Warm weather and above-average rainfall made encouraged lush plant life early in 2024. Unfortunately, too many of those healthy plants were uninvited, unwanted, non-native invasive plants.
It’s also been a big year for the Connecticut Invasive Plants Working Group, often called by its acronym, CIPWG (pronounced “sip-wig”). This consortium of environmental organizations, university affiliates, individuals, and government agencies promotes awareness of invasive plants, management methods, and native alternatives. I've been an active volunteer with CIPWG since 2018.
In 2023, CIPWG participants logged 5300 hours of community service for the cause. In 2024, the CIPWG network successfully assisted the state’s Invasive Plants Council and the state legislature in updating the invasive plants list, the newest update since 2018. In addition, UConn Extension added a new outreach specialist for invasive species, Dr. Lauren Kurtz, who will support the CIPWG mission among other endeavors.
The 2024 CIPWG symposium was October 29, 2024. The keynote speaker Peter Picone is a wildlife biologist who has tangled with these plants since the early 1990s in his role as a wildlife biologist with the state’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
Picone explains, “We can’t address the needs of wildlife without addressing their habitats. These days that means addressing invasive plants.”
If invasive plants are a problem for you or your community, visit CIPWG.UConn.edu. You'll find extensive resources on the website to help with invasive plant challenges.
Download the complete article, attached below.
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
 Connecticut Invasive Plant Working Group | 187.81 KB |