If you spend any time near the Mad River, it’s more than likely you’ve noticed the thick stands of bamboo-looking plants that infest its banks. All that is knotweed, and it’s darn hard to keep at bay. Mixed in near the river are other invasive plants that offer little value to local wildlife and our native ecosystem, like honeysuckle and buckthorn. As invasives grow and expand, the native plants that make our local natural world function become choked out. As a way to test non-chemical methods to control these invasive plants on Waitsfield’s Austin Parcel, we partnered with the Town of Waitsfield, Friends of the Mad River, and Intervale Conservation Nursery.
For two years we hacked, cut, pulled, and composted knotweed, honeysuckle, and buckthorn—more than 1,200 plants! We then planted 19 different native species in their place, including box elder, silky dogwood, and silver maple, totaling more than 500 individual plants. The result so far is a successful project. We’re working with our partners to determine a long-term plan, but the idea is that new native plants will over-shadow and out-compete the invasive plants while we keep cutting and pulling the unwanted plants. The Austin Parcel is almost entirely free of invasive plants and is restored to a functional floodplain with thriving native plants. Take a walk on the Path to check it out!