It's
pretty, it's invasive, and it's popping up everywhere
Dame's rocket
May
29, 2007-- Dame's
rocket, a boldly-colored
bloomer,
is spreading from gardens and highways to just
about everywhere.
That's
not good news. Dame's rocket is an invasive.
"This
weed in the mustard family has many similarities
with garlic mustard, a related plant that has
inundated woodlands in southern and eastern Wisconsin
in recent years," according to the University
of Wisconsin. "Dame's rocket has been around
Wisconsin for many years, but seems to be showing
up in more and more sites all the time. It is
now at a relatively early stage of encroachment."
The
plant has not been fully studied, according to
the Department of Natural Resources.
"In
fact, it is not yet widely recognized as an invasive
plant in the Midwest," the DNR said. "Consequently,
this plant may not be recognized as a troublesome
species until it is well-established as a formidable
problem."
Part
of the darned dame's proliferation can be attributed
to its inclusion in packages of wildflower seeds,
according to the DNR.
Dame's
rocket is prolific on I-94 west of Milwaukee.
It also is blooming in local parks and natural
areas.
"Locating
and removing plants immediately before seed sets
is the best way to prevent the spread of dame's
rocket," according to the DNR. "Be sure
to check the contents of "wildflower"
seed mixes for this species, and do not plant
those that carry it."
DeBruin
vows invasives control effort
Aug.
21, 2006 -- A new effort to control
the invasive plant species that are ravaging county
parks will start in the fall, according to County
Supervisor Lynne DeBruin.
"I
think it's such a daunting task that if we don't
come up with a conscious plan, it won't get dealt
with," she said.
DeBruin
said she wants to get representatives from the
county Parks Department, the DNR, the County Board
and other affected agencies together to figure
out how to tackle the rapidly spreading problem.
County
officials have not considered controlling invasives
a top priority, DeBruin said.
"They're
not high on my colleagues' wish list," she
said. "The cost of even making a dent in
it, I think, is what is scaring colleagues."
Invasive
plant species can wipe out desirable plants, have
a negative impact on the food chain, and threaten
industries like tourism and forestry, experts
say.
DeBruin
said she would like to launch pilot invasives
control efforts on county property that is fairly
isolated from other invasive-infested property
to reduce the chances of a recurrence of invasive
invasion.
One
thing that will not work, she said, is depending
on volunteers to control invasives.
"Invasive
weeds are labor intensive," she said. Relying
on volunteers alone, she said, would be "highly
unusual and an unrealistic expectation....I don't
see the ability to replicate seasonal county staff
with volunteer groups."
Field
of nightmares
Field bindweed, marked by white flowers,
first appeared in Story Hill last year and this
year spread significantly in the neighborhood
and throughout the city. Field bindweed is a particularly
hard-to-exterminate invasive that wraps itself
around other plants and pulls them to the ground,
killing them. This picture was taken in July 2006
in the west natural area of Mitchell Blvd. Park.
