Purging pepperweed
Volunteers sought to join Seacoast area 'Pepperweed Patrol'
By Liz Premo
Atlantic News Staff Writer
Beware, perennial pepperweed! Your days in the Seacoast area are numbered.
Designated as an invasive species (and even named "Weed of the Week" in 2005) by the USDA Forest Service, Lepidium latifolium (aka ironweed, giant whiteweed and peppergrass) has earned a bad name wherever those tiny four-petaled flower clusters decide to bloom.
It's a distinction that's well-earned - this herbaceous member of the mustard family - which has become fairly well-grounded in the western part of the country - has a reputation for disrupting the natural ecosystem wherever it happens to grow.
Help, however, is on the way. There is a call out for volunteers in the Seacoast area to "join the Pepperweed Patrol" to help stop the spread of this pesky coastal space invader.
The New Hampshire Coastal Program at the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services in partnership, with the US Fish and Wildlife Service is spearheading this project. The volunteers they enlist are being asked to "map, control and eradicate perennial pepperweed in the Hampton-Seabrook Estuary."
The project will involve canvassing the salt marsh areas in the towns of Hampton, North Hampton, Hampton Falls, Seabrook, and Rye, where it is suspected that limited populations of pepperweed may be taking root. It is hoped that this invasive nuisance can be completely purged before it has a chance to become a problem.
To assist potential volunteers before they embark upon their seek-and-destroy mission, a pair of volunteer training sessions are planned. The first is scheduled for Friday, June 27 from 10-11 a.m., while the second will be held on Tuesday, July 1 from 7-8 p.m. Both will be conducted at the Hampton Town Offices, located at 100 Winnacunnet Road in Hampton.
Anyone who wants to register, or who would like to volunteer but cannot attend either session, can contact Kevin Lucey at (603) 559-0026 or email at kevin.lucey@des.nh.gov.
These sessions are also open to members of the public who would like to know more about perennial pepperweed. There is absolutely no obligation involved for those who plan to attend.
Volunteers who do want to take an active part as members of the "Pepperweed Patrol" will be asked to keep an eye peeled for the pest. They can work on their own or as teams, mapping and hand-pulling the weeds wherever they may happen to be growing.
So what exactly will they be looking for? Multiple-stemmed, densely-growing plants standing 3-8 feet tall, with creeping, rhizome-like roots and bright green to gray-green leaves that have serrate margins. The white flower clusters bloom from early summer to fall, bearing small, two-seeded pods that drop to the ground.
Among the numerous potential threats they pose, perennial pepperweed can displace native animals and plants, including threatened and endangered species. They are also known to disrupt the nesting frequency of waterfowl inhabiting wetland areas.
Because perennial pepperweed has not yet become as invasive in the Seacoast as it has in other areas of the United States (and Canada and Mexico), it can potentially be eradicated and controlled by hand removal as long as the plants are not allowed to mature. Traditional mowing methods aren't necessarily effective because new plants can regenerate very quickly from the roots left behind.
Invasive plants of all varieties are in the crosshairs of the Coastal Watershed Invasive Plant Partnership (CWIPP), which was formed in May. Almost a dozen federal and state agencies and non-profit conservation groups have signed on to work together, making a five-year commitment to assess and control invasive species in 42 towns across Rockingham and Strafford County.
They include the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services, N.H. Coastal Program; New Hampshire Fish and Game Department; New Hampshire Department of Transportation; New Hampshire Department of Agriculture, Markets & Food; New Hampshire Department of Resources and Economic Development; Rockingham County Conservation District; Natural Resources Conservation Service; United States Forest Service; The Nature Conservancy; Great Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve; and the University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension.
Now there is an opportunity for the public to join the fight to protect New Hampshire's coastal watershed and eradicate a pesky plant before it becomes a problem. Want to help out? Plan on attending one of the volunteer training sessions in Hampton, or call Kevin Lucey at (603) 559-0026 for more information.
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