North Carolina Gardeners! Fight Back Against Invasive Plants
The Nature Conservancy Urges Gardeners to Help Stop the Spread of America's Worst Weeds
DURHAM, NC— April 30, 2007— In North Carolina, plants such as purple loosestrife, kudzu, giant salvinia, winter creeper and giant reed have been used widely in horticulture and landscaping, and can be found in backyards and business lots across the state. At first glance these plants may look pretty, but their beauty is deceptive.
Known as invasive species, plants like these are typically transplants from distant places. Once free from the natural checks and balances in their native habitats, these alien invaders establish themselves in new areas and quickly spread out of control. Native plants are unable to compete with them for light, water and nutrients.
In efforts to fight with this problem, The Nature Conservancy, which protects land and water for native plants and animals, recommends that gardeners avoid known invasive plants at all costs. As part of its Global Invasive Species Initiative, The Nature Conservancy is working to control these aggressive invaders through a combination of prevention, restoration, research and outreach in North Carolina and around the world.
With intentional and unintentional assistance from people, these problematic plants are spreading at an alarming rate, infecting natural areas across the United States. The threat posed by invasive species – both plant and animal – to the survival of native species is exceeded only by the threat of habitat loss. The cost to the national economy is estimated as high as $137 billion per year, due primarily to losses in agriculture, forestry and fisheries, as well as the cost of clearing invasive-clogged waterways and fighting invasive-fueled fires.
"As Japanese knotweed takes over some of North Carolina's great mountain trout streams, privet and Russian olive invade our woodlands, and fire ants build mounds across our coastal plain, now it is more urgent than ever that we address this growing threat to our state's natural diversity," said Margaret Fields, Stewardship Manager.
The Nature Conservancy is leading the fight against invasive species by directing significant attention and resources to these threats. Our collaborative approach and science-based strategies have been refined through two decades of experience managing invasive species on our own preserves.
No matter where you live in North Carolina, you can help. By removing invasive plants from our own backyards, we can contribute to a growing movement to stop the spread of these destructive and costly invaders.
Because many invasive plants are spread by unsuspecting gardeners, The Nature Conservancy has created a wallet insert to carry when shopping at local nurseries. The insert lists the worst invasive plants for each region of the country. If you see one of these plants at your local nursery, consider buying another plant instead and talk to the nursery owner about stocking non-invasive varieties. The wallet insert can be downloaded from the Conservancy’s website: www.nature.org/initiatives/invasivespecies. For information on invasive plants in North Carolina visit the invasive species section of this site at http://www.nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/northcarolina/initiatives/art19765.html.
The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. To date, the Conservancy and its more than one million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 15 million acres in the United States and have helped preserve more than 102 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at www.nature.org.
###
|
