The Connecticut Invasive Plants Council did not add running bamboo to its list of invasive plants in 2012, but recommended legislation to keep the plant from ruining residential properties.
Seymour resident Caryn Rickel has been tracking bamboo cases all over the region while lobbying local and state officials to do something about bamboo after she said her property was damaged by the plant.
In its annual report, the Council acknowledges that golden and yellow groove bamboo can cause extensive damage when not properly installed or maintained. However, the plant didn’t quite meet the criteria needed to get placed on the state’s invasive plants list.
The Council states it will support legislation that:
1. Requires bamboo sellers to educate buyers on the plant’s ability to spread.
2. Require property owners who plant it to install and maintain it properly.
3. Assign liability in situations where property owners fail to prevent it from spreading.
Invasive plants are non-native plants that can spread like wildfire and can wreak havoc on the ecosystem.
The following press release was issued by the Invasive Plants Council Thursday morning:
Connecticut’s Invasive Plants Council announced that its recently-released annual report is now available online.
This report highlights actions undertaken in Connecticut to address problems caused by terrestrial and aquatic invasive plants.
Activities and actions highlighted in the 2012 Annual Report report include:
- Continued coordination of water chestnut control and removal throughout the Connecticut River
- Ongoing efforts to inform the public about threats from invasive plants and to gather information on new infestations
- Continuation of efforts by the green industry (led by the Connecticut Nursery and Landscape Association) to phase out 25 of the highest-seed producing varieties of Japanese barberry by 2013
- Evaluating new species for listing, including some species of running bamboo
- Adding mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris) to the list of potentially invasive plants in Connecticut
Several meetings included discussions about running bamboo. The Council examined occurrences of running bamboo found in Connecticut and consulted with experts in developing its position on the plant. The Council considered running bamboo’s potential to spread and determined that the plant did not meet the criteria for listing as an invasive or potentially invasive plant. However, the Council also recognized that bamboo causes significant problems for residential properties, and is recommending legislation that would address this issue from a non-invasive standpoint.
The Council is a nine member partnership established under statute in 2003 between state agencies, non-governmental organizations, academia, and industry. Primary functions include developing the state invasive and potentially invasive species lists, developing and providing educational materials and programs about invasive plants, and supporting state agencies in invasive plant efforts.
Additional activities of the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) and other associated organizations, including the Connecticut Nursery and Landscape Association (CNLA), the Department of Agriculture (DoAg), the University of Connecticut and the Connecticut Invasive Plant Working Group (CIPWG) are also included in the report.
To view the full annual report, visit www.cipwg.uconn.edu/ipc.html and select “2012 Annual Report.”
A list of members of the Invasive Plants Council can be found on the above website (select “List of Members”).