Summary: It is easy to assume that getting rid of invasive plants will allow a local ecosystem to return to its natural state, with native vegetation flourishing once again. However, the impact of weedy invaders can linger for years, a new report outlines.
The USDA Forest Health Technology Enterprise Team has released a Field Guide for the Biological Control of Weeds in Eastern North America. This guide includes a quick search by flower color (non-flowering are gray), discusses basic plant and biocontrol biology, and has a symbol-driven efficacy quick guide (status for individual biocontrols: high-low priority, caution with redistribution, illegal to redistribute, no establishment, failed to establish).
The Stowe Land Trust is working on a multiyear effort to restore native diversity and habitats to 50 acres of conserved land on the DuMont Meadow property at the end of Adams Mill Road.
A new study of the flight capacity of the Asian longhorned beetle (Anoplophora glabripennis) found it to have an average flight distance of 1.4 miles in a 24-hour period, but some could fly as far as 8.5 miles in that span.
Experts are expecting that white pine needle damage in Vermont this year may be worse than previous years. Vermont may be the only northern New England state to see such an increase.
"Climate change may force one of New England’s invasive plant species to retreat north, while another will likely stay put and take over an even greater area, according to a new study by UConn faculty and former doctoral candidates.
Garlic mustard may disappear from the southern part of New England only to crop up in Canada, while Japanese barberry takes hold of the region."
CHICAGO — The emerald ash borer has left a trail of destruction in its wake — but also some beauty, Curtis Witek says.
Witek, of Noble Square, is founder of City Forest Products, which takes wood destroyed by the emerald ash borer and turns it into products like cutting boards and end tables. Witek started the business, which he runs out of a small workshop in Wicker Park, in January and will officially start selling his creations with an April 28 launch party.
A new project in South Sioux City is a model alternative to burning or landfill disposal of the ash trees the City will likely lose when the ash borer invades their communities. The stack of boards will become a cabin at South Sioux City’s Community Orchard.
Windham County Foresters, Sam Schneski and Bill Guenther, outline the threat of invasive plants on sugarbushes in Vermont. This article, published in the fall 2016 issue of Woodlot Tips, explains what makes a species "invasive", which invasive plants threaten Vermont sugarbushes, and offers management suggestions for landowners.
Some are disarmingly named, like the cutesy Chinese mitten crab. Others have names more indicative of their undesirable nature, like rock snot, an algae that slimes up cool forest streams.
They are some of more than 100 invasive species that conservationists must battle in New York State, which teems with a growing number of plants, birds, fish, insects, mosses, molds and fungi that actually belong somewhere else.
The growing season for 2016 saw many projects across the state tackling the forest, field, and wetland health issue of non-native invasive plants. Below are highlights of some of these amazing local efforts. Huge thanks to everyone who is working toward making our Vermont landscapes healthier and more resilient, and protecting them for generations to come.
The numbers of Forest Tent Caterpillar, a native insect that feeds on hardwoods, are on the rise. The Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation (VT FPR) monitors Forest Tent Caterpillar. Trap catches this year increased compared to last year in 12 of 13 sites. Populations seem to be growing across the state. The 2016 aerial survey mapped at least 24,500 acres of FTC defoliation. Heaviest defoliation occurred in Essex, Lamoille, Orleans and Caledonia counties.
An international team of researchers has designed decoys that mimic female emerald ash borer beetles and successfully entice male emerald ash borers to land on them in an attempt to mate, only to be electrocuted and killed by high-voltage current.
