Mile-a-Minute Invasive Plant Pull on Wild Oak Trail
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.
How: Hike, bike, run or ride to the mountaintop with a group or by yourself. 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 Chapter and Shenandoah Valley Bicycle Coalition are organizing group trips 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!
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.
How: Hike, bike, run or ride to the mountaintop with a group or by yourself. 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 Chapter and Shenandoah Valley Bicycle Coalition are organizing group trips 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!
 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 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 on Hankey Mountain is in a remote location along FR 425 on the crest of the mountain. (see map below). Unfortunately, the access road is in bad condition. Trail users will need to hike, bike, run or ride a horse to the infestation. That's more fun anyway, right? |
The Mile-a-Minute patch is marked by a red star on the map.
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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.
So, please ride, hike, run, or ride your horse to Hankey. Mountain on June 3. Bring a pair of work gloves, and help us 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 |
 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. 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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