Town Invests In Cutting Back

The Invasives At Fairfield Hills

By Kendra Bobowick

Cutting, spraying, and burning the invasive barberry bushes at Fairfield Hills since late August, Dan Holmes faces a daunting task.

“There’s a lot of it,” he said. Where? “All over.” Mr Holmes’s current work is focused on one particular section of trail above the cul-de-sac and through the high meadow.

Thanks to a Conservation Commission initiative to remove barberry from the grounds, and town officials’ support, Mr Holmes of Holmes Fine Gardens earned the bid for work. The town has invested $20,000 for the project “to deal with invasives that are damaging our woodlands,” said First Selectman Pat Llodra.

Conservation Commission Chairman Mary Gaudet-Wilson said, “Barberry will take over the forested area and replace native plants.”

The presence of barberry or any invasive is “a game changer” for the natural plant life, said Deputy Director of Land Use Rob Sibley. “It’s a habitat changer and supplants natural plants; it affects water and soil.” He feels that the ecological impact of an invasive plant “is its largest impact.”

He said, “It’s part of why we are battling these plants around town. It alters the plants, animals, soil, and water.”

The plant is also “very opportunistic,” said Mr Holmes. The plant “takes hold and alters soil chemistry,” he said, which makes soil conditions optimum for barberry, but not necessarily for native growth. “It’s a really aggressive plant so nothing else can grow.” Since he started work recently, he has found the barberry thriving in sun, part shade, hot and dry areas, and wet areas. Other invasives such as autumn olive, and bittersweet are also crowding the landscape. He is cutting that back too, he said.

He changed his mind about his first intent to pull the barberry out by its roots. Research indicated that the seeds could still germinate, he said, so he has been cutting it back, leaving the trimmed stalks in place, then applying weed killer and/or using a propane torch to burn it, which research suggested, he said.

Considering his task, Mr Holmes said, “There is just so much of it.”

Officials hope residents will take note of Mr Holmes’s work at Fairfield Hills, Mrs Llodra said.

“We need to be good stewards and set a good example,” said Mr Sibley.

“Many, many people use our trails,” Mrs Llodra said. The location is prominent. “We are trying to demonstrate [land stewardship] and also are trying to demonstrate how the removal process works.”

At Fairfield Hills and elsewhere, invasive plant management for the municipality “is just something we’re going to have to work at as a town and individually if we are going to have our habitats preserved,” said Mr Sibley. “We hope this will be a good idea of what private homeowners can do.”

Residents can spot it best in the early spring and in the fall. “It is the first greening in the spring, and in the fall it has bright red berries,” said Mr Sibley.

“It is one of the first plants to leaf out before natives green up,” said Mr Holmes.

The three-phase project involves first removing the plants, spraying with pesticide and burning some out, then returning in several weeks for a second application. Mr Holmes will return in spring to check for revegitation.

Mr Holmes plans to check the area in consecutive springs. “Hopefully that will eradicate it,” he said. But the plant spreads quickly, he noted. “Wherever you look, there’s more.”

Officials are “especially paying attention to species that harbor ticks,” Mrs Llodra said. In past years the town has been concerned about the role ticks play in spreading Lyme disease, and barberry has been identified as a species that creates a habitat for ticks, Ms Llodra noted.

Ms Gaudet-Wilson said, “It becomes a health risk for the many people who use this trail.”

Mr Holmes said the town’s interest is “commendable.”