Virginia Regulatory Town Hall
Agency
Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
 
Board
Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
 
chapter
Regulations for Enforcement of the Noxious Weeds Law [2 VAC 5 ‑ 317]
Action Amend noxious weed list
Stage Proposed
Comment Period Ended on 12/8/2023
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12/8/23  8:48 am
Commenter: Ivy Main

These are good additions; please expand the list
 

I live in McLean, Virginia, on 2.7 acres of forested land along a stream. Easily 80% of the plants on my property are non-native and invasive, in spite of our ongoing efforts to eradicate them. Lesser Celandine and Japanese knotweed are new arrivals in the past five years, brought downstream, and both are spreading in spite of my efforts. We still battle kudzu decades after we arrived here. Amur honeysuckle and Japanese honeysuckle are also a challenge.  No one should be allowed to sell these or further their spread, and providing information on how to deal with them would be welcome.

But you are missing several of the hardest to eradicate noxious weeds that I deal with: English ivy and winter creeper (euonymus fortunei), both of which sprout everywhere from seeds dropped by birds, due to neighbors not recognizing that these vines should not be allowed to grow up trees; creeping lily turf liriope, which seems to be impossible to eradicate other than slowly and by hand; five-leaved akebia, now taking over what passes for a lawn; and a number of other things that I take it are not of concern for the list because no one plants them on purpose. There are good native alternatives, as I've learned, but it's hard for the natives to compete.

Thank you for your efforts to expand the list. Please continue, since there is so much more to do. 

 

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