Great Hill Invasives Work 2016

This is a summary of the work done on invasive plant species removal at Great Hill in the 2016 time period. The following areas were worked:

Area A - The School St. Swamp

The "swamp" between the large and small playing fields.  Five years ago, a bimonthly task was cutting back the Glossy Buckthorn that had grown over the walkway from the School St. parking lot to the small playing field.  Three years ago I had some Jr. High volunteers help pull the Buckthorn around the path, and I’ve spent a large amount of time since then continuing to uproot/cut Buckthorn in this marsh.   There are still patches of mature plants, and an active seed bed in some areas (requiring yearly pulling of lots of small buckthorn saplings), but overall the change is amazing as the native undergrowth has started to recover. Eventually this clearing effort should meet the south edge of the pond.

Area B - The Upper Meadow Edges

The edges of the upper meadow have also been a work in progress for years.  I was told by an older Land Steward that there used to be a blackberry thicket north/east of the meadow, and I’ve been restoring it simply by removing the multiflora rose and occasional bush honeysuckle/winged eonymous that were choking it off.  There is also a healthy infestation of Asian Bittersweet which needs continued removal.   Fall of 2016 saw an effort to finish clearing the east side, part of which has been cleared for a couple of years and is looking quite nice.   BTW, there is a single Autumn Olive along the east edge which isn’t spreading and which I am fond of snacking from — please don’t whack it.

My goal along the edges of the upper meadow is to remove the invasives and get the town to stop mowing so that multi-year species (blackberries, sumac, grasses) can proliferate.

Area C - Barberry between the Hills

This was an infestation of Japanese Barberry along the stream between the two hills, which was very nicely removed by the ex-Land Steward of Great Hill, Rick Cushman.  Continued checking will be needed over the next few years.  The infestation continues in the area to the south (downstream of the footbridge) as the stream jumps the rock wall, where it includes Winged Eonymous.

Area D - Border of large Playing Field

I’ve been working on removing the Multiflora Rose, Glossy Buckthorn trees, Japanese Barberry, and Asian Bittersweet from both edges of the large playing field.  I think most of the large Glossy Buckthorn trees have been removed at this point.  The results are scattered openings along the edges, and most trees clear of Asian Bittersweet.

Area E - Winged Eonymous

This spring, I’ve been attacking the Winged Eonymous which lies at the southeast edge of the main thicket on the south side of greater Great Hill, aided by a community service volunteer.  Unfortunately, the Winged Eonymous is trying to spread over the entire south side of greater Great Hill.    We have concentrated on removing it outside of the rock wall, and have also worked to clear it from inside the southern portion of that rock wall.  At one point along the yellow trail, a fifty foot section has been cleared all the way to the yellow trail, allowing a view of the rock wall and the swamp beyond.   The area between the two circles shown still contains large thickets of Winged Eonymous.   The long term plan is to try to contain this plant to the central thicket inside the yellow/blue trail (which currently still seems ambitious).

I’m thinking of leaving a few visible at the top of the upper meadow, behind the blackberries.  Despite their attempt to conquer the world, they are pretty in the fall….

In several places on Great Hill I’ve encountered what is best described as “non-winged” eonymous (same leaf, stem attachment, berries and timing, but no wings).  My best guess is that this is either Winged Eonymous which isn’t expressing its wings (listed in the literature) or a native Eonymous.  If anyone is an expert I would love an opinion.   I’ve been leaving these untouched when found — one example is where the red path from the playing field meets the red path parallel to Piper Rd.

Area F - The Dog Pond

Invasives (Multiflora Rose, Glossy Buckthorn, Japanese Barberry) were removed from along the south edge of the dog pond.  They still abound on the other side of the path…

I’ve worked the fisherman’s trail on the east/northeast side of the pond in previous years, and will need to revisit it soon.

Area G - Northern Piper Rd. Entrance Trail

A multi-year project to clear invasives from the first 500 ft. of the northern Piper Rd. red entrance trail is showing progress.  I’ve been working for over four years on clearing the of Multiflora Rose from a ten foot swath on either side of the trail.  Some Japanese Barberry, Glossy Buckthorn, and Asian Bittersweet are also being found and removed.  There is still a huge infestation of multiflora rose, which unless completely cleared will continue to require regular maintenance.

Area H - Northern Piper Rd. Garlic Mustard Patch

There is a Garlic Mustard infestation near (northern) Piper Rd which I’ve been trying to work for three years now, concentrating on keeping it from spreading into the woods (i.e. the multiflora rose infestation downstream).  There is also Asian Bittersweet in the same area, which is being gradually uprooted as well.

Area J - Path to the Little Playing Field

I remember walking down the path from the dog pond to the small playing field over a decade ago, looking at the impenetrable jungle on either side.   Two years ago I described it as hopeless.  It isn’t, but it is taking a chain-saw to remove the many 3+” diameter Glossy Buckthorn trees and Asian Bittersweet vines.  This area is largely overgrown with Bush Honeysuckle, Glossy Buckthorn, and Asian Bittersweet (with a healthy proportion of Multiflora Rose and Japanese Barberry mixed in).  At “the bend” there is a series of large apple trees which are supporting huge grapevines which create a cave-like environment in the summer which I am trying to protect.   I’ve worked along the rock wall delineating the conservation land with a community service volunteer removing Asian Bittersweet, and also cleared all invasives (buckthorn, barberry, and bush honeysuckle) from a strip at the south end.  All trees in this area have have had their Asian Bittersweet chopped this winter, although it is too late for many of them.

Area K - Southeast side of greater Great Hill

Norway Maples.  Lots of them.  There is a cluster around the south end of the playing field, and a huge cluster/nursery farther up the hill, around the yellow and blue trails at the top of the meadow.  Some of these are very large, mature trees.  A large number are teenagers (twenty-thirty feet in height and 3-4 in diameter), and there are innumerable saplings.  I’m attacking these with girdling and cutting down, but this is a long-term project at the current rate.  These are also found along Piper Rd, drifting in from ones growing in people’s yards.

This area also contains an infestation of large Black Locust trees. Removal activity concentrated on identifying and cutting any smaller saplings in the area.