From the shores of coastal plain ponds to vine-covered hillsides, the LIISMA team continued the field season into October with phragmites removal and kudzu monitoring.
When the LIISMA team returned to Sears Bellows County Park, they found a familiar sight: a sparse stand of phragmites on Bellows Pond, kept in check by our control efforts. The team manages this small stand by spading, working to protect the native vegetation that surrounds it. Later, the team ventured farther into the park to revisit another stand growing on the far side of Sears Pond – cutting it where possible to prevent its spread around the otherwise intact ecosystem.
Gathering spades, handsaws, and cultivators, the team then prepared for kudzu control and monitoring, in assistance of the NYSDEC Kudzu Control Team. This year the LIISMA crew has a handful of sites to visit scattered across the region. When the telltale compound leaves are found, the team follows the vine to its source in the ground, removing the root crown with hand tools and recording all the associated site data. Monitoring the sites helps the team to see if the control was successful. Slowly but surely, NYSDEC and LIISMA are working to eradicate the invasive vine from the region.
Thank you to our partners at Suffolk County Parks, and to the NYSDEC Kudzu Control Team.
Want to learn more about the species mentioned in this article? Check out these species pages!
