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Invasives Removal Plan April 7, 2011 Lincoln Fish Bay State Forestry Service 115 Nash Hill Road Haydenville, MA 01039 413.268.3288 MA Pesticide Applicator License #16251 Proposal for Control of Exotic-Invasive Plant Species Submitted to: Sarah I. LaValley Conservation, Preservation and Land Use Planner City of Northampton 10 Main Street, Rm 11 Northampton, MA 01060 Target Area: The proposed work will be accomplished on a portion of the Mineral Hills Conservation Area off Turkey Hill Road in Northampton. The target area of approximately 20.7 acres is drawn on the attached locus map and air photo. (Note: The target area is entirely on the north side of Turkey Hill Road, despite indication to the contrary on the topo locus map. The location of Turkey Hill Road on the USGS topo map is apparently 100 feet to the north of its actual location.) The strategy of targeting this particular area is to eliminate invasive exotic plants in areas that are both heavily infested and also receive intensive recreational use. The rationale is that eliminating invasive-exotic seeds from this area will reduce the spread of invasives by human and animal traffic along trails through the rest of the property. While this area contains the old quarry in which invasive-exotic infestation is fairly light, it also contains the hedgerow between the quarry and the field to the east, which contains the heaviest bittersweet infestation observed on the property. The area contains Turkey Hill Road, a road around the perimeter of the quarry and a road/trail through the field to the east of the quarry. The intent is to eliminate bittersweet and other invasives from an area stretching 200 feet out from the road around the perimeter of the quarry. Most ATV use on the property, which is likely responsible for distribution of invasive-exotic seeds, seems to use this area. Hopefully, there will be more invasive- exotic plant control here in the future. If so, this 20 acre block of invasive-free land can be used as a base from which to eliminate the more sparse invasive infestations to the north and east. Proposed work: Cut all large (greater than 8’ in height) invasive-exotic plants with a chainsaw and apply herbicide solution to cut surface to prevent resprouting. (Cut-surface treatment solution 25% Garlon 4 Ultra dissolved in horticultural oil). Most of the chainsaw work will be on bittersweet vines, as there are innumerable bittersweet vines climbing into trees in this area. In addition to large individuals greater than 8’ tall, vines will be cut and stump- treated where they are climbing into native vegetation that must not be sprayed. For instance, just past the pavement end where one parks on Turkey Hill Road, there is a field off the north side of the road with a thicket of native round-leaved dogwood containing several bittersweet vines climbing on it at a height of approx 5’. These vines will be cut and stump treated, as it would be impossible to eliminate them by spraying without also killing the dogwood. Cutting will be followed by a foliar spray to control smaller invasive-exotics. (Foliar spray solution 3% Garlon 4 Ultra, an herbicide that is effective against bittersweet.) Other invasive-exotics found in the area that would be targeted by both spraying and cutting include multiflora rose, bush honeysuckle, Amur corktree and Japanese knotweed. It is especially important to eliminate corktree, as this is an aggressively invasive exotic tree. Only a few individuals were observed, all in close proximity to the quarry perimeter, so the infestation is in a very early stage. Integrated Vegetation Management The work of Bay State Forestry Service in controlling invasive-exotic plants is guided by the principles of Integrated Vegetation Management (IVM). Our goal is to eliminate invasives with minimal damage to the native plant community we want to save and to do our work with the miminum herbicide necessary. The reason to cut large individuals with a chainsaw and stump-treat them is so that these large invasives can be removed from the landscape without impact to the adjacent native plants. After cutting, the remaining invasives are small and can be sprayed precisely without damage to the native plants we want to save. We use small, backpack sprayers in order to surgically target the invasives. Our methods contrast sharply with broadcast herbicide spraying, which often does more harm than good by killing an unnecessary number of native plants. Once the seed source for the invasive-exotic plants has been eliminated, native plants can begin to re-establish. Remnant populations of dogwood, viburnum, blueberry, alder, witch hazel, choke cherry and hazelnut, along with native tree saplings were observed here. The robust community of native plants that will re-emerge here will provide a barrier to re-infestation by invasives. It is the third leg of our IVM control, the NATURAL barrier provided by the shade, leaf litter and root systems of native plants. A two-legged stool is not able to stand up. For effective long-term control of invasive-exotics, we need all three legs: the NATURAL barrier of a native plant community, along with judiciously applied MECHANICAL and CHEMICAL treatments. Performance Standards: An acceptable job is considered to be elimination of 80-90% of the existing invasive- exotic plants on the site. In order to achieve effective long-term control of invasive- exotics, re-treatment for at least two additional years is highly recommended. Costs for retreatment of invasives on the same area during the following year will normally be half or less than half of the previous year’s cost. Each year, the goal will be to reduce the invasive-exotic infestation an additional 80-90%. By the end of the third application, nearly all established invasive-exotic root systems would be eliminated and the seedlings that would germinate after that could be controlled by volunteer hand-pulling. Timing: All work, cutting and spraying, will be accomplished before June 30, 2011. Payment: Lincoln Fish, Bay State Forestry Service, agrees to provide the above-described services before the June 30, 2011deadline in return for a fee of $4750, to be paid by the City of Northampton to Bay State Forestry Service within 60 days of successful completion of work and invoice submission. Wetland Areas: This proposal is contingent upon approval by the Northampton Conservation Commission of herbicide application in wetland areas, if any, within the target project area. If additional work by Bay State Forestry Service is necessary in order to obtain conservation commission approval, said work will be invoiced at $80 per hour. Proposal submitted by: Lincoln C. Fish, Bay State Forestry Service DATE Proposal accepted by: Legal representative of City of Northampton DATE