Do you know what non-native plants are lurking on your property? Many landowners in Scott County have noticed that invasive plant species are overtaking their lands, crowding out native plants and making it difficult for wildlife to thrive.
Plants such as Canada thistle, autumn olive, bush honeysuckle and multiflora rose have plagued Hoosier properties and roadside ditches for decades. But now added to that is garlic mustard, poison hemlock which will not leave on its own.
The good news is that residents do not have to face these battles alone. The local State of Indiana Cooperative Invasives Management (SICIM) Regional Specialist, Kaila Laplace, is here to help.
She will come to your property and identify invasive plant species, write a brush management plan, and give you information on native plants, local cost share programs, and advice on manual and herbicide control methods.
It does not matter if you have a small yard or hundreds of acres. Laplace is here to help no matter what the property size is. The best part is that this is a completely free service due to funding from the Indiana Invasives Initiative.
An invasive species is a non-native species that causes harm either economically, environmentally, or to human health.
To learn more about invasive species, please join us on Thursday Sept. 11, at 6 p.m. in the Commons of the Scottsburg High School, 500 S Gardner Street.
There will be presentations on invasive species issues in Scott County and how to tackle some of these issues as a community. Dinner will be provided.
To schedule a survey of your property or to RSVP for the September dinner, contact Laplace at Kaila@sicim.info or visit online at www.sicim.info