Noxious & Invasive Weed Survey
In 2010, 2011 and 2012 the Elk County Conservation District partnered with the Headwaters Resource Conservation & Development (RC&D) and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to conduct noxious and invasive weed surveys. The purpose of the survey is to identify noxious and invasive weeds on private property within the County and to provide landowners the educational tools necessary to help them identify and control these unwanted plants. The program also provides recommendations for ways to enhance wildlife habitat on the property. Where prior programs focused on any private land within the county, the 2012 program focused on properties that had been enrolled in the USDA’s Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP). The surveys focused on the plant species that are identified on the PA lists of noxious and invasive weeds. In 2012, Conservation District staff surveyed 6 properties, which totaled approximately 20 acres. Every property that was surveyed displayed some level of invasive or noxious weed population. Among the most common invasive and noxious plants found were various types of thistles, multi-flora rose, and autumn olive.
Pictured from top to bottom:
Garlic Mustard, Knotweed,
Tree-of-Heaven, Mile-a-Minute
Common Noxious & Invasive Weeds in Pennsylvania:
| Common Name: | Scientific Name: | |
| Bull thistle, spear thistle | Cirsium vulgare (Savi) Ten. | |
| Bush Honeysuckle | Caprifoliaceae | |
| Canadian thistle | Cirsium arvense (L.) Scop. | |
| Common Reed | Phragmites australis | |
| Garlic Mustard | Alliaria petiolata | |
| Giant hogweed | Heracleum mantegazzianum | |
| Goatsrue | Galega officinalis L.; | |
| Japanese Knotweed | Polgonum cuspidatum | |
| Jimsonweed | Datura stramonium L. | |
| Johnsongrass | Sorghum halepense (L.) Pers. | |
| Kudzu-vine | Pueraria montana (Lour.) | |
| Marijuana | Cannabis sativa L. | |
| Mile-a-minute weed | Polygonum perfoliatum L. | |
| Multiflora rose | Rosa multiflora Thunb. | |
| Musk thistle, nodding thistle | Carduus nutans L. | |
| Purple loosestrife | Lythrum salicaria L.1 | |
| Reed Canary Grass | Phalaris arundinacea | |
| Shattercane | Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench | |
| Tree-of-Heaven | Ailanthus altissima |
Sinnemahoning Invasive Plan Management Area (SIPMA)
In 2012 the Elk County Conservation District entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with and continued to support the Sinnemahoning Invasive Plant Management Area (SIPMA) and their efforts to control invasive plants in Elk and neighboring Counties. Conservation District staff serve on the advisory committee, which includes many private landowners, PA Game Commission, PA Department of Conservation & Natural Resources (DCNR), Conservation Districts, PA Department of Agriculture, PennDOT, Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, US Forest Service, PA Fish & Boat Commission, and many other state and federal agencies as well as various timber management companies. SIPMA is lead by the program coordinator, Tanya Meyer.
The Elk County Conservation District is working closely with SIPMA to bring awareness to a growing buckthorn population in the eastern half of Elk County and in the St. Marys area. Collectively, we’ve met with landowners and have provided them with information about identification, control, and management of buckthorn. The battle with invasive species is ongoing, and we are fortunate to have organizations, such as SIPMA, that are bringing awareness to the public and actively involved in removal of invasive species and re-establishment of native plants. For more information on SIPMA please visit www.sipmapa.org