The Catamount Community Forest (CCF) is home to a diverse native flora. However, like many other locations in Vermont and beyond, native species compete with invasive plants for light, water, and nutrients. Invasive plants have become strongly established in some parts of the forest - especially forest edges, shrublands, and pioneer tree stands - threatening to exclude native plants, and disrupt natural forest regeneration and ecological succession.  Without intervention, this may lead over time to a poorer diversity of plants, reduced quality of wildlife habitat, decreased ecosystem resilience to climate change, and diminished ecological function.

Good stewardship of the CCF therefore includes monitoring and mitigating the spread of invasive plants to promote and protect native biodiversity.

(image: Common buckthorn, an invasive woody shrub or small tree)

What are we doing?

The Catamount Community Forest Committee commissioned an Invasive Species Management Plan for the CCF, completed in June 2026 by Habitat Restoration Solutions LLC (HRS).  The plan identifies priority management units, recommends treatment regimens, and provides guidance on the use of volunteer labor.  The plan will guide town investment in invasive species management and form the basis of an integrated pest management strategy subject to regular review and modification over time.

Implementation of the plan will include manual removal of invasive plants by volunteers at a small scale, all the way up to professional contractors applying mechanized or chemical removal techniques for large plants and for high density areas.  Ongoing monitoring and mapping of species distributions will help the plan to evolve over time as progress is made, lessons are learned, or conditions change in the future.

Invasive plant management has occurred at the CCF in various forms since its conservation in 2018.  The Catamount Community Forest Committee, County Foresters, and numerous community volunteers have employed a range of management techniques over the years including:

• Professional invasive control projects, funded by the annual budget of the Catamount Community Forest Committee. Professional contractors may use mechanized cutting equipment to clear infestations, or employ trained and licensed pesticide applicators to carry out targeted herbicide application to invasive plants in the forest.  Adjacent trails are closed during treatments and for several hours after until the area is safe again for public use.
• Annual Brush hogging of open areas to preserve viewsheds and keep invasive shrubs in check. See plan linked here for areas that have been brush hogged to date. 
• Volunteer work days to manage moderate plant occurrences and pull seedlings. 
• Annual pulling and digging of wild (poison) parsnip to prevent spread along trail edges and into ecologically sensitive areas. This plant should be treated with care as the sap from the stems can cause skin rashes when exposed to direct sunlight. Volunteers always wear protective clothing. See June 2022 article on parsnip safety from local volunteer Chapin Kaynor.
• The Committee partnered with VELCO to treat invasives in the powerline right of way in September 2023. VELCO have an easement to control vegetation to protect their infrastructure. They agreed to treat invasive plants in the right of way at the same time as they treat larger trees or shrubs that may grow into the powerlines. All herbicides were applied by licensed and trained applicators using ultra-low volume herbicide targeted to specific plants. The herbicide was mixed with a carrier to ensure it sticks to the targeted plant only. 
• In 2021, the CCF Committee worked with the US Fish and Wildlife Service on a habitat management project for the golden-winged warbler, which included invasive plant control in the project area, all funded by USFWS, in 2021, 2022 and 2023.
• The Selectboard approved funds from the CCF Stewardship fund in 2023 to support the upcoming forest management project, and to begin work on commissioning the HRS plan.

What types of invasive plans are in the forest?

Infestation rates by acreage of the main invasive terrestrial plants at the CCF

Note: species acreage estimates overlap. ~ 40 acres of the CCF have been mapped as heavy infestation of invasive plants, ~ 20 acres with moderate infestation, and ~ 30 acres of light infestation. Other invasives include: black swallowwort, multiflora rose, glossy buckthorn, and wild parsnip.       

Learn More

• To learn more about invasive species in Vermont, visit: VTInvasives.org 
• Volunteer opportunities and management updates are sometimes posted to a community-run facebook page for the CCF.