SKOWHEGAN - Somerset County Soil & Water Conservation District (SWCD) has partnered with the Maine Natural Areas Program on a new initiative to identify and support the management of invasive plants on working lands.

Through the project, District staff are available to work in partnership with eligible landowners to:

Identify invasive plant species that are the highest priority for removal on working lands,
Leverage cost-share funding opportunities to support the management of invasive species, and
Implement targeted invasive species control projects on participating properties.

These services are provided to at no cost to participating landowners.

An invasive plant is defined as a plant species that is not native to the Maine ecosystem, whose introduction does or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health. In Somerset County, some of the more common invasive plants include shrubby honeysuckle, Japanese knotweed, Japanese barberry and Asiatic bittersweet. These and a host of others have significant impacts on the health and productivity of forests and agricultural lands.

“For 2020 we are looking for volunteer landowners that would like to have their property surveyed for invasive terrestrial plants, known locations mapped, and a management plan developed to provide a course of action in addressing any identified concerns,” says Joe Dembeck, Somerset SWCD executive director.

In 2019 Somerset County SWCD worked with five landowners in Somerset County to identify and prioritize invasive plant concerns. The District is now recruiting 10 properties for the 2020 program. Somerset County landowners who want to better understand the extent and impacts of invasive plants on their properties should contact Dembeck at 207-474-8323 x 4 or by email, jdembecksc15@gmail.com.