Conservation Commission

You can do your part as a steward of the land by learning to recognize common invasive plants and removing them from your property. Most can be pulled by hand when small and when the problem is limited to only a few plants. Invasive plants are... INVASIVE; they spread easily and in many cases prevent native plants from being able to grow. Stopping them early is KEY to success. Main site: VTinvasives.org

BUSH HONEYSUCKLE fact sheet VTInvasives.org

GARLIC MUSTARD fact sheet VTinvasives.org

COMMON BUCKTHORN fact sheet VT invasives.org

JAPANESE BARBERRY fact sheet VTinvasives.org

WILD CHERVIL fact sheet VTinvasives.org

ALTERNATIVE PLANT CHOICES TO REPLACE INVASIVES

The Vermont Land Trust and the Windham County NRCD are hosting a series of webinars to educate the public on management of invasive plants in their backyards and woods. Stay tuned for upcoming webinars as they become available for viewing. The Jericho CC has links to some of the resources mentioned in these webinars on our web page. Scroll down to find our previous posts on managing invasive plants.

Webinar #1: Introduction to Invasive Plants: Click here for Intro to Invasive Plants Webinar

Webinar #2: Backyard Invasives: Click here for Backyard Invasives Webinar

Webinar #3: Invasives in the Woods: Click here for Woods Invasives Webinar

Webinar #4: Non-Chemical Invasive Species Management Options: Click here for Non-Chemical Options Webinar

Webinar #5: Should I Spray? Responsible herbicide use in the control of invasive plants. Click here for Should I Spray? Webinar

Webinar #6:Preventing Establishment Of Invasive Species - Early Detection as a First Line of Defense Click here for Early Detection Webinar

Learn about old growth forests

Tuesday, November 17, 1-2 pm, online via Zoom

Old growth forests are complex places—ancient, mysterious, and, frankly, messy. Learn about old growth forests in Vermont and in the northeast—what they are, why they are important in the face of climate change, and how you can recognize them.

Join Jericho and Vermont Land Trust’s Liz Thompson and VLT's David McMath as they explore some old forests of Vermont and examine their special habitats. They will guide us to:

• a cedar swamp with old trees
• an old yellow birch grove
• an ancient black gum swamp
• a cliff forest, a blown-down forest
• an old growth rich woods that you can literally drive to.

They will talk about the rich history of these places and the many benefits they provide.

And you will learn how to recognize old growth when you see it. Who knows? Maybe there is an old growth forest waiting to be discovered in your town, or even on your property.

Register Here: hhttps://vlt.org/event/old-growth

Here is an article from VT Fish and Wildlife Biologist, Andrea Shortsleeve, on a new method of controlling Knotweed. The Conservation Commission does not have direct experience with this method, but it seems like it deserves our consideration as a viable option.

Managing Knotweed with Hardware Cloth

The Jericho Conservation Commission would like to invite you to join us for a town-wide read of Aldo Leopold's A Sand County Almanac, a provocative collection of essays from one of the most influential thinkers in the environmental movement.

We will host a kickoff meeting on February 5th at 7pm at the Community Center to introduce the book and enjoy some light refreshments. We have 20 copies of A Sand County Almanac and will give them to the first 20 people who arrive at the kickoff meeting. We invite readers of all ages to participate as well as anyone who has already read the book and wants to read it again or just join in on the discussion.

We will give readers a little over a month to complete the book. We plan to reconvene for a book discussion on March 11th at the Jericho Town Library to enjoy some more light refreshments and talk about the book! Time TBA.

Meadows can be big or small, short or tall. However large, the environmental benefits are great. Meadows sequester carbon, retain water, filter pollutants, eliminate the need for fertilizers or pesticides and provide habitat.

Reduce your carbon footprint. Improve your neighborhood. Enjoy a meadow in your backyard!

Date: Thursday, October 24th at 7pm

Location: Deborah Rawson Memorial Library

Please join us on Thursday, July 25th at 8 pm as we celebrate our first MOTH NIGHT!

Where: Mills Riverside Park, Rt. 15, Jericho, VT - meet in the Pavilion

What: As part of National Moth Week,a global citizen science effort to learn more about moths, we will be hosting some experts from the Vermont Entomological Society. We will begin with a short presentation about moths and then go out into the field to observe them up-close.