Oriental bittersweet photo/Tivon Feeley, Iowa Department of Natural Resources
Bright red berries make oriental bittersweet an attractive decoration, but those berries are viable as seeds that have helped spread this invasive species.
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources, along with other groups, needs volunteers to help remove oriental bittersweet from one of Iowa’s parks.
See more from the DNR:
DUBUQUE – The Iowa Department of Natural Resources, 1 Mississippi, and the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation are looking for volunteers from 8 to 11 a.m., Aug. 24, to help remove oriental bittersweet from Mines of Spain State Recreation Area.
Tools will be provided, but participants are asked to bring a water bottle and work gloves. Most of the work will be conducted along the road in the park.
Volunteers should register with 1 Mississippi at ia1mississippi@biodiverse.org or by calling 563-379-5779. Upon completion, volunteers are invited to an ice cream social in the EB Lyons Interpretive Center.
Oriental Bittersweet is a rapidly spreading invasive species that covers that covers the ground and will outcompete native plants by shading them out. Trees can even be killed by the vine’s woody stem.
No Comments Yet