Invasive Removal

The Board and volunteers were back at it again this morning with more invasive plant removal! We were joined by Board Member and Indy Land Stewardship’s Don Miller, who shared his knowledge about invasive species to help us better understand the reasoning and methodology behind our removal campaigns.

Invasives are species introduced from different areas that cause harm to our flora and fauna. We do a lot of work to protect those native species in the preserve that were here before settlers arrived and introduced new species that they brought from Europe and even farther. Native plants and trees spent millions of years evolving together to form tight ecological relationships with the surrounding flora and fauna. In fact, most insects rely on one specific genus of a plant to survive, so if that plant is replaced by an invasive, the insect disappears too. Although green and even beautiful, invasives are inedible to wildlife.

There are five species of invasive honeysuckle in Indiana.

Honeysuckle is of particular concern because of how quickly it grows and outcompetes native plants. With their early leaf emergence, they are able to shade out native plants growing beneath them. This has a negative impact on plant diversity.

Thank you to all who have joined our efforts to remove invasive species from the Preserve!