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Updated 10/29/09. Latest news is at the bottom of the post. -------------------------------------------------------- Brazilian water-weed success story from Washington State CHRISTIAN HILL; The Olympian The NewsTribune.com Officials hope they've finally eradicated a noxious plant choking a stretch of the Chehalis River in south Thurston County, WA more than 10 years after it was discovered there. The Thurston County Noxious Weed Control Board completed the annual removal of Brazilian elodea ( Egeria densa ) from the salmon-bearing river at the end of September and could find no remaining trace of the plant. It will continue to monitor the river, and the plant will be deemed eradicated if there’s no evidence of its return in the next three years, said Rick Johnson, Thurston County’s noxious weed coordinator. “We’re thrilled we’re in front of it instead of playing catch-up,” he said. Brazilian elodea is a pesky plant. Rooting in waters up to 20 feet deep, the dark-green, fast-growin...

Updated 10/22. The latest news is at the bottom of this post. -------------------------------------------------------- Culls Expand as the Deer Chomp Away By JOSEPH BERGER, NY Times TAIT E. JOHANSSON and James F. Nordgren do not hate animals. In fact, they help run the Bedford Audubon Society, which protects birds and other wildlife in northeastern Westchester and eastern Putnam Counties. Yet, as they gaze across a meadow to a forest behind their headquarters here, their resolve is strengthened to support a measure that the public does not usually associate with conservation groups — deploying bowhunters to kill white-tailed deer. What the two glimpse beyond the meadow is a four-foot-high void, called a browseline, under the dense stands of hickory, maple and oak trees. The void has been carved out by deer, which have gobbled up all the low-rise shrubs, wildflowers and saplings as efficiently as a hedge trimmer. With no trees younger than 20 years to speak of in those woods, these con...

Updated 10/17. Newest articles are at the bottom of the post. -------------------------------------------------------- Goats help planned rec center take a bite toward progress Animals clear the weeds for planned recreation, environmental center in city's Druid Hill Park By Meredith Cohn, BaltimoreSun.com The decrepit mansion once served as home to the president of the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore, but two decades of brush has grown and, along with vandals, has made it uninhabitable. Cue the goats. In what's the first step to a $10 million project to transform this piece of Druid Hill Park into an environmental and recreational center for the city, the four-legged weed whackers have cleared a half-acre ring of ivy and other invasive species. The herd of 40 will be brought back to clear the rest of the 9-acre parcel that few have used, legally anyway, for years. "It's been an eyesore and has all sorts of unsavory activity going on," said Jean DuBose, director of deve...

Updated 10/10 ------------------------------------------------------- Underground RR talk and invasives removal, Oct. 10 WHEN: Saturday, October 10, 9:30am – 12:00pm WHERE: Underground Railroad Experience Trail, 16501 Norwood Road, Sandy Spring, MD WHAT: Dr. Jenny Masur of the National Park Service will speak on the history of the Underground Railroad in the DC area. Dr. Masur is the National Capitol Region Manager for the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom. Dr. Masur will highlight some of the personalities in Montgomery County, locations, and methods of escape through the Underground Railroad system. We will then remove invasive plant species. RSVP: Jeremy Arling at jeremy.arling[at]maryland.sierraclub.org. DIRECTIONS AND MORE INFO: Link ------------------------------------------------------- Georgia EPPC annual meeting The Georgia Exotic Pest Plant Council Annual Meeting to be held at the State Botanical Garden in Athens on Thursday Nov. 5. Time is running out for ear...