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Agency Partners Battle Invasive Weeds: ENVIRONMENT:Twenty-Two Agencies Hope to Teach People to Control Non-Native Weeds in Northwestern Wisconsin.

Posted on: Wednesday, 7 June 2006, 06:00 CDT

By John Myers, Duluth News-Tribune, Minn.

Jun. 7--Invasive plants are the enemy and the battleground is the Northland.

From buckthorn and spotted knapweed to purple loosestrife and reed canary grass, foreign weeds and plants are taking hold and forcing out native species.

Experts say we'll soon be inundated with more pests such as garlic mustard, wild parsnip and leafy spurge, species that already are wreaking havoc nearby.

But a new partnership of 22 local, state, federal and tribal agencies in Northwestern Wisconsin is fighting back across Ashland, Bayfield, Douglas and Iron counties.

The Northwoods Cooperative Weed Management Area group is the first of its kind in Wisconsin, but organizers say a similar effort by the U.S. Forest Service has worked well in Idaho.

Unlike aquatic invasives, such as zebra mussels and lampreys, land-based invaders so far haven't had as much local attention.

Ted Gostomski, a conservation biologist with the state Department of Natural Resources who represents the agency in the group, said the group hopes to bring people into the fight from across the region.

"These weeds have become so prevalent in most places that it's kind of discouraging. It can seem beyond what anyone can do to stop them," Gostomski said. "But we're trying to join our efforts so we can cross jurisdictional lines and help each other out, to focus our efforts where we can do the most good."

That may mean making decisions on the last, best areas of native flora and keeping invasives out of there.

"There is that sense that, up here, we may have the best chance to keep at least a few areas unaffected by some of these species," Gostomski said.

The problem is that foreign weeds and plants have no local enemies, and they can overwhelm local ecosystems. That can throw the entire natural system off balance.

"We have an issue both in forested and, because we are so wetland-rich, in our marshy areas. We especially have a problem with loosestrife and narrow-leaf cat-tail," said Leah Gibala, wetland specialist for the Bad River Band of Ojibwe. "We're closely watching the impact it has on our wild rice beds, which is a big part of our cultural heritage."

Weed seeds can be spread by birds, animals, recreational use and even the wind. Human activities such as home and road construction, logging and ATV use contribute to the problem because they disturb the ground enough to allow weed seeds to take hold.

But there is hope. Imported beetles have helped munch huge areas of purple loosestrife, reopening wetlands to native plants that can support waterfowl.

And group buckthorn-pulling parties have proved fairly successful in reclaiming small chunks of forest for native plants -- or at least buying some time to let natives grow.

In the end, the new group's biggest contribution may be educating and involving the public on identifying and removing the invaders.

"We want this to be a public effort. We can only do so much as agencies. The public will make this work or not," Gostomski said.

The group was formed under a memorandum of understanding signed in May. Their mission is to "encourage and formalize the cooperative relationship necessary for effective management, coordination and implementation of invasive terrestrial and aquatic plant species programs."

The group hopes to share money, staff time and "public information efforts." Because they have officially joined forces they also can apply for federal grants and spend the money across jurisdictional lines.

Projects already in the works include:

-- An invasive species field trip on the Bad River Reservation in Ashland County aimed at raising awareness of tribal resource managers and community members.

-- An educational poster for the Northwest Wisconsin Lakes Convention to be held at Telemark Lodge in Cable on June 30.

-- Organizing the workshop "Not in my backyard?!" The homeowners guide to invasive species in the Northland will be June 24 at the Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute on the campus of Northland College in Ashland. The workshop is for homeowners who want to know how to identify and control invasive plants.

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Copyright (c) 2006, Duluth News-Tribune, Minn.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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Source: Duluth News-Tribune (Duluth, Minn.)

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