Why we do what we do

As most busy people tend to do, I occasionally ask myself why I'm doing all this. Why I'm burning the proverbial midnight oil and the candle at both ends, between a full-time job, full-time college courses, Girl Scouts and the BRAT, not to mention trying to make time for my wonderful husband and our sweet kids.

1) It is more important to pursue my passion than it is to sleep.

2) I will ultimately be a more well-rounded person if I challenge myself constantly.

3) I may never fit into a bikini, lounge around drinking martinis, or afford to hobnob at foreign film festivals to watch Fellini, but I'll be pursuing my own happiness.

4) I am sowing the seeds of stewardship in my own children and in the families of the communities of the Black River watershed.

5) I am part of something much larger than myself, am working toward a worthy goal, and am being a positive role model for my kids. I can only hope it works.

Second wave ~ June 30, 2007

Another hot day, another phase in our management scheme! Robin Reilly brought down a truck-load of stones from Luzenac America in Ludlow, and I brought a roll of landscape tarp from nearby Skyline Nursery. After photographing and evaluating the site, we decided the previous wave's hard work had some noticeable results. The stalk count was down to an estimated 25 per 3-foot-square plot, and the stems were not fully-grown back. Less than five feet tall, many were much spindlier than the first cut.

We cut what was there and also laid out tarp over a 45' x 12' area along the western edge of the site.

To cap off the afternoon, Jesse arrived and waded into the site to pull up poison ivy for us! He swears he is almost immune to the stuff and, although he did get a nasty rash in some spots, his efforts were a huge help.

First wave ~ June 3, 2007

It wasn't easy, nor was it especially fun...but it WAS rewarding! We stuffed knotweed into trash bags like there was no tomorrow. Jason Larochelle of Larochelle Landscaping came early in the day to cut down the entire site to ground-level. Stalks were approximately six to seven feet high, at an estimated density of 40-50 stalks per average 3-square-foot plot.

We discovered sumac and poison ivy growing blithely alongside the knotweed; the three adults all suffered some level of rash over the following two weeks, but eight-year-old Moira escaped untouched. All told, we collected 20 large bags of cut material, including two crowns that Allan dug out from near Route 11.

This was the sweatiest and slimiest day we could've asked for...and we all had to have long sleeves and long pants on! Not that it helped against the ivy; I think that we weren't as careful with ourselves after we were done as we could've been -- moving the bags around without long sleeves on was my own mistake.

Let's get started!

After researching invasive species in general and Japanese knotweed in particular this past semester, I have gotten up the courage to jump in with both feet. I attended and presented at a 2-day knotweed conference at Cornell University in October of 2006, and have been in contact with various researchers and professionals working on this "knotty" problem. One scientist, Jennifer Forman-Orth, has an ongoing citizen-science project called "Life on the Japanese Knotweed." It is a collection by both professionals and amateurs alike, photo-journaling insects and other life-forms living in and around Japanese knotweed: http://www.flickr.com/groups/lifeontheknotweed/

One example is this shot, of ants taking advantage of nectar found on the stem of the plant. Once the ants are attracted to this spot, they defend their nectar-source like junkyard dogs, often chasing potential herbivores who are on their way to munch the leaves waving above the ants.

Beginning in May of 2007, the Black River Action Team (BRAT) is conducting an all-out experiment with a demonstration site of Japanese knotweed in Springfield, VT. After mapping and measuring and taping off the site, we have begun to work it. The goal is for a 3-5 year regime of non-chemical methods to be implemented as a way of trying new techniques and combinations of techniques, and (more importantly) to draw landowners into the issue. If people know what it is and why we are trying to weaken it, they might be willing to lend us a hand at the site and perhaps even make some attempts on their own property.

Yes, that's me standing in front of the demo site in May of 2007, just before Heather and I taped it off and measured it. It's 40 feet by 50 feet, and that is Route 11 running across the back and the Black River running along the right side.

In the meantime, this demo site is being funded partly through a small grant from the New England Grassroots Environmental Fund (NEGEF) for the BRAT's WaterWorx environmental education program. Involving landowners is just the beginning; I am forming relationships with various youth groups in town as a means of connecting young people to their community through nature and physical effort. Working the demo site is a great way to gain a wider perspective, perhaps even a paradigm shift; it is my personal experience that being part of something larger than yourself makes you a better person.

The Clean & Clear Water Program is also providing funding for the demo site; funds from this program are being managed by the Town of Springfield and the NEGEF funding is being handled by my umbrella organization, the Connecticut River Watershed Council.

The demo site is located on Route 11 in Springfield, VT across the street from Riverside Middle School. If you are interested in a visit or in participating, please drop me an email to say hello and make inquiries: blackrivercleanup@yahoo.com.

Why knotweed, anyway?

Pretty, isn't it? The creamy-white flowers are plentiful in late summer, festooning river banks and roadsides across the US and the UK.

Japanese knotweed (Polygonum cuspidatum, Fallopia japonica) is an incredibly hardy, resilient and resourceful plant that originally hails from the volcanic slopes of Mt. Fuji and other Asian locations. Able to withstand the extreme conditions in such an environment, knotweed is a pioneer plant: it 'paves the way' for other species to gain a foothold.


In the mid-1800's, a Bavarian physician in the Dutch East Indies Army took an interest in the local flora whilst stationed in Japan. Phillip von Siebold brought to Europe a variety of specimens, including knotweed. Looking like bamboo, it won an award in the U.K. for Most Exotic New Ornamental and was hailed as an excellent stabilizer of soils. Within fifty years, knotweed was being sold through nursery catalogs to the United States.


Knotweed's lovely sprays of delicate creamy-white flowers are attractive to the eye in late summer, and the nectar fills a seasonal gap in the honey-maker's trade. It is easy to see the attraction that some folks have for this rugged plant! The young leaves, often used in teas and in vitamin supplements, hold an antioxidant called resveratrol. In late April or early May, tender young shoots (bearing a striking resemblance to asparagus) emerge before most other vegetation. They can be harvested and eaten in a variety of ways; check out this website from Steve "Wildman" Brill for recipes: http://www.econetwork.net/~wildmansteve/Plants.Folder/Knotweed.html









Now known for its rapid and persistent growth, knotweed has recently become a nuisance and has potential for serious habitat alteration. The U.K. treats the plant as a hazardous material, excavating infestations some nine feet deep and sixty feet around. Fragments of root material can easily re-sprout a whole new colony, a common event when high water scours river banks, taking chunks of stem and root material downstream. While the main root system is very shallow, the finger-thick rhizomes can extend up to nine feet deep! It is the shallow nature of the roots that can cause a streambank to more easily give way to rushing water, sending sometimes massive quantities of soil downstream to alter the aquatic habitat for all manner of life-forms. While some sediment can be not only natural but also healthy for a stream or river, too much can blanket the bottom, suffocate aquatic insects and fish, slow or alter the course of the stream-flow, raise the temperature of the water (which lowers how much oxygen it can hold, which is bad news for fish and insects), and can even be a breeding-ground for harmful bacteria like Giardia.



As the first plant to burst forth from the soil in early spring, knotweed unfurls large, alternating leaves and crowds out most other vegetation attempting to take root and reach the sunlight. It is this behavior, along with its rapid spreading capabilities and lack of predators that qualify it as an invasive species. After the plant flowers in late summer, the root (or rhizome) draws back the available nitrogen from the leaves to store for next spring. The leaves fall, and the dead canes persist for up to two years without disintegrating. While not strong enough to build anything with, dead knotweed canes can be rigid enough to cut skin or poke through landscaping tarp. They are often washed downstream in high water, causing miniature long-jams and exacerbating the damage already being done by lots of water with nowhere to go.






Knotweed is doing what plants do; it is simply doing it extremely well and has no natural controls here in the U.S. or in the U.K. In Japan, a rust fungus and a small beetle are among knotweed's predators; some of these are being tested rigorously as potential controllers of knotweed here and in the U.S. Travel the country and there will be stands of knotweed in almost every state; there are streams and rivers with literally nothing other than knotweed lining both banks. Rarely does knotweed extend far enough over the water to provide a cooling shade, nor does it add to aquatic habitat. Tree canopy is vital for this. In addition, when a tree falls into a stream, it stays there long enough to create a great little hiding spot for fish as well as food and habitat for other creatures. When knotweed falls into a stream, it decomposes too rapidly to be of value for the river creatures, and tends to float downstream until it finds a new spot to root.



Complete eradication of this plant in the U.S. or the U.K. is probably never going to be a reality. Managing it, controlling its spread and preventing new colonies is our best shot at keeping our backyards from being overrun and our streams and rivers healthy and thriving.