Indiana Invasive Species Awareness Week - Day 7
SICIM Email
CISMA Spotlight: Clark County Harmful Invasives Removal Project
with Kaila Knies, SICIM Southern Regional Specialist
In spite of the trials that this year has presented, invasive species awareness efforts have heated up in the Southern portion of the state. One county in Southern Indiana has demonstrated tremendous resilience in the face of adversity. The Clark County Harmful Invasives Removal Project (CCHIRP) is a brand new CISMA that organized at the beginning of 2020. Through their hard work, events, partnerships, and programs, CCHIRP has proved to be an excellent resource for their community and continues to be an example of the amazing things a group of people can do when we put our heads together and move forward towards a common goal, invasive species awareness.
Native Plant Sale: In partnership with the Clark County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD), CCHIRP started 2020 off right with a native plant sale. They sold over 300 native plants to the local community and had native plant enthusiasts come from as far as Bowling Green, KY. They also had customers from Charlestown State Park and other state agencies purchase plants to use in their restoration efforts. Over 70 people attended and purchased native plants for their homes. Cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis) was a popular choice for homeowners due to its stunning red blooms that attract hummingbirds and butterflies. CCHIRP’s next native plant sale will be on May 25th from 2:00 PM – 5:00 PM EST and will feature a wider variety of native plants than ever before.
Charlestown State Park Weed Wrangle®: In partnership with the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the Clark County SWCD, CCHIRP had a Weed Wrangle at Charlestown State Park at the head of the Rose Island Trail. Rose Island was once the site of a now abandoned amusement park. Rose Island receives hundreds of visitors every day and has an abundance of bush honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii), autumn olive (Elaeagnus umbellata), and Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica). There were many volunteers including DNR personnel, a homeschool group, natural resource conservation service personnel, and members from the friends of Charlestown State Park group that teamed up to tackle invasive species at the trail head. Volunteers filled four truck beds full of invasive species and discovered some beautiful native trees that were struggling to grow through all the invasives. Volunteers came back this spring and removed more of the invasive shrubs clearing the trail edges and leaving room for native prairie plants and trees to reestablish.
The next Weed Wrangle is planned for June 5th 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM with the installation of a native showcase garden immediately following the event. CCHIRP was awarded a grant from Southern Indiana Cooperative Invasives Management (SICIM) this year that will go towards installing the native plant garden at the Charlestown State Park Office. DNR employees at the park plan to utilize the garden by giving native plant and pollinator talks once it is established.
Boot Brush Stations: In partnership with the Clark County SWCD and DNR, CCHIRP was awarded a grant from the Indiana Native Plant Society to install five boot brush stations along the Knobstone Trail that spans Clark, Scott, and Washington counties to spread awareness about how invasive species “hitchhike” on the shoes of hikers. The Knobstone Trail is Indiana’s longest footpath at 60 miles long and receives thousands of visitors every year. The Knobstone Trail takes hikers through several Indiana State Forests along the Knobstone Escarpment and has been called “the most scenic trail in Indiana” by hikers from around the tri-state area. This makes it a marvelous location for boot brush stations to both raise awareness about invasive species and prevent the spread of invasives along the trail. Boot brush stations will be installed this summer.
Tool Share Program: In partnership with the Clark County SWCD, CCHIRP was awarded a grant from the Indiana Forestry Education Foundation to provide tool buckets to landowners to assist them with invasive species removal on their properties. The tool buckets include loppers, hand saws, spray bottles, buckthorn blasters, PPE, and resources for choosing native replacements. The tool buckets also include instructions on how to treat invasive species with herbicide effectively and safely. Tool buckets will be available to check out this summer at the Clark County SWCD Office.
Looking to the Future: CCHIRP is ready for another amazing year full of invasive species removal and spreading awareness about our amazing native plants. A new partnership the group is especially excited for is a partnership with the mayor of Charlestown to remove a row of Bradford Pears planted along the main strip in town. They plan to get the community involved by using the removal of the Bradford pears as an education and volunteer opportunity by providing workshops on identification, control, and native replacements to the Bradford Pear.
If you would like to get involved with CCHIRP, contact Melanie Davis at melanie.davis@in.nacdnet.net and like them on Facebook.
Resources:
Check out our full News blog and IISAW linktree to read more Indiana Invasive Species Awareness Week posts and highlights.
