Taylor Clements
Service Learning Project
Milwaukee County Park System
Invasive Species in Jacobus Park
One of the goals of the Milwaukee County Park System is to protect the environment of
the parks through awareness, preparedness, and preventative action. During my service
learning with the park system, I dealt with invasive species. These are species of plant
organisms that originate from habitats other than those in which they are found. These species
have a recognized negative impact on their new environment. As part of my service learning, I
was assigned to learn about and to map the invasive species in Jacobus Park. Mapping these
species is necessary for their careful removal and control. Service learning taught me about
differences in the urban environment, how organizations address environmental concerns, and
the limitations in solving ecological problems.
I mapped three different widespread invasive species in Jacobus Park. They were the
Japanese Knotwood, the Garlic Mustard, and the Common Buckthorn. Garlic Mustard is a plant
that stands 12 to 48 inches high. It can be identified by its garlic or onion scent produced when
crushed between your fingers (Appendix A). It was found throughout the floor of Jacobus Park.
It can hinder other plants that grow along the forest turf. Common Buckthorn grows up to 25
feet high and 10 inches in diameter. It can be identified by its yellowish-orange interior
(Appendix B). Common Buckthorn is difficult to destroy and may need to be sprayed or pulled
many times to eliminate it completely. The most damaging of the three species is the Japanese
Knotwood. This plant can damage river banks and grows to a large size. It can be identified by a
knot shape of its leaves and berries (Appendix C). These three plants are not the only types of
invasive species within the park but are the most well known and widespread.
Methods of controlling invasive species usually include application of herbicide
chemicals and hand pulling. In Jacobus Park both methods are used. Another control method is
brush burning. This method is not used in Jacobus Park due to its small size. Chemicals are best
applied to these plants in the fall, winter, or early spring to ensure that spreading of the plants
and their seeds does not occur. One chemical used is glyhosate. This type of spraying needs to
be done carefully in order to not harm the surrounding environment. Volunteer work is
effective for controlling the Garlic Mustard. This species can be hand pulled. It is plentiful in
Jacobus Park. Without the volunteer work the county park system receives, it would be difficult
to control Garlic Mustard.
Mapping of invasive species provides an idea of where best to use control resources.
While mapping Jacobus Park there were many observations I made. (A copy of the mapping can
be seen in Appendix D). The mapping was done using overhead photography and satellite
mapping. The first observation was that although some control methods were used, there was
still a large quantity of these invasive species in the park. This indicates that population of these
plants may be too large to economically combat. Their complete eradication may be difficult
and expensive. I noticed that in some areas one invasive species such as Common Buckthorn
was eliminated, another invasive such as Garlic Mustard had taken its place. This means
additional control methods must be implemented again to make sure they are fully taken care
of. A second observation was that the Japanese Knotwood was found only along a riverbed.
This means it had not spread and control methods that were implemented the previous year
were effective. The Japanese Knotwood is found in only one area in the park. It is, however,
the hardest to eradicate, the most destructive, and can spread quickly if not taken care of. The
biggest thing I noticed was that with the large quantity of invasives spread throughout the park.
It would almost impossible to rid the park of these species entirely. Selecting locations for using
control methods is important for economic and time reasons. Some invasive species, such as
Common Buckthorn, once they are in the ground for a certain amount of time and developed,
are difficult to control.
The Milwaukee County Park System uses educational posters to teach people how not
to spread invasive species. Invasive species can be carried by humans from place to place in the
park. Staying on paths and leaving these species untouched is the best way to keep them
where they are. In my attached flyer, I took one of the most relevant invasive species, the
garlic mustard, and made it in to an informative sheet for those visiting Jacobus Park and run
into them. Knowing as much as possible about specific species can help park goers get around
and know that some species do not come from Wisconsin and in fact are invasive. Jacobus Park
is very good at keeping trails cleanly marked so that people do not stray off the path to disturb
these species. Keeping people with in these paths stops the plant’s seeds from getting on
peoples clothing and spreading to other parts of the park. There are also informative stations
found with in the park talking about the different types of species in the park. Conveying
knowledge is a good way of keeping invasive species from spreading more than they already
are in the park.
One of the biggest things I learned while doing my service learning project is what the
Milwaukee County Park system does is just a small part of protecting the environment. Knowing
the other scales and places in this type of work is vital. Although they service the parks within
the county on a big scale; the whole world’s ecosystem in some ways affects their parks. The
Invasive species in these parks are from Asia and Europe. The Milwaukee County Park system
needs to know not just the biology of these species, but the habitats of where all the invasives’
come from. Globally there would need to be funding and prevention techniques in order to
stop the spread of these species to other countries. These invasives’ are not only plants; but are
animals and insects as well; on the scale I worked at, however, plants were what I was working
with. On a national level they need to know what types of species are coming from other states
and how these types of species are coming into our Wisconsin habitats. At a neighborhood level
they need to work with others to stop the spread of these invasive so that they don’t harm the
parks more than they already are. They promote recreation, safety, and preservation of the
parks they are in so that everyone can enjoy them.
The county park system focuses strictly on the parks and not differences in income or
wealth, or in what community you are in. Land use is precious within the urban environment. In
some cases it is difficult to protect parklands because of the level of use they receive. Some
parks maintained better than others because of the lack of funding. I learned that park
operation and maintenance funding is not determined based upon what type of neighborhood
the park is in. Funding is based on how ecologically important some parks are over others.
Some parks have species of animals, birds, and plants that are rarer than others. These parks
are given higher funding priority. I learned that all that can possibly be done is being done to
protect every park; but there is an economic hierarchy present because of budget constraints.
They also realize that some parks are more often used more than others and try to keep up on
those more. The limitations associated with the Milwaukee County Park System is what keeps
them from doing more; is some cases these limitations can not help without help at a broader
scale.
The limitations associated with the resources helping parks fight invasive species; and all
the funding to keep them beautiful is far from what they need. A much broader scale needs to
be looked at to see what the park system is really up against. From an invasive species
standpoint; the money for pesticides, plant removal, and workers is far from where it needs to
be to totally contain these species. They do the best they can with the money they have but the
government is who gives them their money and that’s all they have to work with. Also the
amount of land they have to cover is huge. The amount of parks within the park system far
outweighs the resources needed to preserve them. A nationwide or global crackdown on
invasive species, with strong funding, is the only way that invasive species would ever be fully
eradicated. Also even though the Milwaukee County Park System is huge on educating people
to keep their parks in good condition; many people on a broader scale do not know the dangers
and the impacts things can have on a habitat. Acting locally will never by itself be good enough
to adequately protect the park systems. Invasive species by themselves are a global problem
that cannot be solved by one local town by itself.
In the end I found that volunteer work is very important for my group. Without
volunteers much of the hand pulling of invasive species would not get done. With the small
amount of employees they have for such a vast amount of beautiful area it would impossible
for them to cover it all by themselves. I know that what I did In Jacobus park will help the
Milwaukee County Park System which brings a sense of pride for what your doing while your
there. The experience will be one I won’t soon forget because it really put in prospective how
hard people work to keep our parks clean. It also puts into perspective that they are fighting an
uphill battle and that even with all they do there needs to be more done on a larger scale. I
hope to continue working with my service learner even after this project to help with Jacobus
Park to help keep it beautiful.
Appendix A
Garlic Mustard
(picture taken by Taylor Clements in Jacobus Park)
Appendix B
Common Buckthorn
(picture taken by Taylor Clements in Jacobus Park)
Appendix C
Japanese Knotwood
(picture taken by Taylor Clements in Jacobus Park)
Appendix D
LegendJapanese Knotwood
Common Buckthorn
Garlic Mustard
*Dots represent mild invasive clusters
*Lines represent a large group of invasives
Resources
1. http://dnr.wi.gov/invasives/plants.asp
2. http://wisplants.uwsp.edu/search.html