This year's target:
Wild Parsnip (Pastinaca sativa)
clck for zooming ↓
Wild parsnip is currently blooming along our roadways! These pictures were captured on June 13th near Pike Lake (Washington County) and on June 25th near State Highway 60 and County Highway I (Ozaukee County).
Concerned county residents are hitting the road again this summer to continue mapping populations of invasive species that spread to our natural areas, parks, farms and backyards via transportation corridors. The information is used to plan and implement control and management of these species.
To volunteer or to find out more about the 2012 wild parsnip survey email:
Training materials are now available on our website!
In 2011, more than 150 volunteers worked together to map teasel, Japanese knotweed and giant reed grass. This year we will map another problematic species: wild parsnip. All data collected during the roadside surveys are shared with municipal leaders, local land trusts, and private residents in the counties where they were collected. Survey data is also posted on the national database EDDMapS (http://www.eddmaps.org/). This information is valuable for our partners for planning and implementing control measures, and sometimes provides them with their first information about these problem plants. Ultimately the roadside survey maps will help us to build a strong case for the long-term funding of invasive species control and management efforts. For a summary of the 2011 survey results, download our report: PDF