Invasive species management requires strategic planning, patience, and persistence. This concept of long-term care and diligence may be best exemplified by the Invasives Strike Force Crew’s continued work on the invasive vine, Japanese kudzu (Pueraria montana). Kudzu has an interesting history in United States culture. Nicknamed the “wonder vine,” kudzu awed audiences at the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. Newspapers claimed it grew a mile a minute (not to be confused with another invasive vine, mile-a-minute, Persicaria perfoliata!). The vine began to spread, prized as a pretty ornamental and a cheap forage crop where it thrived in southern climates. However, kudzu really took off when millions of seedlings were planted in an effort to curb soil erosion in the 1930s. It didn’t take long before people realized the aggressive nature of kudzu, swallowing up street signs, telephone poles, trees, and whatever else it could climb up. The “wonder vine” was soon given a more nefarious nickname: “the vine that ate the south.” While kudzu thrives in warm, humid, southern climates, “the vine that ate the south” is now nibbling at the north. Since 2018, the Invasives Strike Force has partnered with the NYS DEC to manage kudzu in the lower Hudson Valley. Of the 60 known sites, 17 are under active management. The other previously treated kudzu sites were also scouted, showing that an additional 17 (or 28%) are close to being able to be called eradicated, having no signs of lingering kudzu for a few years (we monitor a site after treatment and don’t consider it eradicated until it has no plants for at least 3 years). We’ve even trained our Conservation Dog, Dia, how to sniff out kudzu to help with control efforts! Management of kudzu is a long process, but with the steady persistence and determination of our Crew, we will continue to succeed! |