Partners Work to Identify Threats

Hoosier’s Charles C. Deam Wilderness Surveyed for Invasive Plants

September 17, 2024. Bedford, IN  In a partnership project between the Hoosier National Forest (NF) and State of Indiana Cooperative Invasives Management (SICIM), portions of the Charles C. Deam Wilderness are being surveyed for the presence and extent of spread for different invasive species. Eco Logic, LLC, an ecological firm out of Bloomington that focuses on restoration, was contracted to map invasives along the 36 miles of trails in the Wilderness. A total of 14 different invasive species were found.

In 2023, the group surveyed within 25 feet of either side of the Wilderness trails looking for signs of the invasives. SICIM administered the contract with Eco Logic. For 2024, Eco Logic is currently mapping invasives in an area around Frog Pond Ridge in the Wilderness.  The Hoosier plans to apply for more funds in 2025 to continue the mapping to focus on two overly common invasives that are from old homesites: tree-of-heaven and wineberry.   The hope is to capture the full extent of these species so that they can be primary targets for future control.

Cheryl Coon, Economic Partnership Coordinator for the Hoosier, explained that the mapping is helping the Forest Service have a more comprehensive idea of how extensive the spread of invasives species are in the Wilderness.  With this information, the Forest can develop a strategic management plan on what species they can control and how. Coon emphasized that though there are a lot of invasives in the Wilderness, the infestations are not hopeless at this point. “Good stewardship can make all the difference. We can get the invasives back under control and the native ecosystems will rebound,” said Coon.

The results of Eco Logic’s surveys include maps of where the different invasives species were found. Of the species surveyed for, lesser celandine (Ficara verna) and Siberian squill (Scilla siberica) were not found during the surveys. Another targeted species, garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata), was found in only four areas. There were clusters of hundreds of seedlings at these sites historically, but the ongoing work with volunteers has significantly reduced the number of plants and their spread. Star-of-Bethlehem (Ornithogalum umbellatum) was found widely scattered in three places in the Wilderness. Poison hemlock (Conium maculatum) is a biennial plant found at the trailheads. These five spring species covered less than 10% of the Wilderness.

Japanese stiltgrass (Microstegium vimineum) is the most abundant trailside invasive species in the Wilderness. It follows trail corridors and streams. Myrtle (Vinca minor) is a groundcover that has escaped in two areas associated with cemeteries. There were several herbaceous species found but not mapped: Oriental lady’s thumb (Persicaria longiseta) is common along trails but does not seem to be spreading. Beefsteak plant (Perilla frutescens) was also found along trails but did not seem to move beyond the disturbed trail margins.   There were several invasive shrubs mapped.

Links to maps of surveyed species are included below the photograph.

Myrtle covering a forested area in southern Indiana.

For more information please contact Anthony Sipes, SICIM Chair, sicim.info@gmail.com, or Teena Ligman, SICIM Board Member, tdligman@att.net.