First Annual Garlic Mustard Challenge Removes 11,722.5 Pounds of Material!

By Kathleen Goodrich-Arling on Sep 9, 2009

Volunteers removed more than 11,722 pounds of garlic mustard from 4 states

By any measure of success the first annual "Garlic Mustard Challenge" was a success. In just 39 days of searching, pulling, and bagging the challenge goal of 10,000 pounds was exceeded as more than 150 volunteers in four states methodically worked to make a dent in the population of this non-native invasive plant on public lands. Volunteers in West Virginia, Indiana, Ohio, and Illinois joined in to pull a total of 11,722.5 pounds of the pesky plant. On average that was about 300 pounds per day or 73 pounds per volunteer.

The challenge was organized largely by AmeriCorps member Evan Burks, who served for the last year as an ecosystems technician in the Supervisor's Office of the Monongahela. The Forest is an AmeriCorps sub-sponsor for an organization called the Appalachian Forest Heritage Area, of which the Monongahela is a part.

Eradicating garlic mustard is a daunting challenge as seeds remain viable in the soil for many years. The purpose of the "pulls" was not just to remove the visible second year plants but to prevent this biennial from producing seeds from the pulled plants. As the first year plants are still present in most of the pulled areas, and there is no doubt a seed source also present in the soil, it will take repeated efforts in the same locations before an area could be deemed free of the mustard. Even then adjacent seed sources could move back again. Volunteers didn't seem too discouraged by the task though. Some areas being treated had been pulled in previous years with noticeable reductions in the population, and others were treated for the first time.

The single largest event was held in Greenbrier State Forest in West Virginia where Boy Scout Troop 70 from Lewisburg, WV pulled a total of 2,100 pounds in a single day! For this great efforts the Monongahela National Forest and the Appalachian Forest Heritage Area awarded Troop 70 the "2009 Garlic Mustard Challenge Weed Warrior" trophy. The Monongahela was the overall winner of the competition with nine pulls organized throughout the challenge and a total of 4,575 pounds of bagged mustard; the most gathered by any organization.

The real winners though are the people who connected with their public lands in a fun manner, and ultimately the ecostystems they helped by reducing the impacts this single plant can have on native species. Look for a return of the challenge in 2010...and be thinking how you can beat the competition while helping the land.