The Connecticut Invasive Plant Working Group (CIPWG) is a consortium of individuals, members of environmental organizations, and affiliates of municipal and state agencies whose mission is to promote awareness of invasive plants and their non-invasive alternatives. Formed in 1997 as an ad- hoc group, CIPWG is now in its 18th year of operation. The working group meets 1 to 2 times per year to collaborate and share information on the presence, distribution, ecological impacts, and management of invasive plants affecting Connecticut and the region and to promote uses of native or non-invasive ornamental alternatives. CIPWG members include federal, state, and town agency staff, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), researchers, nursery growers, educators, master gardeners, community members, and interested citizens. Donna Ellis (UConn Department of Plant Science & Landscape Architecture) serves as Co-Chair.
Since 2002, CIPWG has hosted biennial invasive plant symposia. The eighth biennial symposium is in the planning stages for fall 2016 and will be held at the UConn Student Union in Storrs, CT. Previous symposia have attracted up to 500 attendees. The CIPWG website address is cipwg.uconn.edu. The website provides information on invasive plant topics that include identification, management, the Connecticut list of invasive plants, photos of invasive plants, invasive alternatives, resources, legislative updates, Early Detection and Research invasive plant lists, and information and links for Connecticut Invasive Plants Council activities. Online reporting forms for mile-a-minute weed (Persicaria perfoliata), giant hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum), and purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) allow website visitors to provide distribution information on these species. A separate, related website exists for mile-a-minute information at mam.uconn.edu. The CIPWG website provides links to the Early Detection and Distribution Mapping System (EDDMapS; eddmaps.org) to accept additional reports of other invasive plants. New features continue to be added to expand the CIPWG website, including a photo notebook with a gallery of Connecticut invasive plants, an event calendar, and links to invasive plant fact sheets and management information. The design and layout of the site were also upgraded recently.
The Connecticut Invasive Plant Working Group maintains the following subcommittees:
- Education and Outreach (educational outreach about invasive species and their alternatives)
- Management (develop and disseminate information on invasive plant control options)
- Native Alternatives (explore and promote use of native plant species as alternatives to invasives
CIPWG provides a list of speakers who are available to give presentations on many invasive plant- related topics, including identification, control, and non-invasive alternatives. CIPWG speakers and other members coordinated and presented many lectures, workshops, demonstrations, guided field walks, and invasive plant management events during 2015. Two CIPWG exhibits that feature terrestrial plants and aquatic species continue to be displayed at numerous public events.
The CIPWG exhibits were displayed, invasive plant talks were presented, invasive plant educational materials were provided, and/or invasive plant management activities occurred at the following local, statewide, and regional events during 2015 (All towns are in CT unless otherwise noted):
- 8th International Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Symposium, Salt Lake City, UT; Ellis (25 attendees)
- Andover Conservation Commission Workshop, Andover; Gabelman (12 participants)
- Army Corps, post-dam invasive removal monitoring, Pawcatuck; French (6 participants)
- Aspetuck Land Trust Land Management Walk, Westport; Brodlie (17 participants)
- Ballard Greenhouse Plant Sale, Ridgefield; Cencebaugh (900 attendees)
- Battle for Native Woodlands Forest Forum, New Haven; Zetterstrom (24 attendees)
- Battle for Native Woodlands Workshop, Salisbury; Zetterstrom (71 attendees)
- Bethel Garden Club meeting, Bethel; Hiskes (22 attendees)
- Bethel Garden Fair, Bethel; Nelson, UConn Master Gardeners
- Bridgewater Fair, Bridgewater; Nelson (2 days)
- Camp Brook Greenway, invasive plant planning and removal, North Canaan; Zetterstrom (6 participants, multiple days worked)
- Charlotte Violet Hubbard Butterfly Party, Newtown; Gabelman
- Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station Plant Science Day, Hamden; Ellis, Gabelman (1,062 attendees)
- Connecticut Association of Conservation and Inland Wetlands Commissions Annual Conference, Wallingford; Gabelman, Nelson (250 attendees)
- Connecticut Association of Street and Highway Officials, Wallingford; Gabelman, Villwock (700 attendees)
- Connecticut Association of Wetland Scientists, Southbury; Gabelman (225 attendees)
- Connecticut Botanical Society, 3 invasive plant removal activities, Cheshire, New Haven; Gadwa (15 participants)
- Connecticut College Arboretum Invasive Plants Talk and Walk, New London; Dreyer, Knuttel, Redfern (20 attendees)
- Connecticut Department of Transportation, invasive plant roadside herbicide program, statewide; Villwock (multiple days worked)
- Connecticut Environmental Council Annual Meeting, Plantsville; Gabelman (250 attendees)
- Connecticut Envirothon Field Day, New London; Ellis, Pyle (50 attendees)
- Connecticut Flower and Garden Show, Hartford; Ellis, Gabelman, other volunteers (30,000 attendees)
- Connecticut Grounds Keepers Association Turf and Landscape Conference, Cromwell; Ellis, Gabelman (200 attendees)
- Connecticut Invasive Plant Working Group general meeting, Burlington; Ellis, Gabelman, Picone, Pyle (30 attendees)
- Connecticut Invasive Plant Working Group general meeting, multiple presentations, Storrs; Ellis, Gabelman, Gadwa, Les, Pyle, Saunders, Williams (40 attendees)
- Connecticut Nursery and Landscape Association Summer Field Day, Stamford; Ellis, Gabelman (300 attendees)
- Connecticut Nursery and Landscape Association Winter Symposium and Expo, New Haven; Ellis, Gabelman (375 attendees)
- Connecticut Urban Forest Council and Forest Forum Annual Conference, Plantsville; Villwock (162 attendees)
- Coventry Lake, Hydrilla field trip and discovery, Coventry; Les (17 participants)
- Doolittle Park, invasive plant removal, Wallingford; Tessmer (6 participants, multiple days worked)
- Early College Learning Experience 2015 Summer Camp at UConn, Storrs; Ellis (18 attendees, 2 days)
- Ecological Landscape Alliance Workshop, Framingham, MA; Bald, Hawkes, Snyder (90 attendees)
- Evergreen Garden Club, Glastonbury; Ellis (15 attendees)
- Fairfield Earth Day, Fairfield; Hamilton and Hogue (1,000 attendees)
- Flanders Farm Day, Woodbury; Gabelman
- Forest Service, invasive plant removal, Hamden; Tessmer (2 participants, multiple days worked)
- Gillette Castle, invasive plant exhibit, East Haddam; French (159 attendees, 3 days)
- Goodwin Invasive Volunteer Training, Hampton; Gabelman (20 participants)
- Goshen Fair, Goshen; Nelson (3 days)
- Gouveia’s Vineyards, invasive plant removal, Wallingford; Tessmer (4 participants, multiple days worked)
- Haddam Meadows State Park, invasive cleanup, Haddam; Gabelman (20 participants)
- Hamden Earth Day Celebration; Gabelman (4,000 attendees)
- Hamden Middle School, invasive plant removal, Hamden; Tessmer, public works staff
- Highland Elementary School, invasive plant removal, Wallingford; Tessmer (many participants, multiple days worked)
- Housatonic Valley Regional High School, invasive plant removal, Falls Village; Zetterstrom (13 participants, multiple days worked)
- Invasive plant removal, Vermont; Bald (multiple sites and days worked)
- Invasive Plant Workshop, Sharon; Zetterstrom (81 participants)
- Invasive Plant Workshop, Wilton; Gabelman (40 attendees)
- Kent Land Trust Annual Picnic, Kent; Nelson (300 attendees)
- King Arthur Flour Corporation, invasive plant management, Norwich, VT; Bald (multiple days worked)
- L&M Hospital Earth Day Fair, New London; French (57 attendees)
- Lebanon Country Fair, Lebanon; Teller
- LeGallienne Preserve, invasive plant removal, Weston; Brodlie (6 participants; multiple days worked)
- Mad Gardeners Symposium, Falls Village; Fontana, Nelson (100 attendees)
- Mile-a-minute Weed Biological Control Project, 23 release and monitoring sites visited in CT; Astarita, Cheah, Ellis, Gabelman, Nelson, Varricchio (6 participants, multiple days worked)
- Mile-a-minute Weed removal, von Rebay Preserve, Westport; Brodlie (2 participants, multiple days worked)
- Mile-a-minute Weed Search and Destroy, Bridgewater, Brookfield, Danbury, Gaylordsville, Millerton (NY), New Milford, Newtown, Pawling (NY), Roxbury, Wingdale (NY); Nelson (2-person teams, multiple days worked)
- Milford Earth Day, Milford; Johnson
- Milford Energy and Environment Fair; Johnson (500 attendees)
- Milford invasive plant removal: Johnson (multiple days worked)
- New England Grows Sprint Sessions, Boston, MA; Ellis (50 attendees February 2015 and 30 attendees December 2015)
- Newman/Poses Preserve, invasive plant removal, Westport; Brodlie (8 participants, multiple days worked)
- New Milford Village Fair Days, New Milford; Nelson (2 days)
- New York Statewide Invasive Species Speaker Webinar Series 2015; Ellis (200 participants)
- North Haven Earth Day, North Haven; Hsiang (200 attendees)
- Orchard’s Gold Course, Invasive Plant Survey, Milford; Johnson (multiple days worked)
- Ornamental and Turf Short Course; 3 courses taught in East Haven, North Haven, and West Hartford; Ellis (80 attendees)
- Phragmites Forum at Fulton Park, Waterbury; Aulakh, McNamara (28 attendees)
- Pierrepoint State Park, invasive plant removal, Ridgefield; Snow (12 participants, multiple days worked)
- Scoville Sanctuary, invasive plant mapping and removal, Salisbury; Zetterstrom (7 participants; multiple days worked)
- Sharon Audubon Festival, Sharon; Nelson
- Sharon Land Trust invasive plant training, Sharon; Zetterstrom (10 participants)
- Sherman Weed Warriors, invasive plant removal, Sherman; McCann (20 participants, 4 days worked)
- Southwest Conservation District, invasive plant consultation and research, Hamden; Tessmer (multiple days worked)
- The Academy, invasive plant inventory and management, Milford; Johnson (5 participants, multiple days worked)
- Town and Country Garden Club meeting, Newtown; Astarita (50 attendees)
- Town of Stowe, VT, invasive plant removal; Bald (multiple days worked)
- UConn Center for Learning in Retirement, Storrs; Ellis (30 attendees)
- UConn Garden Conference, Storrs; Ellis, Gabelman (212 attendees)
- UConn Master Gardeners Plant Sale, Norwich; Teller
- UConn Perennial Plant Conference, Storrs; Ellis, Gabelman (257 attendees)
- Wallingford Senior Center, invasive plant removal, Wallingford; Tessmer (many participants, multiple days worked)
- Water Chestnut Search and Destroy, Bridgewater, New Milford; Nelson (4 participants, multiple days worked)
- West Rock Ridge Trail Work Party, Hamden; Gabelman (10 participants)
- Yale University School of Forestry & Environmental Studies Invasive Species Seminar Series, New Haven; Ellis, Murray (10 attendees)
Submitted by Donna Ellis (UConn Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture; CIPWG Co-chair), with contributions from Nicole Gabelman and 23 other CIPWG members included above.
10 December 2015