Warriors in the ISF

Brian adopted a trail, through the New York New Jersey Trail Conference, last year. It's in Stokes State Forest in northwestern NJ - right where my school's freshmen go backpacking each May - and he keeps it clean and passable. It always has fun things to see - a bear one time, a small lizard the next - and this time, mushrooms took the prize.

We got the opportunity to take our service project a step further this spring by joining the Invasives Strike Force, a program through the trail conference to map the locations of invasive species. The idea is that workers can be sent out to eradicate invasives in areas where they haven't completely taken hold and pushed out native plants. Why is this important? Native plants provide food and shelter for wildlife, nesting sites for birds, tend not to choke out waterways, and contribute to ecosystem diversity.

Today I would like to highlight two invasive species, multiflora rose and autumn olive. They get really big and can take over an area easily.
Meet Elaeagnus umbellata, autumn olive. I'm so disappointed this is invasive. Its leaves undulate along the edges, and each one is dotted with silver spots that give the foliage an overall sheen from a distance.
Now that I am properly acquainted with this plant, I see it by the side of the parkway all over the place.
This is Rosa multiflora, not to be confused with the native Carolina rose. This highly invasive species has white flowers, while the native has pink ones.The giveaway field marks that distinguish multiflora from Carolina rose are the recurved thorns (thorns that curve down, rather than up) and fringed stipules (the base of the stem, where it attaches to the main branch, looks feathery).

What can you do if you find an invasive in your yard? Eradicate it. Some can simply be pulled up, while others need to be poisoned. An internet search can help you determine the right method for a particular plant.