Paul Smith's College NYS Department of Environmental Conservation Adirondack Park Agency Adirondack Nature Conservancy


Project Overview

Problem Identified                                                                                

The 6-million-acre Adirondack Park contains the largest wilderness acreage east of the Mississippi River and supports a relatively intact and pristine lake, river, mountain, and forest ecosystem on public and private lands. The Park is a national cultural and ecological resource.

  Photo: Gordon Keyes

Recently, invasive plant species have been documented moving into and spreading throughout the Adirondack Park. Invasive plants threaten public and private biodiversity conservation efforts, agricultural productivity, human health and safety, and recreation throughout New York. Fortunately much of the Park remains relatively intact from invasive species.                                                                                                                                   Photo: Todd Smith

Get Involved!  Opportunity exists to prevent further introduction and spread of invasive species!!

Partnership Established

In 1998, the Adirondack Nature Conservancy (ANC), NYS Adirondack Park Agency (APA), NYS Department of Transportation (DOT) and NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) partnered together and plotted a course of action to assess the threat that terrestrial invasive plant species have on our native ecosystems. To establish baseline information and direct conservation efforts, volunteers and staff inventoried invasive plants and mapped their distribution and abundance. Based on information provided by the NYS Invasive Plant Council (IPC) and knowledge of the Adirondacks' natural systems, ANC surveyed roadsides for the following invasive plants:

  • Garlic mustard ( Alliaria petiolata )
  • Russian and autumn olive ( Elaeagnus angustifolia and E. umbellata )
  • Fly and tatarian honeysuckle ( Lonicera morrowii and L. tatarica )
  • Purple loosestrife ( Lythrum salicaria )
  • White sweet-clover ( Melilotus alba)
  • Common reed grass ( Phragmites australis )
  • Japanese knotweed ( Polygonum cuspidatum )
  • Common and smooth buckthorn ( Rhamnus cathartica and R. frangula )
  • Black locust ( Robinia pseudoacacia )
  • Black swallowwort ( Vincetoxicum nigrum )

Preliminary data showed that roadways and their respective rights of way (ROW) act as conduits for the spread of invasive plants. In 1999, roadside surveys continued and backcountry surveys were initiated to assess whether invasive plants were outside ROWs and entering the interior of the Park. In the same year, the following species were added to the inventory list:

  • Japanese barberry ( Berberis thunbergii )
  • Oriental bittersweet ( Celastrus orbiculatus )
  • Spotted knapweed ( Centaurea maculosa )
  • Frog's-bit ( Hydrocharis morsus-ranae )
  • Eurasian watermilfoil ( Myriophyllum spicatum )
  • Water chestnut ( Trapa natans )

Expanded survey results reinforced the trend that terrestrial invasives were largely confined to ROW's and did not appear to be moving beyond them. Based on their field observations, the partners selected four target invasive plants that showed the greatest liklihood of widespread distribution into intact habitat.

Target Terrestrial Invasive Plants

2001 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)

In 2001, the four partners—ANC, APA, DOT, DEC — formalized their commitment to the invasive plant project in a Memorandum of Understanding and agreed upon the following objectives:

•  Identify invasive species of concern

•  Continue roadside inventories

•  Investigate and implement best management practices for control and containment

•  Monitor to measure success

•  Continue surveillance to identify and record new locations

•  Increase public and agency awareness through education and outreach

•  Meet the goals of 2/3/99 Federal Executive Order 13112

From Past to Present: Adirondack Park Invasive Plant Program (APIPP)

Since signing the MOU in 2001, the partners developed a rigorous monitoring, management, and education program for both aquatic and terrestrial invasive plant species. In the spring of 2003, the partners formally established the Adirondack Park Invasive Plant Program (APIPP) and developed an Adirondack Park Invasive Plant Action Plan which is a strategic plan guiding program planning, development, and implementation. The APIPP coordinates two projects: the Aquatic Invasive Plant Project and the Terrestrial Invasive Plant Project.

APIPP Mission

To document invasive plant distributions, facilitate integrated plant management strategies, and build consensus for resource protection in the Park through information exchange and partnerships with Adirondack residents and institutions.

Greater than the Sum of its Parts

By pooling its resources through creative partnerships the Terrestrial Invasive Plant Project makes efficient use of limited funding to meets its goals, which are as follows:

  • Establish an Adirondack Park-wide early detection and monitoring program in cooperation with volunteers and the public.
  • Work with public land managers and private landowners to control and contain invasive plants.
  • Prevent the establishment and spread of invasive plants through public education and outreach programs.

Terrestrial Invasive Plant Project Momentum

A sample of project activities highlights the commitment of participating organizations and residents to-date:

  • The ANC and APA conducted seed harvesting, plant pulling, and spot herbicide treatments of purple loosestrife between Tupper Lake and Long Lake.
  • The DOT applied Rodeo® herbicide for experimental control of Japanese knotweed in Hague, Keene, and Saranac Lake.
  • The ANC and SCA initiated extensive garlic mustard harvesting efforts in the Fulton Chain and Elizabethtown in an effort to deplete the existing seed bank.
  • The Essex County Master Gardeners program began a grass-roots effort to raise and release Galerucella spp. beetles and developed a partnership with Plattsburgh State University of New York for the control of purple loosestrife.
  • The ANC and Paul Smiths College Watershed Stewards inventoried and controlled purple loosestrife in the St. Regis Chain of Lakes.
  • The Boquet and Au Sable River Associations inventoried and contacted landowners in the Boquet and Au Sable River watersheds.
  • Hamilton County Soil and Water Conservation District collaborated with the ANC and DOT to inventory and initiate controls on terrestrial invasive plant species in Hamilton County.
  • The Lake George Land Conservancy and Land Trust continued inventory, control, and education efforts in the Lake George Watershed.

The Terrestrial Invasive Plant Project aims to develop and implement “terrestrial” portions of the Adirondack Park Invasive Plant Action Plan. Actions include:

•  Integrate the aquatics and terrestrial databases to provide information to partners and public alike.

•  Expand inventory efforts along state, county, town, and seasonal roads and backcountry areas.

•  Implement and monitor efficacy of control methods.

•  Continue and expand outreach efforts to agency staff, municipalities, and residents.

•  Secure funding for a permanent, full-time coordinator.

2004 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) - Future Direction

In 2004, the APIPP principal partners incorporated a fifth partner, the NYS Invasive Plant Council (IPC), and entered into a new MOU that outlines the roles and responsibilities of the partners in the administration and implementation of the Adirondack Park Invasive Plant Program and its Aquatic and Terrestrial Invasive Plant Projects.

Adirondack Park Invasive Plant Program
Timeline: 2003 - Current Status