MWA River Talk: Managing Invasive Species

This River Talk took place Jan. 28, 2025. Guest speaker, Dr. Michael Van Clef, shared how to properly identify and control these persistent plants in your own yard and community.
Mike is the Friends of Hopewell Valley Open Space Stewardship Director and also serves as their Invasive Species Strike Team Program Director. He joined FoHVOS in 2007 and co-founded the Strike Team in 2008 with the goal of bringing greater efficiency and effectiveness to invasive species management. Mike has a Ph.D. in ecology from Rutgers University and over 25 years of experience in land stewardship, planning and research, working extensively in the evaluation and management of rare and invasive species and deer management. He has consulted with over 30 organizations in NJ including the NJ Invasive Species Council for which he prepared the New Jersey Strategic Management Plan for Invasive Species.
The Strike Team is most known for their work in eradicating invasive species for the protection and conservation of rare species, including plants and wildlife. This talk will include a discussion of the problems that invasives cause in the ecosystem and their impacts in natural areas. We discussed ways to identify and control invasive species, including using a phone app to record and store data. We also discussed the creation of stewardship plans designed to most effectively and efficiently treat invasive species to protect biodiversity.

[@Fred-yx7fv]

Extremely helpful and insightful, thank you.