Get help blasting buckthorn, other invasive plants

Buckthorn, knotweed (a.k.a. bamboo), or wild parsnip got you down? The Carlton Soil and Water Conservation District is here to help.

The recently formed Carlton County Cooperative Weed Management Area Program is working hard to remove invasive plants in neighborhoods around Carlton County.

Invasive plants can be frustrating to remove from a yard, threaten healthy ecosystems - affecting food, clean water and air - and cost our community money.

These invasive plants choke out native plants and threaten Lake Superior, local water bodies, our valuable parks and open spaces, and, lastly, your yard.

Invasives threaten during all seasons, but fall and even winter are the best times to cut and treat the woody shrub buckthorn.

Buckthorn can take over large areas, reducing habitat and food sources as it competes with native plant species needed in a healthy native ecosystem.

Buckthorn plants that are 2 inches in diameter or larger are best controlled by cutting the stem at the soil surface and then covering or treating the stump with an herbicide to prevent re-sprouting.

Cutting can be effectively done with hand tools, chainsaws or brush cutters.

The Carlton SWCD has an invasive species equipment rental program that offers a "Buckthorn Battle Pack" to the landowner to combat buckthorn. It includes loppers, a hand saw and Buckthorn Blaster with herbicide included. There is even a buckthorn puller to pull stems up to 2 inches in diameter to eliminate the use of herbicide.

To make it easier to treat larger infestations, the SWCD also has a mountable ATV 20-gallon herbicide sprayer for use.

Anyone who would like assistance in identifying, surveying, or more information on invasive plants and management on your property, the Carlton SWCD will come out and visit with you on site at no cost.

The SWCD also has funds to help remove invasive species on a property, and can help fund the landowner's time, equipment and tools. Too much work for you to handle? SWCD can also help you pay a contractor to do the work for you, generally up to 50 percent of the costs for the project.

To find out more about site visit or funding opportunities, contact Alyssa Bloss, conservation specialist with the Carlton SWCD at 218-384-3891, or email [email protected].