Indiana Invasive Species Awareness Week - Day 5

Recognizing Monroe County - Identify & Reduce Invasive Species

with Mary Welz, SICIM Central Regional Specialist

In celebration of Indiana Invasive Species Awareness Week (IISAW), I am thrilled to share the efforts of my home county CISMA, Monroe County - Identify & Reduce Invasive Species (MC-IRIS). Through various projects, events, partnerships, and public resources, MC-IRIS is a source of inspiration and hope to others throughout Indiana and beyond.

REDUCE ONE INVASIVE SPECIES CHALLENGE: Beginning in 2020, this MC-IRIS program highlights one invasive plant each year for identification, management, and native alternatives. The species for the 2021 Challenge is purple wintercreeper. People in the county can participate by removing wintercreeper and documenting their work to be rewarded with free native plants in return for their efforts.

 VIRTUAL WEED LABS: To take the place of the annual event Sustaining Nature and Your Land (SNAYL) Day which offers an in person Weed Lab station, MC-IRIS will host a total of 4 seasonal Virtual Weed Labs to help people learn to identify and control the invasive plants that are most notable at different times of the year. Be sure to register for the next in this series, Flowering Fiends, on Thursday, Apr 29, 12 - 2 PM.

DEER BROWSE COMMUNITY SCIENCE PROJECT: Through the Research, Education & Stewardship TO Restore our Environment (RESTORE) project funded by Indiana University Preparing for Environmental Change grant, MC-IRIS and the Bloomington Urban Woodland Project are conducting a community science project studying the connection between deer, invasive plants, and native plants.

Virtual Weed Labs series

Next up is Flowering Fiends on April 29th!

TOOL LOAN PROGRAM: Also funded through the RESTORE grant, MC-IRIS hosts 8 tool kits for loan to help both individuals and groups to control invasive plants. These kits include a weed wrench and various hand tools to cut and dig out invasive plants. Also included is an herbicide supply bag that contains equipment and instructions needed to use herbicide, for the borrower to keep.

NEIGHBORHOOD ORGANIZATION: MC-IRIS has worked for several years to organize communities at the neighborhood level for collective invasive management. Starting in 2021 and in partnership with the City of Bloomington, Housing and Neighborhood Development (HAND), there is a NEW Small and Simple Grant to help fund control of invasive plants at the neighborhood scale.

WEED WRANGLES GALORE: MC-IRIS is now holding both weekly and monthly Weed Wrangle events year-round. In partnership with the City of Bloomington Parks & Recreation, volunteers can participate weekly at Southeast Park and Cascades Park and monthly during the First Saturday Weed Wrangles at various Parks properties. In collaboration with the USFS Hoosier National Forest, weekly Weed Wrangle workdays will be held at the Deam Wilderness and Pate Hollow in spring, to target garlic mustard, and in summer, to target Japanese stiltgrass.

Weekly Weed Wrangle at Southeastway Park

One of a series of weekly Weed Wrangle events with City of Bloomington Parks & Recreation.

Lake Griffy Nature Preserve Weed Wrangle

One of a monthly series of First Saturday Weed Wrangle events with City of Bloomington Parks & Recreation.

Domestic Ducks on the Loose!

During the March Weed Wrangle at Griffy Lake, participants and City of Bloomington Parks staff spotted these illegally dumped, non-native domestic ducks on the loose.

Duck Wrangling

Because these were domestic ducks and could potentially carry diseases harmful to our native ducks, they were removed them from the preserve.

Ducks Found a New Home

Jon Behrman with City of Bloomington Parks & Recreation reports these ducks are now living their best lives on his parent’s farm.

Lower Cascades Park Weed Wrangle

One of a monthly series of First Saturday Weed Wrangle events with City of Bloomington Parks & Recreation.

Weekly Weed Wrangle Lower Cascades Park

One of a series of weekly Weed Wrangle events with City of Bloomington Parks & Recreation.

INVASIVE PLANT SURVEYS: Since 2013, MC-IRIS offers one-on-one assistance via Invasive Plant Surveys, in which members help property owners and land managers throughout the County to identify and manage invasive plant species.

 MILE-A-MINUTE VINE: MC-IRIS provides Early Detection and Rapid Response (EDRR) for Mile-A-Minute Vine in Monroe County, which is the only known location of this invasive plant here in Indiana. MC-IRIS sends annual press releases and informational mailings to landowners to help track and stop the spread.

ADOPT-A-KUDZU SITE:  To support the work of DNR Division of Entomology and Plant Pathology, MC-IRIS annually monitors the known Kudzu sites in the County and treats as needed, reducing the size of each kudzu infestation. 

RESOURCES: MC-IRIS provides up to date, publication and resources for invasive plant identification and management. These materials are available on their website for download and printing.

AND MORE: Control techniques trials, Take Control workshops, local Invasive Control Contractor listing, and the list goes on…

Thanks to these and the many other partners and supports of Monroe County - Identify & Reduce Invasive Species!

Stay tuned throughout the week to see more highlights of CISMAs or other partners and their efforts for improved land management. Be sure to visit the Indiana Invasives Initiative linktree to read more and find events in your area.