Garlic Mustard Eradication Project
Early Detection/ Rapid Response for Invasive Plants
Halting the Spread of Garlic Mustard (Alliaria petiolata) in the Northwest Region of Michigan's Lower Peninsula via Coordination with Transportation Agencies.
A Cooperative Project between: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Huron-Mansitee National Forests and U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.
Started in 2004, the Early Detection/Rapid Response Program forged between the National Park Service at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore and the Forest Service's Huron-Manistee National Forest is charging ahead in 2005.
State and County agents surveying garlic mustard
Upon finding the highly invasive woodland plant, garlic mustard, on park and forest lands in the northern Lower Peninsula, agency representatives, Steve Yancho (Sleeping Bear's Chief of Natural Resources) and Alix Cleveland (Huron-Manistee National Forests' Plant Ecologist) decided to join forces to halt the plant's progress and to contain its spread. Their evaluations showed that, in nearly all cases, roadside infestations of garlic mustard served as the initial source and then the prime means of large-scale dispersion onto federal lands.
Garlic mustard plants
Beginning in 2004 with funds from the Midwest Natural Resources Group, seven meetings were held to inform county road commissioners and state transportation officials of the significant threat garlic mustard posed to National Forest and National Park ecosystems and the role that their own road maintenance activities played in the plant's spread. As a result of these meetings, transportation staff agreed to assist in mapping and identification of roadside populations, expressed interest in learning about control options, and became willing to work further with Sleeping Bear Dunes and Huron-Manistee National Forest.
Garlic mustard growing on forest floor
In mid-May 2005 these discussions will continue in the course of two, separate, day-long sessions - training on how to organize a Cooperative Weed Management Area and an in-depth workshop on garlic mustard control, mapping, and identification. It is expected that public concern coupled with the interests of the many organizations in attendance will serve as the foundation for a successful garlic mustard control program. By engaging groups beyond the initial federal land managing and county/state transportation agencies, it is believed that community and area-wide support will be generated.
Contact
Libby Rice, sawhet@yahoo.com