Richfield Heritage Preserve Invasive Species Management Task Force

​Two years of collaborative work efforts finally paid off with RHP park partners Jennifer Windus, Ohio Invasive Plant Council president, and Ohio Natural Areas and Preserves Association (ONAPA) Stewardship Assistants. First, a task force was formed with local professionals (including biologists) to create the Invasive Species Management Plan (ISMP) outline and identify the high-quality natural areas at RHP. Then, with the help of the ONAPA Stewardship Assistants, those areas were mapped and surveyed for abundances of invasive plant species. The RHP Invasive Species Management Plan is near completion. The Invasive Species Management Task Force (ISMTF) team has been trained to apply herbicide, using the Ohio Department of Agriculture’s Safety Training Guide for Trained Servicepersons. We are proud to announce our first two projects were conducted by the RHP ISMP Team together with members from ONAPA, who normally volunteer to do removal projects at the state nature preserves. We will continue to implement the plan and focus on removal efforts – first in the high-quality areas of the property’s southern portion and then later in the northern portion’s lower-quality areas.

Ohio Natural Areas and Preserves Association ( ONAPA ) crew in neon green t-shirts with FoCH's Beth Sanderson on Deer Leap Trail at RHP. This team did a field assessment of the park to help create the Invasive Species Management Plan. photo by Lynn Richardson

This plan was formulated by Jennifer Windus in consultation with Friends of RHP. It was adopted by the RJRD in October 2019

​The winter 2019 newsletter of the Ohio Invasive Plant Council features an article about development of the RHP ISMP.  

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OIPC president Jennifer Windus poses by the FoCH/ RHP table display at the OIPC 2020 annual meeting. With Jennifer are Pat Norris, FoCH member and RJRD trustee; and Jeff DeLuca, Cleveland Metroparks horticulturalist and RJRD trustee.

 

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Clive Fetzer removes an invasive amur cork tree, October 202!. Cork trees were placed on the list of Ohio invasives shortly after we had discovered a grove to yellow trees. After theri identification was confirmed by the lab, we made plans with Jennifer Windus to remove them.

Lynn Richardson & Nancy Kanik destroying barberrry in the woods near Spif's garden, October 2021. Phot by Chris Naizer. Even though cutting and stemp treating is the most effective method of managing large woody plants, we still sometimes use shovels to dig out low-density populations of small bushes,