Thank you to everyone who has put forth so much effort, time and interest for our Japanese knotweed demonstration site this year, our first attempt at mechanical management of this fascinating and persistent plant. Funding came from the New England Grassroots Environmental Fund, input and collaboration from the Planning Commission, the Natural Resources Conservation District and the Agency of Natural Resources. Permission and partnership with the Town of Springfield is essential to this project (many thanks to Town Manager, Bob Forguites for helping us get under way expeditiously).
Input, advice, encouragement and suggestions came from so many corners that I'm bound to forget a few...but thank you to all the scientists, biologists, authors, ecologists and community leaders who have answered my pesky questions and offered wisdom from your own experiences.
Community support has been simply outstanding, from Jason of Larochelle Landscaping to Bibens ACE Hardware and Skyline Nursery ~ your services and supplies have been extremely helpful! The value of commitment from a great group of outstanding volunteers is truly immeasurable. Heather, Robin, Jan, Jesse, Allan and Moira...thank you all from the bottom of my heart. And a big hug of thanks to my wonderful hubby, John, for putting up with all my knotweed zaniness this past year!
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Well, the knotweed is hibernating for the season, so we are moving forward with other aspects of the project. I had the distinct pleasure of meeting with Josh O'Neill today, a UVM student whose GPS class is branching out to donate their services to the community-at-large. He will be spending time in the upper reaches of the Black River watershed for the next five weeks, taking GPS points and developing some fabulous maps for us!
In addition to knowing where the knotweed is along Route 100 from Black Pond to Ludlow, Josh will be including data on the soil types, topography, tributary streams, and slope within a 100' buffer from the river and from the road. He'll be tying this in to land use maps from the Regional Planning Commission, and will also be working to develop a user-friendly, hands-on ArcReader GIS tool for the BRAT website!
Keep an eye on us: http://www.blackriveractionteam.org/.
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