With the MOS conference coming up, and possibilities of birding in less
traveled woods than those here in Montgomery county--even needing to think
about bears,no less--I was struck by something I came across in researching
invasive plants. (I've put aside much Weed Warrior work for this the last
summer of the Atlas, but it has become for me a very interesting project,
helping restore our parks to their uninvaded state.) What struck me was
finding that state conservation depts and outdoor organizations from Alaska
to Wisconsin, and including Maryland, consistently mention the same means
that these habitat-wrecking plants are spread--HIKING BOOTS!
Esp. if the ground is muddy, those boots pick up seeds along the edges of a
trail, where invasives concentrate, and transport them into the forest
interior, where many of them, such as garlic mustard, can flourish even in
the shade. Of course there are plenty of invasives that spread in sunny
areas too, but the shade loving ones are the ones that surprised me.
Anyway, I took a look, and sometime soon I plan to be doing some cleaning
out of dried mud on my boots and running shoes, before I take them to the
conference, or even into my Washington Co. atlas block. And I think I may
try to wear flat soled regular shoes if I know I have to go through a stand
of garlic mustard in order to get into a woods!
(To be fair, the same sites also tell people to clean their backpacks,
camping gear, boats, even pets!)
Anyway, just wanted to share the warnings I found.
Good Birding!
Patricia Wood
Silver Spring MD |