Learn More and Get Involved
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. 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. 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].
2 Comments
Kim Gauen
1/23/2020 09:44:38 am
This is a wonderful and concise overview! I wish everyone in the county would read it.
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Claire
1/23/2020 12:57:00 pm
Thanks Kim-- we do too!
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