Invasive Plants

Owen County SWCD is joining in the fight to help eradicate invasive species in our county and across the state, and replace these species with beneficial, native plants.

The 3 steps to address invasives are:

Identify
Eradicate
Replace

♦ Right now Owen SWCD is reaching out to landowners, livestock growers, and hay growers in Owen County about Three Invasive Plants That Can Affect Livestock. Please read the brochure to learn the identification, management, and health effects of the three invasive plants. Because they are listed as noxious weed, please remember it is the landowners responsibility to identify, control, and dispose of these invasive plants ASAP if they are found on your property. If your livestock come in contact with these plants please call your local veterinarian. If you come into contact with either Poison Hemlock or Wild Parsnip through inhalation or skin contact please seek medical attention ASAP.

What is an invasive species and are there common ones in Indiana?
Species that are not native to a local ecosystem and whose introduction is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health are considered invasive species. In Indiana, we have invasive plants, animals, insects and diseases. Some common invasive plants in Indiana include multiflora rose, Asian bush honeysuckle, autumn olive, burning bush, tree of heaven and Japanese stiltgrass.

How do invasive plants impact the environment?
Invasive species have a tactical advantage within the environment. Native species have co-evolved with local predators, diseases and the space they occupy within the environment. Invasive species are not impacted by local predators or diseases and tend to capitalize on open areas or disturbance within the environment. With this tactical advantage, invasive species out compete native species, disrupt pollinators, provide poor food resources for wildlife and even change soil chemistry.

Why not just let them grow if they will never go away?
The cost to native diversity is too high to let invasive plants spread unchecked. Losing the diversity and integrity of our native ecosystem has future ramifications we don’t understand. The best defense against invasive species is to not introduce any new ones. But once they have been introduced and taken hold, we can give native plants, animals and pollinators a better chance to survive if we remove invasive species. By removing and keeping invasive species out, we allow native species to take over and reoccupy the space the invasive plants have occupied, soil chemistry reverts to what it was, local wildlife thrives and native pollinators benefit from the native pollen sources.

How do you treat or control them?
The best way to treat invasive plants is by using an integrated pest management system. This sounds fancy, but it just means that you use the most effective cultural, mechanical, chemical or biological method to exploit a weakness in the invasive plants to kill or control them. A cultural practice would be cleaning boots and equipment before going into or leaving a natural area to prevent invasive seeds from spreading from one place to another. Mechanical control would be hand pulling small infestations of invasive plants before they go to seed. Chemical control would be using the right herbicide at the right time in the right amount to kill an invasive plant. Biological control is typically not something a landowner can do, but with some invasive pests we can introduce an insect or disease that will kill the invasive species. The key is having a plan to control invasive plants, be persistent in treatment and be patient knowing it will take some time to get them controlled.

What programs does the NRCS have to help?
Indiana NRCS collaborates with SICIM (Southern Indiana Cooperative Invasive Management) to help establish Cooperative Invasive Management Areas (CISMAs) at the county level. By working with SICIM Regional Specialists and your County CISMAs to develop a plan that includes controlling invasive plants many landowners are eligible for Farm Bill programs that assist with the invasive plant control. Invasive plants don’t care if they grow on your property or your neighbor’s property so it is critical to have local engagement and as many landowners as possible controlling invasive plants to reduce their ability to spread, protect soil resources and limit damage to native ecosystems.

Source: Indiana NRCS State Forester Dan Shaver

Who should I contact if I have questions about dealing with invasive species?
The effort to control invasive plants has grown tremendously in Indiana and so have the resources to deal with invasive plants.

Southern Indiana Cooperative Invasive Management (SICIM):
is a Cooperative Invasive Species Management Area (CISMA) in Indiana. This nonprofit has partnerships that can include federal, state, and local government agencies, tribes, individuals, and other interested groups that manage noxious weeds or invasive plants in a specific area (such as county). SICIM works with Landowners, Land Managers, and Organizations. They have compiled toolkits to provide landowners with the resources they need to identify invasive species threats, determine what options are effective to control them, and find assistance for control efforts.

They have statewide resources to help you find someone to visit with you on your property, to walk and talk about invasive species, and develop a control plan. This will help you grow in your understanding and identification of invasive plant and help you be successful and efficient in controlling invasive plants on your land.

For more links, resources, or to get involved please visit their website: https://www.sicim.info/

Owen County residents can join our current CISMA the Sweet Owen Woodland Network (SOWN in learning how to control invasive species through educational opportunities and work days.

Helpful Links

Purdue Extension page gathers resources that will be useful to people in south central Indiana for the identification and management of invasive plants and other species.

Purdue University Invasive Species: Learn, Identify, Report

WEBINARS

Invasive Plants Threaten Our Forests, Part 1: Invasive Plant Species Identification (Purdue FNR Webinar)

Invasive Plants Threaten Our Forests, Part 2: Control and Management (Purdue FNR Webinar)

RESOURCES FOR CENTRAL INDIANA

Indiana Invasive Species Council (IISC)

Indiana Department of Natural Resources (IDNR)

National Invasive Species Information Center (USDA NISIC)

Midwest Invasive Species Information Network (MISIN)

The Nature of Teaching: Invasive Plants – Impact on Environment and People (Purdue Extension FNR-532)

INVASIVE PLANTS: PLANT LISTS

Official IISC Invasive Plant List (PDF by Plant Group) (PDF by Latin Name), Indiana Invasive Species Council

Prohibited Invasive Terrestrial Plants, Terrestrial Invasive Species Rule (2019), Purdue Extension Landscape Report

Midwest Invasive Plant List (MIPN.org)

INVASIVE PLANTS: IDENTIFICATION

Species Information, Report IN (Early Detection and Distribution Mapping System – EDDMapS)

Invasive Plant Atlas of the United States

Invasive Plant Species (Indiana DNR)

INVASIVE PLANTS: REPORTING

Report IN – Early Detection and Distribution Mapping System (EDDMapS)

County Reports of Invasives – Early Detection and Distribution Mapping System (EDDMapS)

Report a Pest (Indiana DNR)

INVASIVE PLANTS: VIDEOS

Invasive Plant Species: Callery Pear (Purdue FNR-523-WV)

Invasive Plant Species: Burning Bush (Purdue FNR-582-WV)

Invasive Plant Species: Wintercreeper (Purdue FNR-524-WV)

Invasive Plant Species: Oriental Bittersweet (Purdue FNR-522-WV)

Invasive Plant Species: Asian Bush Honeysuckle (Purdue FNR)

Invasive Plant Species: Multiflora Rose (Purdue FNR)

Invasive Plant ID: Japanese Stiltgrass (Southern Indiana Cooperative Invasives Management)

Invasive Plant ID: Chinese Yam (Southern Indiana Cooperative Invasives Management)

INVASIVE PLANTS: MANAGEMENT

Publications and Websites

Midwest Invasive Plant Network (MIPN)

Midwest Invasive Species Information Network (MISIN)

Invasive Plant Removal Contractors (Indiana Invasive Species Council)

Tools to Manually Remove Invasive Shrubs (Indiana Invasive Species Council)

Invasive Plant Species Fact Sheets (Indiana), Invasive Plant Species Assessment Working Group (IPSAWG)

IPSAWG invasive plant species fact sheets: Asian Bush Honeysuckle, Autumn Olive, Beefsteak Plant (Perilla Mint), Blunt-leaved Privet, Burning Bush, Callery Pear, Common Reed, Crown Vetch, Garlic Mustard, Glossy Buckthorn, Japanese Chaff Flower, Japanese Honeysuckle, Japanese Hops, Japanese Knotweed, Kudzu, Mile A Minute Vine, Multiflora Rose, Oriental Bittersweet, Periwinkle, Poison Hemlock, Purple Winter Creeper, Reed Canarygrass, Wild Parsnip, and Yellow Bamboo.

INVASIVE PLANTS: ALTERNATIVES

USDA Plants: Is it a native plant or introduced? You can find out at USDA Plants.

-Type the scientific or common name for a map on where the plant is located. For example, Aronia arbutifolia (red chokeberry) is a native U.S. shrub located just south of Indiana. If planting non-natives, check to make sure it is not invasive in Indiana.

Alternative Options for Invasive Landscape Plants (Purdue publication ID-464)

Alternatives to Burning Bush for Fall Color (Purdue Landscape Report)

Landscape-Worthy Indiana Native Plants (Indiana Native Plant Society)

Landscape Alternatives for Invasive Plants of the Midwest (MIPN.org)

Native Trees of the Midwest (book)

Shrubs and Woody Vines of Indiana and the Midwest: Identification, Wildlife Values, and Landscaping Use (book)

INVASIVE SPECIES: DISEASE ORGANISMS

Sudden Oak Death (SOD) / Ramorum Blight

Invasive Species Fact Sheet: Ramorum blight Phytophthora ramorum (Michigan State)

Sudden Oak Death (Indiana DNR)

Special Alert: Sudden Oak Death (Purdue)

Plant and Pest Diagnostic Laboratory (Purdue)