Mile-a-Minute Invasive Plant Pull on Wild Oak Trail (see poster)
Mature Mile-a-Minute Vine with berries. Photo by Leslie J. Mehrhoff
Trail user groups and naturalists are forming a posse to eliminate a patch of fast-spreading, invasive Mile-a-Minute Vine on the Hankey Mountain portion of Wild Oak National Recreation Trail.
When: Saturday, June 3, 10:00 a.m.- 3:00. p.m.
Please arrive at the patch any time between 10 and 3 and pull this unwanted plant for 1 hour. We need 50 people to get the job done. (Rain date: June 4.)
Where: Wild Oak Trail on Hankey Mountain - GPS Coordinates: 38.312029, -79.227457
Who: Hikers, bikers, trail runners, and equestrians who use Wild Oak Trail. Many hands make light work, so the more, the merrier. We will all learn to identify Mile-a-Minute and be able to report new occurrences.
When: Saturday, June 3, 10:00 a.m.- 3:00. p.m.
Please arrive at the patch any time between 10 and 3 and pull this unwanted plant for 1 hour. We need 50 people to get the job done. (Rain date: June 4.)
Where: Wild Oak Trail on Hankey Mountain - GPS Coordinates: 38.312029, -79.227457
Who: Hikers, bikers, trail runners, and equestrians who use Wild Oak Trail. Many hands make light work, so the more, the merrier. We will all learn to identify Mile-a-Minute and be able to report new occurrences.
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How: Hike, bike, run or ride to the mountaintop with a group or by yourself. We are coordinating 4WD truck rides to the site in the morning, starting at North River Campground and departing between 9:00 and 11:00 a.m. Be sure to bring garden or work gloves, We recommend long pants and long sleeved shirts. There may be some ticks; you may want to spray your shoes and pant legs with permethrin in advance.
Both PATC - Southern Shenandoah Valley and Charlottesville chapters are organizing group hikes to the site. Experts will be on hand from 10 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. to instruct volunteers on how to identify Mile-a-Minute and assign each person an area to pull. Why is this important? Mile-a-Minute will spread rapidly if not controlled. It can completely cover and overwhelm native plant communities and kill trees. Let's nip this infestation in the bud! |
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 This is the Mile-a-Minute patch on both sides of WOT on Hankey Mountain. Last year's vines are all dead, but new plants will grow from seeds. They are easy to pull. If they don't have any seeds, we can pull them and throw them on the ground. If the plants have produced berries, we will need to bag them.
Background Information Mile-a-Minute (Persicaria perfoliata) is a highly invasive vine that can grow up to 26 feet a year. Meg Riddle, GWNF North Zone biologist, has identified it as a top priority invasive plant, one that gives her nightmares. The seeds can be carried to new locations on our boots, bike tires, running shoes, and horse hooves. Birds can disperse the seeds, too. Hankey Mountain has the only known patch of Mile-a-Minute we know of in the central Shenandoah Mountain area. Fortunately, Mile-a-Minute is an annual plant and starts each year from seed. Meg Riddle said, "Pulling young plants is a very effective way to control it." If we trail users pull young plants before they produce seed, we can keep it from spreading along Wild Oak Trail and adjacent trails, and we can keep it out of the proposed Shenandoah Mountain National Scenic Area. The patch is in a remote location along Wild. Oak Trail on the crest of Hankey Mountain. Trail users may hike, bike, run or ride a horse to the infestation. We have arranged for some 4WD trucks to haul volunteers to the pull site in the morning. Please let us know in advance if you need a ride. If we have enough help, we can pull the whole patch this June while it's still early in its growing season. In addition to joining together to beat back this invasive, we will all be able to identify and report new occurrences along trails. New infestations will be much easier to deal with when they are small. |
The Mile-a-Minute patch is marked by a red star on the map.
 The Mile-a-Minute patch is marked with a red star. It is south of Elkhorn Lake on the edge of the proposed Shenandoah Mountain National Scenic Area (blue). The patch is accessible by trail users from Stokesville, Shaffer Hollow Trail, Bear Draft Trail, White Oak Draft Trail, Dowells Draft Trail, Wild Oak Trail from FR 96, and from FR 425 from North River Campground to Hankey Mountain. GPS Coordinates: 38.312029, -79.227457
Click map to enlarge.
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So, please hike, run, bike or register for a truck ride to Hankey Mountain on June 3. Bring a pair of work gloves, pull for an hour, and then continue on your way with a good feeling of having helped evict this notorious plant from the Shenandoah Mountain area.
Together we can do this!
Read more:
Deceptive and Crafty Invasive MILE-A-MINUTE VINE Grows Faster than a Speeding Bullet, Murders Trees and Shrubs
Questions? Contact Lynn Cameron or (540) 830-4524
Together we can do this!
Read more:
Deceptive and Crafty Invasive MILE-A-MINUTE VINE Grows Faster than a Speeding Bullet, Murders Trees and Shrubs
Questions? Contact Lynn Cameron or (540) 830-4524