Town of Stow’s Captain Sargent Conservation Area

Name: Jacquie Goring  Organization: Stow Conservation Commission  Phone: (978) 897-8615

Site location:
Tuttle Lane, Stow; 42 26' 52" 71 28' 50"

Captain Sargent Conservation Area is a diverse property with wooded portions mixed with active agricultural lands and community gardens.

Edge of actively farmed fields into forest.

Acres in the management area: 154.5  Listed on EDDMaps? No

Habitat type: Field/forest edge, Forest

Was this Early Detection Rapid Response (EDRR)? No

There were dense patches of knotweed along either side of Tuttle lane and along the roadside. Bittersweet also bordered the field edge and was dispersed throughout the forest. Buckthorn and barberry were throughout the forest.

Distribution of knotweed ranged from 50-100%, barberry from 5-50%, bittersweet from 20-60%, and buckthorn 10-70%.

Initial Overall Percent Cover of Invasives: 51 - 75%

Target species:

Eradication of knotweed and monitoring for reoccurance

Approximate project start date: July 1, 2015

Years this project has been ongoing:

This project is a portion of a CPA funded project to treat Japanese knotweed, glossy buckthorn, bittersweet, and Japanese barberry at Captain Sargent which was surveyed and mapped for invasives in 2014. Other properties mapped for invasives as a part of this project are Flagg Hill, Town Forest, Heath Hen and Marble Hill conservation areas.

Invasive control was predominately chemical, with some mechanical management.

Control method: Chemical, Mechanical

Disposal method: Incineration

Before the project commenced, outreach was done through town meeting, the press, Garden Club Outreach, and meetings with the Cons Com.

Mapping and treatment were carried out by a contractor, Polatin Ecological Services (now Land Stewardship, Inc.)

Chemical treatment via foliar spray, cut and dab, and stem injection in the fall. With knotweed, this was followed by cutting and burning treated stalks. Treatment for knotweed has been completed in the fall of 2015 and 2016 and will be completed again for the final time in the fall of 2017. Treatment of buckthorn, bittersweet, and barberry commenced in 2016. Annual monitoring of the treatment area will be conducted to monitor potential re-occurrence.

For chemical treatment, triclopyr (aka Garlon) and Rodeo were used depending on location and species.

Currently seeing if the native seed bank establishes itself. After two years of treatment of the knotweed, the area is growing in with native weeds. We will likely plant a mix of native shrubs i.e. blueberry and winterberry to prevent other invasives from taking over.

Funding sources: CPA funds

Final acres in management: 154.5

Open to the public: Yes

Able to Provide Tours: Yes

Success Rate:

Current Overall Percent Cover of Invasives: 0 - 5%

Japanese knotweed treatment has thus far been very successful with very good results after the first year of treatment. The patch will be monitored during the growing season of 2017 and treated for a final time in the fall of 2017.

Although this project has been a huge undertaking, we have seen good success and have experienced strong public support.