APEC’s board leadership and key staff met with Tim Wenchus of NYC Natural Resource Group and also Dr. Andrew Kolodny a good friend, neighbor and supporter of the preserve to review plans for controlling invasive species on both side of Alley Creek; New York City Parks through the NRG is applying for grant support to do a major plant restoration project on the east bank of the preserve; we walked to view that proposed project and also to review how our own efforts would fit into the scope of that plan;
After introductions (Rita Sherman APEC board president, Rich Blum VP; Irene Scheid Exec. Dir., Aline Euler Ed. Dir., Carlos Martinez, building and grounds, Tim Wenskus, NYC NRG and Dr. Andrew Kolodny)
and morning coffee we took off and spent the next few hours looking at everything that needs to be done to protect the preserve from the threat of invasive species; the primary invasives (wild rose, porcelain and bittersweet vines, garlic mustard and to some degree Phragmites) are as prevalent as ever and at the height of the growing season they look almost unstoppable;
If (hopefully 'when') grant money become available NRG would hire restoration crews to remove plants, spray the roots and then replant the forest line on the east side of the preserve so that the forest edge would approach the trailside; the amount of removal and planting is simply a matter of dollars and cents but care and sensitivity would matter a great deal; our own efforts are a bit different but aim at the same general goal;
Our work is more labor intensive and more continuous aiming to ‘set back’ the invasives significantly and to clear some areas entirely so that meadow grasses and low shrub grasslands can be added to the mix of ecosystems.
Getting the leaders to see the preserve first hand is always a good idea; we should do more along this line with political and community leaders too who have a stake in what we aim to accomplish.
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