Photography by (1-5) Cameron Karsten & (6-10) Hannah Letinich
Last weekend, hardy volunteers rolled up their sleeves (not literally, it was too blustery for exposed skin!) and cleared out a patch of the invasive weed Yellow Archangel, as well as holly and ivy throughout the preserve.
All of these plants have been used in ornamental arrangements because of their attractive leaves, however when they are introduced to the forest they become problematic when they outcompete and crowd out native plants. If left uncontrolled they would eventually take over the entire forest floor, pushing out native plants like salal, huckleberry and salmonberries that native birds and animals rely on!
Did you know? Yellow Archangel is difficult to control because it can re-sprout from roots left in the ground, so our volunteers took painstaking efforts to follow the underground root system and remove as much of the roots as possible! Because of the hard work of this group of volunteers the native plants at Foulweather Bluff will stand a chance against those noxious invaders!
If you would like to join a work party on one of our preserves in Washington please send an email to wavolutneer@tnc.org for more information.
