Giant Knotweed (Fallopia sachalinense) on Jun 11, 2008
Submitter does not have a specimen
Description of specimen
The knotweed (I am not sure which subspecies it is) was right on the waters edge and it was a little over head high but there was just a relatively small clump of it. I did not see any other plants but I did not look for any more.
Commentary
Expert Reviewer
Tania Siemens
WISE Program Coordinator (Watershed and Invasive Species Education)
Oregon Sea Grant Extension
Oregon State University
tania.siemens@oregonstate.edu
541-914-0701
Reporter
June 11, 2008, 2:33 p.m.
Thanks for reporting knotweed, a severe problem in Oregon. This aggressive plant is taking over stream banks and degrading important riparian habitat. We definitely need to prevent its further spread!
Unfortunately, it may already be already widespread in your area, so the patch you reported may not be targeted for control. There are just not enough resources to control all the knotweed! There may be knotweed projects in your area, but they may be taking place upstream, as the only way to effectively control this plant is to work from the top of the watershed down.
I will forward this report to the Oregon Department of Agriculture and your local Cooperative Weed Management Area. They will map the site you reported and evaluate the urgency for control.
Private land owners are responsible for controlling weeds on their property, but sometimes people don’t do anything because the task seems too daunting or they are unaware of the problem. However, thankfully 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 local Soil and Water Conservation District 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 25, 2008, 4:41 a.m.