Dear Isaac,


Thanks for reporting knotweed. Yes, knotweed is a severe problem. This aggressive plant is taking over stream banks and degrading important riparian habitat. We definitely need to prevent its further spread!

Unfortunately, it is already widespread in your area, so not all populations are targeted for control; there are just not enough resources to control it all. Land managers are taking a strategic approach and controlling knotweed where it is clearing threatening an important resource – like a natural area or infrastructure.

The silver lining to this gloomy picture is citizen stewardship. There are many dedicated volunteers who join forces to uncover and protect their favorite areas from knotweed and other aggressive invaders. In some cases, the SWCD can help coordinate the effort and provide resources. If you are interested in joining a local volunteer effort to combat invasive species, or starting your own, there are some excellent websites listed above.

We hope you will keep on reporting! By looking for and reporting some of the less abundant, but equally as aggressive, invasive species, we can control them before they become tomorrow’s Scotch broom, English Ivy, or even knotweed. Check out this website for a list of plants and animals that are priority for early detection and control in Western Oregon: http://www.westerninvasivesnetwork.org/pages/plants.php

Thanks!

Tania Siemens
OSU Sea Grant/The Nature Conservancy
tania.siemens@oregonstate.edu

Tania Siemens
June 7, 2008, 12:29 a.m.