CIPWG received the 2016 Environmental Organization Award from the Connecticut River Coastal Conservation District on November 5, 2016, “In recognition of CIPWG’s extensive long-term efforts to raise awareness about the threat of invasive plants, and your support and promotion of our invasive plant guide”.

The new expanded edition of, “Invasive Plants In Your Backyard! A Guide to Their Identification and Control”, recently published by the Connecticut River Coastal Conservation District, is now available as a PDF on the CIPWG website.  Click here to view this updated resource.

The Connecticut Invasive Plant Working Group (CIPWG) 2016 Invasive Plant Symposium was held on Tuesday, October 11, 2016 at the Student Union, University of Connecticut in Storrs, CT.  The theme of the symposium was: Invasive Plants in Our Changing World: Learn from the Past, Prepare for the Future.  The 8^th biennial conference featured national, regional, and local experts as well as citizen volunteers sharing practical solutions for invasive plant management and actions needed to promote native species and improve wildlife habitat.  Nationally-recognized Keynote speaker, Jil Swearingen, co-author of Plant Invaders of Mid-Atlantic Natural Areas presented, “We’re Moving on Up: Invasive Plants Heading North”.  Karl Wagener, Executive Director of the Connecticut Council on Environmental Quality, spoke on “Connecticut’s Future: Rooted in Choice”.  William Hyatt, Vice Chair of the Connecticut Invasive Plants Council, provided a legislative update.  Charlotte Pyle, recently retired from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service delivered closing remarks.

Concurrent afternoon sessions included:

• What Are Other States Doing? Panel discussion with New England invasive plant experts
• Native Plants for our Pollinators – Creating a balanced and healthy pollinator environment
• Management of Key Invasives: Success Stories and Progress Reports
• Biological Control: No Animal Too Small – Valuable invasive plant management tools
• Aquatic Invasive Plants – Updates on Hydrilla and other new aquatic invasive plant threats
• Plants to Watch Out For – The new invasives that threaten our borders

Research and management posters, an invasive plant identification area, and other educational exhibits were featured throughout the day.

Visit the 2016 Symposium page to view presentations

“Celebrating Connecticut’s Landscape”: Fall Foliage Tour was held on Sunday October 2, 2016.    The tour began at Sessions Woods Wildlife Management Area in Burlington, CT.   Participants learned about Connecticut’s native plants, habitats, and invasive plant management.  Tour leaders were:  DEEP Wildlife Biologist Peter Picone, UConn Forester Tom Worthley, Dr. Jeff Ward CAES ,  Charlotte Pyle, Ecologist, David Irvin, CTDEEP Forester, Bill Moorhead , Botanist, and Jason Marshall  (Conservationist/Sportsman).

Special thanks to Northwest Connecticut Sportman’s Council (NWCSC) for a grant towards the rental of the tour bus.

USDA FY2016 grant and partnership programs for invasive species has been updated: http://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/toolkit/grantsusda.shtml

CIPWG was mentioned in the NESAF Quarterly Newsletter.  The article is on page 12.

Click here to view the 2015 CIPWG Annual Report, or the 2015 IPC Annual report.

Minutes and presentations from the October 6th General Meeting are now posted here.

The University of Connecticut Daily Campus featured an article on the continuing impact of invasive plant species in Connecticut.

Click on the link to view the online version of the article.

CIPWG would like your help in tracking plants on our Early Detection and Research Lists throughout the growing season.  Please visit  http://cipwg.uconn.edu/early_detection/ for more information on these plants.

Plants on the Early Detection List are known to be invasive or potentially invasive in Connecticut and are on Connecticut’s list of Invasive and Potentially Invasive Plants.  They are known to be present only in relatively low numbers at limited locations in Connecticut.  These species should be considered for control and eradication efforts in the state when resources are available.

Plants on the Research List are plants about which more information is desired.  This is not a regulatory list or an invasive plant list.  Plants are not necessarily listed here prior to inclusion on an invasive plant list.  Rather, more information about these plants and their occurrence in the state is desired.

We are particularly interested in new occurrences of plants listed on the Early Detection List.  For help with identification of the plants on this list click below for slides:

Please report your findings to info@cipwg.org. Be sure to include as much detail as you are able (attach photographs if possible) and provide your contact information.