Thanks for your report of English ivy and blackberry! These terrible plants are choking trees and native plants all over Oregon. Unfortunately, those responsible for controlling invasive species on (Oregon Department of Agriculture and local land managers like Soil and Water Conservation Districts) don’t have enough resources to attack all the ivy and blackberry in the state – there is just too much! 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.

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 ivy and blackberry. 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 in this reply. You may also want to refer your neighbor to some of these resources or offer to help him/her tackle their weed problem.

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 English ivy. 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 again and keep on reporting!

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

Tania Siemens
Feb. 22, 2009, 9:11 p.m.