Wild parsnip at the 7th lake overlook (Photo provided)

To the editor:

The Regional Inlet Invasive Plant Program discussed 2017 accomplishments and plans for 2018 for invasive plant control in the Adirondacks on July 2.

Participants included Elizabeth Mangle (Hamilton County Soil and Water Conservation District), Zack Simek (Adirondack Park Invasive Plant Program), Ellen Collins (Blue Mountain Lake), Bob Manning (Garnet Lake), Adrien Vlach (Saranac Lake), Larry Master (Lake Placid) and Douglas Johnson (Inlet). In 2017, RIIPP treated over 250 sites with Japanese knotweed and several with wild parsnip, paying applicators $22,085. Dozens of sites treated in prior years had no knotweed, and numerous sites had less than 1 percent of the amount of knotweed prior to treatments.

Zack Simek described the APIPP’s accomplishments and planned efforts for this year. HCSWCD is leading efforts to educate and coordinate with Hamilton County town personnel who mow right-of-ways about best practices for invasive plant management. Herkimer County Soil and Water Conservation District has begun invasive plant control efforts.

In 2018, RIIPP plans to assess and treat previously identified sites, as well as treat many recently identified additional sites for which permissions have been obtained from property owners. RIIPP obtained permission from the state Department of Transportation, Herkimer County, Hamilton County and some towns to treat in right-of-ways. We discussed new efforts this year to control wild parsnip from Old Forge through Blue Mountain Lake.

This is the second year of a $15,000 a year grant from the state Department of Environmental Conservation. We thanked the many volunteers from across the Adirondacks and the many donors including the town of Indian Lake. We discussed that volunteers are needed for Old Forge, Tupper Lake, and Warrensburg and the need to ask towns to budget funds for invasive plant control for 2019.

The website, www.noknotweed.org, has been updated, with new permission forms, links to APIPP’s videos on knotweed and phragmites, a new page on wild parsnip, information for property owners, and how to donate or become a volunteer.

Doug Johnson

Inlet