Photo courtesy of Glacier Ranger District
Lions Club members and local kids take a break after pulling bird vetch along the bike path.
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Photo courtesy of Glacier Ranger District |
By Kate Mohatt
Special to the Turnagain Times
Fall has officially arrived and with it comes a much deserved break from the invasive weed wars Girdwood valley and beyond have been fighting valiantly all summer. The common goal of invasive weed eradication drew a lot of hard working individuals and groups, thanks in part to organized weed pulls and an increase in invasive plant awareness. This article is to serve as a follow-up of this year’s invasive plant war activities and to acknowledge and thank all those tireless weed-pulling participants.
Approximately 70 people total participated in the three organized weed pulls this summer, and a few individuals in the community participated on their own time. The first weed pull of the year in the Soccer field resulted in ten bags of newly emerging hempnettle and bird vetch. We thank the Lion’s Club for participating in this pull.
In Moose Flats, seven volunteers worked hard in the rain to extract eight bags worth of hemp nettle. At Alyeska Resort, 68 man hours of pulling culminated in the removal of multiple bags of bird vetch, white sweet clover, and big leaf lupine. Brownie Troop 411, lead by Amy Stone and Joan Frankevich, worked a whopping 412 brownie hours at eradicating non-native forget-me-not in front of the Marlow Pavilion. To aid in re-vegetation, the Brownies replanted the area with native plant species.
Maggie Donnelly deserves a “Golden Clover” award for exceptional effort at eradicating invasive white sweet clover. We also thank Carol Sanner for “adopting an infestation” at the Girdwood Airport and other individuals like Gabrielle Markel who spent time pulling weeds in their neighborhoods.
In addition to the volunteer efforts of individuals and groups in the community, the USFS Glacier Ranger District ecology department expanded the invasive plant program by partnering with the local Girdwood Parks and Recreation department to secure a grant through the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. This money was used to hire an Americorps (SAGA) crew to pull invasive plants in the Girdwood Valley for two weeks. During this time, the SAGA crew pulled well over 100 bags of weeds from along five miles of road and pathway in Girdwood and Moose Flats. Species targeted include orange hawkweed, white sweetclover, bird vetch, hemp nettle, and reed canary grass.
One may get the impression that invasive plants have already won when considering the amount and variety of weeds pulled this year in Girdwood and beyond. Looking at the larger picture, this is not the case as Alaska remains largely pristine in terms of intact native plant communities. In fact, the only weed-free National Parks are located in Alaska. Control efforts such as these are essential in preventing additional spread of invasive plants into these more pristine environments. It is inevitable that we will need to continue to stay vigilant with invasive weed eradication, and through efforts like these we are able to increase vigilance through education and awareness within the community. Preventing spread of invasive plants at home will no doubt result in fewer infestations in more pristine environments such as our National Forests and Parks. Way to “pull-together” Girdwood and we look forward to continuing the battle next year!
Come visit us in Girdwood at the Glacier Ranger District, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. The Begich Boggs Visitor Center will be closed again this winter.