State project to pull invasive weeds in Port Townsend

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The Urban Forestry Restoration Project, administered by the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Urban and Community Forestry Program, enhances the capacity of urban forests to manage stormwater and improve air and water quality by improving the health and functionality of trees and forested sites in urban settings.

A Puget SoundCorps team plans to work with City staff and volunteers in February 2015 to remove English Ivy and English Holly from Sather Park Woods; and Spurge Laurel, English Ivy, English Holly and Scot's Broom from the forested uplands of Kah Tai Lagoon Nature Park. These invasive non-native plants challenge native species for resources, and in some cases even kill trees. Once the invasives are gone, native vegetation is to be planted where warranted.

"Port Townsend's urban forests are negatively impacted by invasive species that compete for sunlight, nutrients, water and space. Invasive species lack natural biological controls to prevent their spread. Suppression of exotic and invasive species should be a priority in any urban forestry management plan. The restoration efforts of the Puget SoundCorps team in two of our urban forests, Sather Park Woods and Kah Tai Lagoon Nature Park, provide a necessary step toward achieving this goal," said Jason D. Cecil, certified arborist and Port Townsend Parks, Recreation and Trees Advisory Board member.

As a part of the process, volunteers are to develop three-year monitoring and maintenance plans to follow the Puget SoundCorps efforts. To learn more about how you can help as a volunteer to keep Sather Woods, Kah Tai Lagoon Nature Park, and all our other urban forests healthy in the future, contact Port Townsend Parks and Facilities Manager Alex Wisniewski at

awisniewski@cityofpt.us.

For more information about the Urban Forestry Restoration Project, visit the Project online or contact Micki McNaughton at 360-902-1637 or micki.mcnaughton@dnr.wa.gov. DNR’s Urban and Community Forestry Program is made possible through a partnership with the USDA Forest Service. Puget SoundCorps is part of the broader Washington Conservation Corps program administered by Washington Department of Ecology. Puget SoundCorps crews work on projects that help restore and protect water quality in Puget Sound. The Washington Conservation Corps is supported through grant funding and Education Awards provided by AmeriCorps.