Adirondack Garden Club tackles invasive plant problem at Essex Quarry trail
By Tim Rowland
A global study released last week estimated that invasive species were causing the world economy $423 billion a year. I don’t know how many billions of that are directly attributable to the buckthorn, honeysuckle and bittersweet that have taken over the site of an old limestone quarry just south of the town of Essex, but I should think it is considerable.
The quarry was purchased several years ago by Champlain Area Trails and converted into a delightful preserve with trails, cedar forests, a quarry pool and stone benches in thoughtful locations. Stone from the cuts was used for everything from railroad ballast to homes to, according to old newspaper accounts, the Brooklyn Bridge.
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The area was once a shallow sea, and fossils there of plants and primitive animals date back more than 400 million years.
At the time, CATS noted the extent to which the invasives had claimed the former industrial site, and reported that the removal of this invasive jungle was both important and exceedingly difficult.
That sounded like a challenge to the Adirondack Garden Club, which as we speak is methodically rooting out the prodigious honeysuckle, buckthorn and bittersweet that choke out native species, harming habitat for wildlife and making a mess of the ecological order. We like to think it’s only fair, since it was probably our great-great grandmothers who brought these “ornamentals” from Europe back in the days before “conservation,” “environmental awareness” and “Keith Richards.”
I happen to be a member of AGC, although being a guy, I think of myself not as a member of a “garden club,” but as a member of the Northern Wilderness Buckthorn Assassins.
You can find us most Fridays at the quarry from 10 a.m. to noon, and we would love to have you join us — just bring bug protection and your favored implements of destruction.
We know it’s an uphill battle, but we do what we can with a battery of medieval looking contraptions that manually uproot saplings, and black plastic “buckthorn bags” that are placed over the stumps of larger buckthorn in the hope they won’t resprout.
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We do not use poisons. No material is removed or brought on site. Native seeds and pollinators such as Joe Pye, milkweed and blue-stem goldenrod are being propagated to fill in where the buckthorn and such has been removed. As allies we have the Garden Club of America, which is providing a grant for the work, along with naturalists who help us with plant identification, and stewards from CATS.
It hardly needs to be mentioned that manual removal of invasives is often demanding and not without a unique set of risks, particularly when you are straining every last fiber of your being trying to pull up a clump of particularly stubborn honeysuckle.
Sometimes you will hear a sharp “SNAP” and look up to see that the person at your side whom you were just talking to is missing, the sudden lack of resistance sending them rocketing back through the cedar until you hear a soft thud somewhere aft of your position. This is a garden club, so we do not swear, but sometimes we think things we oughtn’t.
But there is easier work too, such as tweezing tiny little baby buckthorns, thousands of them, from the damp earth before they develop a deep and problematic root system.
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I should mention in passing that this work has imprinted upon me a deep, psychotic hatred of buckthorn in particular, which was brought to these shores, on purpose, as an ornamental shrub. The prickly buckthorn doesn’t reach tree status in terms of width, but they grow disturbingly tall, their tendrils weaving their way into the canopy to the point where no amount of force can bring them down even after they’ve been cut. And when you cut one, 700 show up in its place, sprouting from the stump with a revenge-like frenzy that’s as impressive as it is discouraging.
Certainly, there are parts of this property where the invasives are so thick we’re not sure if/how we can whip them into submission. But we are establishing a beachhead, and already the results have been worth it. Naturalists have found a rare sedge on the grounds, and a charming little pond was discovered behind a curtain of buckthorn and honeysuckle so thick that visibility had been reduced down to zero.
The fun of it is that there is such a rewarding before/after view of the landscape once the brush has been cleared away. The Essex Quarry Preserve is getting prettier by the week. The surroundings and company are pleasant too, and in a world full of frustrations, there is nothing more fitting and productive to take them out on than buckthorn.
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I’ve been eradicating invasive buckthorn in Wisconsin for about 2 years. Thank you for your article and descriptions!
I am using the same techniques for buckthorn removal and for the restoration of native plant and tree species. The buckthorn emits emodin and this is harmful to the native vegetation and it is harmful to amphibians.
Our Chittenden county forester suggested we use a product called “Buckthorn Blaster” to control buckthorn. The Blaster is actually an application method that uses a small bottle of herbicide to paint freshly cut stems . There is zero overspray or fumes but gloves need to be worn for protection. A sturdy cap protects the spongey applicator tip. Glyphosate (or RoundUp) Is the active ingredient and a bit of colored dye will show what’s treated and what’s not.
No it’s not organic but a formidable and safe method to get a tricky job done. It is marketed by a group promoting control of invasives and can be found on the web.
Making a tripod out of 4×4 posts and a come along or cable puller and a couple short chains. Can make pulling stumps manually much easier and safer.
I even use a tow strap around a tree, chain stump and use come along to rip stump without tripod, but lifting straight up is easier. Also 2 4×4 posts with steel plates to bolt together. attack chain to stump, come along and strap to tree, wedge the 4×4 at angle and as rachet tight it transfer from side pull to a lift up and works better or use old tire and rim to change from side to lifting pull.
To kill stumps without manmade chemicals, a good dose of vinegar acidifies soil enough for awhile to kill roots or a good dose of ammonia and it dissipates into fertilizer after. I have been fighting Japanese honey suckle and roses for years and i try not to use forever poisons.
I hope that info might help some to get invasives removed. its not easy especially on your own with any amount on problem plants.
Bravo to these volunteers—a nasty job for sure, though so important to keep things right for the ongoing health of the ecosystem. Keep up the good work, folks! (Thankfully there is no mention of knotweed, which is a far worse scourge, IMO). Also a good tip in here from Nathan re. pulling plants out, roots and all. Personally, I enjoy the satisfaction of chaining an autumn olive or burning bush to my truck and yanking it out, LOL.
As for the use of so-called horticultural-strength vinegar for killing weeds or invasives, it is NOT harmless, natural nor safe near any place that is anywhere close to fish or amphibians; it is extremely caustic and changes the soil chemistry. See this for more info (to clarify, I have nothing to do with this site, just trying to get the word out): https://empressofdirt.net/does-vinegar-kill-weeds/
Don’t know about ammonia, though I would not do that either before conducting more research.
Really appreciate the thoughtful people attending to invasives. I’ve had some personal experience with the harmful impacts of chemicals poisoning our water and know enough to be opposed to their use in any amount (consider upstream impacts of the employees producing it, dump sites, etc.) Additionally, they don’t cure the problem as invasives come back anyway…
I’ve been digging deep below to uncover the entire root structure of buckthorn and removing the entire thing. Getting a start at a patch that lays on an upward slope makes this easier. As you continue to tackle the patch it becomes much easier with the root system exposed. I use a knife and ax. Today, I removed a 12-foot tree, a couple 6-footers, and half a garbage bag full of roots in 2 1/2 hours. Daunting but completely effective. I’m brainstorming ideas to sell the resource as a way of problem-solving for the massive time commitment this will take. Buckthorn is good for fire wood, home decor trees and branches..the roots make excellent fire starters if you put a soy covered wax wick in them…anyone else thinking of ways to view invasives as resource??