Volunteer workday in Brown County State Park, Saturday, August 13

Len Logterman will be conducting another attack on Japanese stiltgrass this Saturday, August 13 (9-12am) in Brown County State Park.  This expedition will involve a lot of hiking in creekbeds and gullies.  We will start in Green Valley and move upstream and follow the stiltgrass trace up the many gullies and tributaries that drain into the valley.  Mostly we will be working on the portion that is skirted by the North Tower and the new Green Valley mountain bike trails.  Some of this has already been sprayed so we can do a little touch-up along the way and spray some fairly large stands on the gravel beds.  The creeks are all dry, but some rocks may be a little slick.

A little background:  Last year the Native Woodlands Project (bcnwp.org) funded an effort to clear this rapidly expanding invasive plant from the mountain bike trails in BCSP.  We applied 200 gallons of herbicide and were quite successful.  This year HMBA is funding the effort and we are attempting to keep the trails clean and eliminate seed sources uphill from the trails.  We have also recruited the park maintenance people to do spraying of the roadsides and will be supplying them with equipment, training, and herbicide.  So far we have applied nearly 400 gallons, of which 250 has been applied by individuals with backpack sprayers.  We have about another month before it starts to go to seed.

If you can help out on Saturday, please email Len at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Free Gnawbone tenderloins for lunch afterward.

Van Buren Elementary School Workday

On November 12th, Jenise Platt, Len Logterman & Dan McGuckin of the BCNWP spent the afternoon at Van Buren elementary school removing 3 non-native Autumn Olive shrubs and replacing them with a Bur Oak tree.

Members of the BCNWP and school principal Luck McGrayel standing in front of the Autumn Oilve shrubs to be removed. From L to R are Jenise Platt, Len Logterman, Lucy McGrayel, and Dan McGuckin

Jenise Platt plants the new Bur Oak and Len Logterman finishes cutting one of the Autumn Oilve.

The newly planted Bur Oak with the school in the background.

Invasive Species Volunteer Workdays

The mission of the Brown County Native Woodlands Project (BCNWP) is to protect the forests of the Brown County Hills from the devastating effects of invasive plant species through education, training, and eradication of non-native invasive plants. Unfortunately there’s a growing threat to the enjoyment that our woodlands generate and to their economic benefits to Brown County. Non-native invasive plants impinge on our county from every direction and unless we act immediately, there will be neither sufficient funds nor manpower to reverse the devastation. To launch our efforts, the committee chose to target Asian bush honeysuckles, autumn olive, tree of heaven and Japanese knotweed, four non-native invasive plants that are the most amenable to control.

Thank you to all volunteers that helped spray Japanese Knotweed this summer!  Great progress was made in treating several of the identified sites in Brown County.

Please check back frequently for addtional volunteer opportunities.

On June 15th, volunteers worked hard to treat a Japanese Knotwood site.