CIPWG Oct 2005 Update

1. The Connecticut Invasive Plant Working Group will convene a symposium in the fall of 2006. We invite you to join the Planning Committee to provide input as we plan our third symposium. Charlotte Pyle (USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service) will serve as Chairperson for the committee. To sign up for the Planning Committee, contact Donna Ellis (email donna.ellis@uconn.edu; phone 860-486-6448) by October 14. The first meeting will occur in October.

2. Congratulations to the Invasive Plant Atlas of New England (IPANE) for a very successful New England Invasive Plant Summit recently held in Framingham, MA. The summit featured up-to-date invasive plant research and management information, a number of featured speakers on invasive plant topics, contributed papers and posters, a panel discussion, and an exhibit area. Visit the IPANE website at www.ipane.org

3. If you subscribe to the CIPWG-L list serve you may have noticed an increase in requests for volunteers to staff the CIPWG exhibit and provide invasive plant information at public events and conferences. We look forward to the opportunity to increase awareness of invasive plants at these events and welcome your participation. Recent requests for volunteers are for the a) Brooksvale Fall Festival on Saturday, October 15 in Hamden, CT and b) CACIWC’S 28th Annual Meeting & Environmental Conference for Municipal Conservation and Inland Wetlands Commissioners and Staff on Saturday, November 5 in Wallingford, CT. If you can help out at the CIPWG exhibit, please contact Donna Ellis.

4. Mile-a-minute vine (Polygonum>perfoliatum) has recently been confirmed in New Milford, CT. This represents the fourth Connecticut town (other towns include Bridgewater, Greenwich and Westport) where populations have been found. Mile-a-minute vine is a highly aggressive, non-native invasive plant that can grow up to 6 inches per day, quickly smothering surrounding vegetation. We are in the process of contacting town staff, abutting property owners, and local newspapers to alert the public about this plant and to be on the lookout for it. Control efforts are underway.

5. Water chestnut (Trapa natans) continues to spread in Connecticut. Numerous sites are present along the Connecticut River watershed, including East Hartford, Glastonbury, Hartford, Lyme, Middletown, Portland, and Rocky Hill as well as in the towns of Eastford, Litchfield, and Salisbury. The plant populations vary from site to site, with some locations having just a few plants that have already been removed.

6. Survey activities for giant hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum) continued during the 2005 summer. Giant hogweed plants were found in two new Connecticut locations, Hampton in Windham County and Lime Rock/Salisbury in Litchfield County. Control is underway at these sites, and they will be monitored over the next few years. The CIPWG website has a giant hogweed invasive plant alert, distribution map, photos, and control information available for more information.

7. The Connecticut Invasive Plant Working Group website is being redesigned by our webmaster Kristen Ponak for easier navigation. We hope to launch the ‘new look’ in the next few weeks. One of the new features on the website will be an “Invader of the Month,” which will feature an invasive non-native plant in Connecticut or New England and will include timely information on new occurrences, research, and management in progress. If you would like to contribute a write up on an invasive plant (1 to 2 page maximum) we have a few openings on the monthly calendar, so please contact Donna Ellis (email donna.ellis@uconn.edu; phone 860-486-6448) to sign up.

8. The Connecticut Invasive Plants Council will be meeting on October 11, November 1, and December 13, 2005. The meetings, which begin at 10:30 a.m., are open to the public and will be held at the CT Department of Environmental Protection, 79 Elm Street in Hartford, CT.

9. Applications are currently being accepted for Connecticut’s Landowner Incentive Program (LIP). This is a new program to provide technical and financial assistance for landowners to protect or restore natural habitats. The deadline for applications is October 31, 2005. For more information contact Judy Wilson, Private Lands Program Coordinator, CT DEP Eastern District Headquarters, 209 Hebron Road, Marlborough, CT 06447, (860) 295-9523 (email judy.wilson@po.state.ct.us) or visit the website at http://www.dep.state.ct.us/burnatr/wildlife/geninfo/fedaid/lip/lip.htm).

THE NEXT GENERAL MEETING OF THE CONNECTICUT INVASIVE PLANT WORKING GROUP WILL BE HELD IN NOVEMBER. DETAILS TO FOLLOW.