Brandywine Conservancy's Environmental Management Center
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News
Brandywine Conservancy Wins Project Habitat Award for Invasive Weed Program
CHADDS FORD, PA March, 2010 - The Brandywine Conservancy and Weeds, Inc. of Aston, Pennsylvania, jointly received a Quality Vegetation Management (QVM) Project Habitat award for invasive weed management at the Conservancy's Waterloo Mills Preserve in Devon, Pennsylvania.
QVM Project Habitat is an award program designed to give national recognition to organizations that demonstrate vanguard stewardship and ecosystem protection. The winning projects are examples of both responsible environmental change and the best use of herbicides in land management. The Waterloo Mills project was one of only 13 in the United States to receive this award.
"We are delighted to receive this acknowledgement of our work to control invasive plants," said Sherri Evans-Stanton, Director of the Conservancy's Environmental Management Center, which oversees the preserve.
The 170-acre Waterloo Mills Preserve includes an 18th century village, wildflower meadows, fertile marshes, mature woods and over a mile of meandering creek. The property was donated to the Conservancy through the generosity of Mr. and Mrs. John C. Haas.
Non-native plants such as garlic mustard, Japanese stiltgrass and mile-a-minute weed had invaded the preserve over the past 15 years. Cutting and burning did little to control these exotic species.
Kevin Fryberger, Waterloo Mills Preserve Manager, began working with Brian O'Neill of Weeds, Inc. in 2006. The plan was to control the invasive species while restoring the native habitat and protecting native plants and adjacent wetlands. Herbicides were applied in 2007, 2008 and 2009, and results exceeded expectations. The invasive plants are gone from 95% of the treated areas, which means that native grasses and wildflowers grow in areas once overwhelmed by the non-native plants. The results are so positive that in 2009 the Brandywine Conservancy and Weeds, Inc. expanded the program to two other preserves, with equal success.
Quality Vegetation Management is a set of principles that create and sustain healthy habitats through professional, ethical and responsible practices. Sponsored by BASF Professional Vegetation Management, the QVM Project Habitat awards are presented to exceptional vegetation management projects that exemplify these principles and practices.
The Brandywine Conservancy (www.brandywineconservancy.org) was founded in 1967. It holds more than 400 conservation easements and has protected over 43,000 acres in Chester and Delaware counties in Pennsylvania, as well as New Castle County in Delaware. The Environmental Management Center provides conservation services to landowners, farmers, municipalities and developers. The staff of professional planners and natural resource managers offers technical assistance and expertise for conservation and comprehensive land use planning. Conservation easements, assistance to local governments and water protection efforts are the key elements of these programs. In 2008, the Conservancy was among the first land trusts in the country to be awarded accreditation by the Land Trust Accreditation Commission.
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