As part of a partnership between the Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance, Shawano County, and the Timberland Invasives Partnership (TIP), work is being completed
to control Japanese knotweed in Shawano County.
Japanese knotweed is an invasive species that came over to the United States in the late 1800s. It can be identified by its white flowers, hollow, orange stems, and spade-like leaves. It spreads through rhizomes, so while the above ground plants may die after first frost, shoots are able to grow out of the rhizomes every spring.
Scott Frank, Alix Bjorklund, and Emily Henrigillis headed out on May 10th, 2019 to do some initial site prep before herbicide is applied to try and kill the Japanese knotweed. By first stressing the plant out (cutting) it and then applying herbicide, there is a greater chance of killing it.
We visited five sites over the course of few hours. Each of the sites fell within the right of way along the road. The first site was our smallest site and was cut down in about 10 minutes. The second site was on Lake Drive near Whispering Pines. This site was a little larger but the Japanese knotweed was not growing too high yet. It looked like some of the knotweed had spread to the opposite side of the road, so we made sure to cut that down too.
We then headed over to a site near Loon Lake. This site was much bigger and took some time to cut down. There was standing water in part of the site. We made sure to lay as much of the Japanese knotweed down to make it easier when the site was revisited to be sprayed with herbicide.
The fourth site we worked on was on the road where Lulu Lake enters Loon Lake. The Japanese knotweed at this site was about 7 feet tall and located along a fence line. As we worked, we noticed a lot of Japanese knotweed in the backyard of the homeowner next to this site. This backyard may be a source for this site, adding to the difficulty level of control this site.
Our last site of the day was located on the edge of a farm. It was the largest site, by far. There were dense stands of Japanese knotweed at this site. We did our best to cut down as much as possible but larger management efforts will be needed. Shawano County has been working on this specific site for some years now.
The next field day will be when the herbicide treatments will occur on the sites. When these herbicides are applied properly, they have a higher success rate. Further cutting will be needed but proper protocols will be followed by project partners.
For more information on the project, contact Anna Bartsch, AIS Coordinator for Shawano and Menominee Counties (anna@fwwa.org 920-851-4336) or Alix Bjorklund, Timberland Invasives Partnership Coordinator (timberlandinvasives@outlook.com)
Photos courtesy of Emily Henrigillis and Alix Bjorklund
Before
After
Before
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