By Bill Ward
Published in The Boerne Star on August 25, 2006
Ever since man has been able to move about the globe, plants that originated in one part of the world have been moved to other parts of the world. Some of the exotic plants imported for horticultural and agricultural purposes escape into the wild and thrive, upsetting the natural ecological balance.
Many introduced plants are immune to the predators and diseases that have evolved over many thousands of years to maintain equilibrium in the natural system. Such exotic plants can thrive, aggressively overtaking and displacing native species. Some of the invasive exotic plants that are conspicuously terrorizing Cibolo Creek habitats near Boerne are chinaberry, at least two species of ligustrum, Chinese tallow, Japanese honeysuckle, and nonnative mulberries. Another oriental tree that is becoming ever more abundant in Boerne is the tree-of-heaven. I will not be surprised to find its leafy branches hogging the canopy along Cibolo Creek soon.
It is now recognized that changes wrought by invasive exotic species to natural ecological systems and to agricultural systems are a national economic burden. Experts estimate that the annual cost of invasive species to the US economy is in the billions of dollars. Executive Order 13112 (Feb. 3, 1999) established the National Invasive Species Council to deal with the problems of invasive species.
To effectively deal with the bioterrorist invaders, more needs to be known about the distribution of the various invasive species. The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center is coordinating a volunteer citizen-science program to find and report invasive plants. This national program is being developed in partnership with the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum, Sea Studios Foundation, the National Science Foundation, and National Geographic. The program was initiated last year.
Recently, Anne Adams, my wife Kathy, and I (representing the Boerne Chapter NPSOT and the Cibolo Nature Center) attended the second Invaders of Texas Citizen Science Training held in Kerrville. This workshop was conducted by personnel from the Wildflower Center and the Texas Forest Service to train volunteers in early detection and reporting of invasive plants in Texas.
Citizen participants in the workshop were taught to recognize the major invasive exotic plants now actively expanding their range in the Texas Hill Country. In addition, they were taught procedures for documenting and reporting the locations of invasive plants. Reports are made online to a database at the Wildflower Center. Digital photos also are submitted for verification of the invasive species.
Additional workshops will be held in the future to encourage more citizen-scientist participation in this program for early detection of invasive species. Anyone interested in helping curtail the invasive-plant damage to our Hill Country ecosystem can participate in this program.
I wish the awareness of the harm done by invasive exotic plants had existed many years ago when Bermuda grass and KR bluestem were beginning to take hold. Those are the two exotics that give me the most misery.
