September 9, 2013

Dear Mr. Lewis,

Thank you for submitting your report to the Oregon Invasive Species Hotline. The photos of the plant that you submitted appear to be Old Man's Beard (Clematis vitalba). This is a common invasive climbing vine in our area. It can have a very significant impact on trees in our area, as well as increase the fire risk in a given area.

Unfortunately, with widespread species like Old Man's Beard,the cost to control weeds often exceed the local resources available for this effort. As such, land manager prioritize the areas being actively managed to maximize the benefits of limited resources. Your report helps with this process, and allows for the future planning of future weed treatments as additional resources become available. So thank you for your report.

In terms of control of Old Man's Beard on your property, it is certainly a difficult species to control, and requires specific control measures to effective. For more detailed information, check out the Old Man's Beard factsheet developed by the Four County Cooperative Weed Management Area. (http://cwmatest.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/clematis.pdf). You can also review the Best Management Practices developed by King County Noxious Weed Control (http://your.kingcounty.gov/dnrp/library/water-and-land/weeds/BMPs/Old-mans-beard-Clematis-vitalba-control.pdf). You should find both of these resources useful in controlling this species.

If you have questions about this species please contact me directly. Once again thank you for your time and effort in reporting this species.

All the best,

Sam

______________________________________

Samuel Leininger
WeedWise Program Manager
Clackamas Soil & Water Conservation District
221 Molalla Ave. Suite 102
Oregon City, OR 97045
503-210-6006
sleininger@conservationdistrict.org
www.conservationdistrict.org
______________________________________

Samuel Leininger
Sept. 10, 2013, 6:07 a.m.