Weed Warriors Battle “Dirty Dozen” in National Parks

Pilot Program trains volunteers to identify and remove invasive plants from Washington, DC-area national parks; volunteers allowed to operate autonomously

Bethesda, Maryland—July 25, 2005—The Nature Conservancy, in cooperation with the National Park Service, has launched a pilot program, called Weed Warriors, empowering volunteers who have completed a 10-hour training curriculum to control a dozen non-native, invasive plant species in designated areas on National Park Service land in the Potomac Gorge.

The Potomac Gorge, from Great Falls to Georgetown, is one of the most biologically significant natural areas in the eastern United States. The site harbors more than 400 occurences of 200 rare species and many globally rare plant communities. Yet, more than 130 non-native, invasive plants threaten the diversity of life in this 15-mile stretch.

“Our volunteers are well-educated and highly concerned about the protection of our public parks from non-native, invasive plants,” said Mary Travaglini, Potomac Gorge habitat restoration manager for the Conservancy. “With the proper training, our volunteers are capable of making a significant dent in the thriving populations of invasive plants.”

The Weed Warriors program is an offshoot of the Conservancy’s Weed Watchers program, which employs volunteers to identify and alert Conservancy staff to new invasive plant infestations on their preserves, and the Weed Busters program, in which volunteers remove invasive species under the direction of Conservancy stewardship staff.

Roughly 15 volunteers participated in the initial 10-hour training program, conducted this past spring. Volunteers learn to identify 12 invasive plants and spend the majority of their time in the field practicing identifying the plants under the direction of the Conservancy’s Travaglini.

Mary Crane, a Weed Warrior volunteer, said she enjoys getting to know one small, beautiful spot of nature well and being able to follow its progress through the seasons.

“I am excited to see what it will look like as the year goes on and what impact my work might have on letting more native plants grow,” Crane said.

Volunteers in the pilot program are working now in areas along the George Washington Memorial Parkway, Great Falls Park, Turkey Run Park and the C&O Canal National Historical Park to remove non-native, invasive plants such as Garlic Mustard, Multiflora rose, Porcelain-berry and Japanese stiltgrass.

The Weed Warriors are outfitted with an orange, mesh vest identifying them as park volunteers and carry flash cards with color photos of invasive plants. The cards also identify native plants that appear similar to invasive plants, so that volunteers don’t mistakenly remove indigenous species.

Weed Warriors are required to document their field work by filing an “action report” with the Conservancy, describing the estimated number of plants removed, the types of plants and where the work occurred. Weed Warriors visit their sites at least once a month.

To find out more about how to participate in the Weed Warriors program, volunteers can contact The Nature Conservancy in Maryland at (301) 897-8570 or e-mail mtravaglini@tnc.org.

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The Nature Conservancy is a leading international, nonprofit organization that preserves plants, animals and natural communities representing the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive. To date, the Conservancy and its nearly one million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 14 million acres in the United States—including more than 60,000 acres in Maryland—and have helped preserve more than 102 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific. Visit us on the Web at nature.org/maryland.