The Daviess-Martin CISMA(Cooperative Invasive Species Management Area) is happy to report on the success of their first volunteer Weed Wrangle at West Boggs. For 2 hours on Saturday, October 16th, 9 workers covered 2-3 acres in the park, removing invasive Amur Honeysuckle and Autumn Olive bushes, and applying herbicide to the cut stumps to prevent the plants from resprouting.
They also tackled Tree-of-Heaven, a difficult invasive known for aggressive root sprouting, using a hack-n-squirt technique. A hatchet was used to make evenly spaced hack marks around the trunk at a 45-degree downward angle, which were then filled with herbicide. This technique delivers herbicide into the tree without cutting or girdling, avoiding a root sprouting response.
The volunteer group was directed by staff from the Soil & Water Conservation District and West Boggs Park.
“We want to use our park system as an educational outlet for those folks that are interested in sound conservation practices. Eradicating invasive plant species provides our native flora and fauna with improved habitat and in turn, allows our park users a chance to view our facility as it should be. These workdays and the wonderful volunteers greatly assist our efforts in making these improvements,” Park Superintendent Jameson Hibbs.
The Daviess-Martin CISMA is considering making this workday an annual event, as there are several other areas of the park that could benefit from invasive removal. They will discuss this as well as other 2022 workday options at their winter planning meeting. For more information on the Daviess-Martin CISMA, or to join their email list, contact daviessmartin.cisma@gmail.com, or call Emily Finch at 812-482-1171 x3. You can also follow them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/DaviessMartinCISMA.
