Hamilton County Fights Invasive Species

​As long as humans have traveled across the earth, they have purposefully and sometimes unknowingly transported plants, animals, insects, and other organisms on their bodies, in shipping containers, on their shoes, etc.  When an organism is brought to an area it did not traditionally live , it is considered exotic. Some of these exotic species, when uninhibited by the environmental conditions and predators of their natural home, are able to feed, reproduce, and spread with no limitations.  These species "invade" and spread, sometimes causing great environmental destruction in their path. These species are considered invasive. 

​Common invasive species in Hamilton County include callery pear (Bradford, Aristocrat, etc.), Asian honeysuckle, garlic mustard, white mulberry, sweet autumn clematis, wintercreeper, autumn olive, burning bush, English ivy, and many more. Invasive species are an issue that threaten all of us—whether they are located on our property or not. They threaten our ecosystem, natural areas, economy, agriculture and public health. The only solution is education and collaborative efforts among Hamilton County landowners and land managers to make stewardship choices that protect, preserve, and improve our land.
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Luckily, many of these property owners and managers are building on the state and nationwide momentum to address invasive species by coming together to form a Cooperative Invasive Species Management Area (CISMA) in Hamilton County. This effort is being coordinated and led by the SWCD.

Claire Lane
Urban Conservationist

​What is a native species?
A plant or animal that has evolved in a given place over a period of time sufficient to develop complex and essential relationships with the physical environment and other organisms in a given ecological community (Darke & Tallamy, 2014).

Invasive species...
1. Are non-native
2. Cause harm to the environment, human health, and the economy

Honeysuckle taking over the under story at Cheeney Creek Natural Area in Fishers

Invasive lesser celandine choking out native Virginia bluebells at Flowing Well Park in Carmel

Invasive wintercreeper smothering native groundcovers and trees at Potters Bridge Park in Noblesville.

Invasive species harm

• 83% of invasive woody species in natural areas came from plants used in landscaping.
• $5.87 million was spent in Indiana fighting invasive vegetative species in 2012 by just 116 land owners.
• Direct damage, treatment costs, and losses to productivity caused by invasive plants cost $35 billion annually in US.

​The CISMA is a collaborative group of landowners, environmental groups, municipalities, and interested citizens. The CISMA is a great way to get involved and learn about invasives, connect to resources, and be part of the solution—whether you are a novice or expert. In 2020, the CISMA will be focusing on educational efforts and providing technical assistance to landowners. This technical assistance will include free site visits to help landowners identify invasive species threats on their properties and develop management plans to address the invasives and encourage the growth of native species. This service is available thanks to the Hamilton County Council’s recognition of the importance of invasive species management in the county. A variety of invasive species educational workshops, events, and workdays are also planned for 2020.  I invite you to check out some of the ways you can learn more or be involved below.


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Learn More and Get Involved
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Learn about invasive species and what you can do
We’ve compiled our favorite invasive species resources on our website.  Take a look to find great identification and management/control guides to help you combat invasives on your property.
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Join the CISMA
Want to be a part of the Hamilton County Cooperative Invasive Species Management Area group? Interested citizens are welcome to join—you do not have to be an expert! Join us for our monthly meetings or join a committee to put your special skills or interests to use in our communities fight against invasive species.
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Join the CISMA working group mailing list by filling out the form on the CISMA page.

2020 CISMA State Conference
On March 26th, Hamilton County will play host to the first ever statewide CISMA conference. CISMA reps, parks professionals, land managers, foresters, contractors, farmers, landscape professionals, and interested citizens will meet in Noblesville for a day long conference focused on building partnerships across the state to exchange information and increase capacity for conservation. The event will include technical control training, the latest research and news, and an overview of the Terrestrial Plant Rule which will become enforceable in April.
Do not miss this amazing opportunity right in our own backyard. Registration is now open and sponsorship opportunities are also available. Learn more and register here.

2020 Spring Sustainability Workshop- Invasive Species
Each spring the Urban Conservation program holds a Sustainability Workshop. The workshop topic varies each year according to emerging technology, new resources, and feedback from SWCD program participants. This year, the workshop will focus on invasive species. This workshop will be held on Saturday April 18th at the 4-H Fairgrounds in Noblesville. Information on the threat of invasive species and why natives are important, invasive species ID, management techniques, and more will be shared as well as hands on control demonstrations.  This workshop will be ideal for landowners who want to learn how to manage invasive species on their property.

Hamilton County Weed Wrangle
Weed Wrangles are events hosted nationwide to gather volunteer effort to help control invasive plants that are negatively impacting our public parks, green spaces and natural areas. For instance, garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata) is a plant in the mustard family that is native to Europe that can harm our native plants and wildlife. In addition to eliminating our native plants, research shows that garlic mustard can be fatal to several butterfly species. For instance, the West Virginia white butterfly (Pieris virginiensis) is a rare species that lays eggs on plants in the mustard family. Butterfly eggs laid on garlic mustard do not survive. Community members learn to identify and control through hands-on removal of these invasive trees, shrubs, vines and plants.

At Weed Wrangles, volunteers (supervised by an expert) are learning across America to identify and manage invasive plants. We are hoping that by engaging our community members and challenging them to act in their own spaces we foster a collective effort to have a large and positive impact for our native plants and wildlife.

On Saturday May 2nd, the Hamilton County CISMA partners will be hosting a series of Weed Wrangles across Hamilton County.  These events will be perfect opportunities to join with other like-minded individuals for a volunteer workday targeting invasive species that are threatening beloved local natural areas.

Event locations and times are being finalized and more information should be available soon. If you are interested, mark May 2nd on your calendar and sign up for the CISMA mailing list for notifications.
 
Technical Assistance
The SWCD offers technical assistance to Hamilton County property owners on a variety of conservation and natural resources issues. This free, on-site assistance is meant to help urban and rural property owners identify natural resource solutions on their properties that benefit property values and our environment. We are happy to be offering more robust invasive species technical assistance in 2020. These on-site property evaluations will help you identify invasive species issues on your property and develop a management and restoration plan. This assistance is primarily focused toward multi-acre and wooded properties but evaluations of smaller or residential properties may be available if several homeowners in a neighborhood solicit evaluations. For more information, email Andrew Fritz, Urban Conservation Technician, at [email protected].