.
In the upcoming month, the ISF Crew is looking forward to working on a variety of projects including managing viburnums, general invasive plant removal with volunteers at Joppenburg Mountain, hardy kiwi in Bedford, vegetation clearing in Orangeburg to help with spotted lanternfly removals and participating in a day of service with MEVO, a youth volunteer organization in Mahwah, N.J. |