Invasive Plant Species in the Area
I have created a slideshow with an overview of some common invasive plant species in Iowa. I've included the ones that are commonly treated by Polk County Conservation for eradication n the Fourmile Creek Watershed area.
Prior to the slideshow, I wanted to share a video of Blank Park Zoo, located in southern Des Moines, not too far outside of Fourmile Creek Watershed. They've taken a very unique and interesting approach on tackling invasives. They dual purpose invasive plants by removing them and using them as browse and/or enrichment.
This is an excellent idea! In this case, professionals who know what they are doing are removing appropriate tree species and being careful not to spread seed of any non-native plant. This is an extremely important note to make, as taking care not to unintentionally spread seed is of utmost importance.
Here is the slideshow of invasive species that I have put together. Below the slideshow are a few more recommendations for best management practices as well as additional resources on other invasive species throughout the state of Iowa.
Iowa Environmental Focus suggests these steps (these are great practices anywhere)
Do not buy/sell firewood outside of your county. Emerald Ash Borer can spread this way.
Remove seeds from shoes/clothes after being outdoors as this can be an unknowing way of spreading invasives.
Remove invasive plants where you recognize them. Iowa Environmental Focus suggests getting involved with parks/groups who focus on invasive species removal. I would highly caution removing invasive species yourself unless you are 100% of of species idea as some invasive plant species look very similar to others. Twice within the last year I have had to be careful with what I was removing to be sure I wasn't removing native plant species. I've been doing a fair bit to remove tree of heaven seedlings from an area where I currently work in Virginia and caught myself (after I pulled it unfortunately) removing a Shining Sumac (Rhus copallinum). I was more careful with every subsequent removal. The second time I was making strides to remove Persian Silk Tree (Albizia julibrissin) from an area and found many seedlings. I also noticed to that Partridge Pea (Chamaecrista fasiculata) was present in the area, discernable in my case by the tiny plants flowering and some having seed pods. I took care not to remove these as they are beneificial native species. As legumes, they share similar leaf characteristics as the invasive Silk Tree.
Source: https://iowaenvironmentalfocus.org/tag/invasive-species/
Boating - ensure that when you trailer your boat from a day out, you remove invasives from the boat trailer. Duckweed (Lemna sp.) commonly spreads this way as well as hydrilla (Hydrilla verticillata).
Iowa Invasive Plants: https://www.iowadnr.gov/conservation/forestry/forest-health/invasive-plants
Iowa Invasive Aquatics: https://www.iowadnr.gov/Fishing/About-Fishing-in-Iowa/Fighting-Invasive-Species
Invasive Inverts: https://www.iowadnr.gov/Fishing/About-Fishing-in-Iowa/Fighting-Invasive-Species/Aquatic-Invasive-Invertebrates
Invasive Fish: https://www.iowadnr.gov/Fishing/About-Fishing-in-Iowa/Fighting-Invasive-Species/Invasive-Fish
Invasive species good general background info: https://naturalresources.extension.iastate.edu/invasives
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