THE QUEST FOR SUCCESS IN THE BATTLE AGAINST INVASIVES

When a city's nature preserve faced a serious wildlife threat, the experts at Plateau Land & Wildlife Management joined forces with an inspiring and dedicated corps of volunteers and a Central Texas municipality to help save a wildlife gem from an invasive species invasion.

When hiking through these woodlands, rich with mature oaks and old Texas persimmons, crossing creeks, and listening to the calls of birds overhead, it would be easy to forget you are communing with nature in the heart of a bustling city. Located on nearly 40 acres in an urban area, this nature preserve hosts unique geology, natural springs, and some of the only habitat available for wildlife in the area.

But this urban gem in a municipality's nature preserves system also bore the unfortunate results of generations of human error.

Staring down one of the most pressing issues in open space areas in and around urban areas, dedicated volunteers and the experts at Plateau Land & Wildlife Management worked together to halt an unwelcome foreign invasion and serious threat to its native wildlife. Concerned neighbors, friends, agencies and other partners, fought back against an invasion of non-native plant species.

While municipalities frequently rely considerably on volunteers to manage natural areas, these volunteers are not allowed, for safety reasons, to operate brush management equipment. When certain trees such as ligustrum call for chainsaws and chippers, and shrubs such as nandina require herbicide treatment, which most volunteers are not equipped or certified to handle, qualified alternatives must be sourced.

Enter Plateau.

Plateau's Senior Wildlife Biologist, Keith Olenick, and the city collaborated on a strategic plan that would leverage Plateau's vast land management expertise and resources with the past efforts of the city and its volunteers. By establishing a more systematic attack on these ruthless exotics, impacts to native vegetation vital to wildlife for food and cover sources would be minimized. Olenick's ground work assessed the damage done, and led to a way to stem the tide of these dense stands of invasives that create wildlife-poor monocultures.

"Healthy, diverse native plant communities provide better habitat for wildlife," explains Olenick. "But it was the actions by human communities that ultimately led to the situation the nature preserve faced today."

In this case, the main invasive species affecting the preserve is Japanese privet or ligustrum. While some ligustrum was first introduced to the Central Texas area in the mid 1800s, even today's increased knowledge and widespread information on the plant's harmful effects has failed to slow its local commercial availability. Along with other exotic plants, the ligustrum is most likely being spread by cedar waxwings, robins and other birds who feast on the non-natives unwittingly or uncaringly planted in nearby backyards. The birds, when in need of water, drink in the preserve's creek where they also pass digested seeds which take root and spread.

With Olenick's biological expertise and a team of professional field service technicians, Plateau's ecologically smart work laid the foundation for the city to use volunteers to make further improvements such as moving the downed non-natives. Use of volunteers has allowed the city to accomplish large amounts of manual labor, leaving much of the technical work such as plant identification on difficult plants and herbicide application to Plateau.

"We have a tremendous arsenal of tools and techniques to do an effective job in an environmentally safe way," explains Olenick. "We use aquatic-safe herbicides, we know the difference between natives and non-natives that may look similar, and we have the experience and knowledge to maximize efficiency in this battle."

Since Plateau has started chipping away at the invasives, volunteers have noted a noticeable difference in the area. Preserve visitors can once again see creeks and native riparian vegetation. As a bonus, the mulch from ground-up ligustrum has softened trail surface and controlled erosion.

Ultimately, in the invasives battle, it will take professional knowledge, civilian volunteers, and a persistence and passion by all to preserve and protect the native wildlife

"The synergistic relationship between Plateau and the volunteers makes for greater work efficiency and maximizes the value of the money being spent by the city and other fundraising organizations," says Olenick. "I'm really excited about the opportunity Plateau has had to be an instrumental part of the work being done, and look forward to helping more municipal nature preserves in Texas."

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Economic and ecological cost of non-native plant species
Invading alien species in the United States cause major environmental damages and losses adding up to almost $120 billion per year. There are approximately 50,000 foreign species and the number is increasing. About 42% of the species on the threatened or endangered species lists are at risk primarily because of alien-invasive species.

(Update on the environmental and economic costs associated with alien-invasive species in the United States. David Pimentel, Rodolfo Zuniga and Doug Morrison. College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Cornell University).
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TexasInvasives.org
TexasInvasives.org is a partnership created to manage non-native invasive plants and pests in Texas. The partnership includes state and federal agencies, conservation organizations, green industry, academia and other private and public stakeholders who share in the common goal of protecting Texas from the threat of invasive species. For more information on invasive plant species, the organization, and how you can help stop the spread, visit TexasInvasives.org.

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For more information on Plateau's invasives control and brush management, contact us today!