The Challenge

The five invaders listed on the home page are the most common ones along the Root River State Trail. There are others but this site will focus on these five. Buckthorn, honeysuckle, cedar trees and wild parsnip all seek to invade and dominate vulnerable open areas.

Numerous web sites have documented the cedar tree invasion, sometimes referred to as the "Green Glacier", overrunning prairie and pastureland from Texas to South Dakota.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/07/opinion/prairie-great-plains-trees.html

https://www.agweek.com/news/controlling-the-green-glacier-taking-over-the-south-dakota-landscape

In the Bluff Country area of southeastern Minnesota, cedar trees now cover once bare hills, block scenic vistas along highways and creep into pastures no longer visited by cattle. While early control is as easy as cutting off small cedar trees that will not regrow, later control is much more labor and machine intensive.

The long term strategy of buckthorn, honeysuckle and vines is easy to see in heavily infested areas. The vines seek to climb and kill the canopy layer formed by the tops of trees. Buckthorn and honeysuckle seek to crowd out every other plant until the area is so infested with buckthorn and honeysuckle that only rabbits can get through. Vines will then cover the honeysuckle creating the ultimate thicket. Once the existing trees are killed and the thicket takes over, all hope is gone of hardwood trees or open pasture ever returning to the area without expensive intervention. Buckthorn thicket pictures on this site show what this looks like. This is NOT the ugly future anyone wants for the Root River State Trail!

Wild parsnip now dominates many road sides with annual mowing postponed until after it has gone to seed. A midsummer mowing to prevent the plant from going to seed would certainly help. Rules written to protect the nesting season include exceptions for invasive species control.

The challenge for MN DNR is to stop these invaders from dominating bike trail right of way and destroying the beauty of this precious resource. Hopefully the MN DNR will realize this is a fight they can't win on their own. The MN DNR needs volunteer help!