2010 Garlic Mustard Challenge Results

By Cynthia Sandeno on Aug 8, 2010

After weeks of searching, pulling, and bagging, the results are amazing!

The United Nations declared 2010 the "International Year of Biodiversity" and asked that everyone do one thing to help make a difference. That is one of the reasons the Monongahela National Forest, Appalachian Forest Heritage Area (AFHA), and AmeriCorps joined forces to sponsor the second annual "Garlic Mustard Challenge." These partners also wanted to provide an opportunity for people of all ages to learn about nonnative invasive species while making a difference in the forests across their home states.

Garlic mustard has gained much attention in recent years for its ability to rapidly invade wooded habitats from disturbed areas. Garlic mustard threatens the abundant wildflowers and diverse forest ecosystem of West Virginia. Many native wildflowers that hikers enjoy seeing during the spring (such as spring beauty, wild ginger, bloodroot, Dutchman's breeches, trilliums, and toothworts) occur in the same habitat as garlic mustard. "Once garlic mustard arrives in an area, it quickly takes over and crowds out other native plants," said Chris Dudek, AmeriCorps Ecosystems Technician working with the Monongahela National Forest

After weeks of searching, pulling, and bagging, the results are amazing! Together, volunteers surpassed the goal of pulling 15,000 pounds of garlic mustard from public lands. Here are the results:

*33,644 pounds of pulled and reported garlic mustard from across Indiana, Ohio, and West Virginia!

*Approximately 1,260 volunteer hours logged, equaling around $26,271 that local governments, organizations, and private landowners saved in not having to hire field crews to remove garlic mustard! (Hourly rate based on 2009 Independent Sector Rate)

The Monongahela National Forest would like to thank everyone who participated for their hard work and commitment to preserving the biodiversity of our forests. A single garlic mustard plant can produce 3,000 seeds annually, which can remain viable in the soil for more than 5 years. Just imagine how many seeds were prevented from germinating! Teena Ligman, a private landowner and member of the Southern Indiana Cooperative Weed Management Area was awarded an individual achievement award. Teena pulled 1,590 pounds of garlic mustard, single-handedly on her own property! The Wayne National Forest under the leadership of Rachel Orwan, Tim Blagg, and Brian Slaby had more than 50 garlic mustard pulls throughout the challenge, and they bagged a total of 19,035 pounds of garlic mustard! This was the most garlic mustard pulled by any one group throughout the challenge.

Our goal couldn't have been reached without the help of each and every one of our volunteers pulling together. We are especially happy to have our newest volunteers - Friends of Seneca, Northern Hills Neighborhood, Sun Addition Homeowners, and Tarzian Nature Preserve.