By Abby Bezrutczyk
LIISMA has approved five invasive species subcontracts with funding from the New York State Environmental Protection Fund (EPF). EPF is administered by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. The projects involve invasive species management and outreach across the LIISMA region. This month, we are highlighting a project on the tip of Long Island – interpretive signage for Arthraxon hispidus in Montauk County Park through Third House Nature Center!
To some, grass identification seems like a superpower. But if you know what you’re looking for, or have a pulse on the flora of a particular ecosystem, you can spot a grass like Arthraxon hispidus (small carpet grass, “Arthraxon”) in its wavy mat along a trails edge. Our partners at Third House Nature Center had the keen eyes to detect this invasive grass back in 2017 in Montauk County Park – making it the second known population known to New York. Now to contain the population and prevent its spread, LIISMA is supporting their effort through our NYS DEC-funded subcontracts to engage and educate park-goers of all kinds.
Native to East and Southern Asia, Arthraxon was first documented in the U.S. in the 1870’s where it thrives in the moisture; dips in a trail’s edge, damp meadows, and alongside irrigated crops are all favorite habitats of the grass. Where it thrives, it can form monocultures – which is particularly concerning in Montauk County Park, home to dozens of rare species some of which were recently detected along the same trails as the Arthraxon front.
If you know deer tongue grass (Dichanthelium clandestinum), with its 2-10 inches long leaves that clasp around the stem, steadying it upward, then you can also imagine Arthraxon– which has 1-2 inch length clasping leaves all the way up, with characteristic wavy and hairy edges (read more on its description here). Later in the summer its seeds are easily transported via water, animals, and mowing equipment– making management (mowing, pulling, or even chemical control) before seedset a necessity.
In addition to surveying for this species at Montauk County Park and elsewhere, LIISMA is proud to support Third House Nature Center’s efforts in addressing this invasive grass. Their commitment and work on invasive surveying and removal in the County Park puts them on the front lines in protecting the unique ecosystems of Montauk, a mission accomplished entirely by volunteers. But it’s their focus on environmental education that takes the spotlight in this project: creating an engaging and informative sign that alerts visitors about Arthaxon, while also highlighting the ecologically valuable species present that the untrained eye might miss.
In the coming months, LIISMA will work with Third House Nature Center on developing this sign for park visitors, be they hikers, hunters, anglers, paddlers. We also want to make it accessible, with colorblind-friendly palettes, and at just the right height for kids to engage with it too. A boot brush station, designed to help clean your gear upon entering and exiting the park, may accompany the sign and prevent seed spread. And leaf by leaf, we’ll all become a little better at identifying grasses.
