Originally appreciated for its ornamental appeal, Japanese knotweed (Fallopia japonica) infiltrated the temperate riparian ecosystems of the United States, Europe and Canada in the 1880’s. Its stalks and rhizomes, can tolerate a wide range of soil types, temperatures, and salinity attributing to its high success rate. The plant can extend up to 8 feet tall, and its roots can penetrate down to 10 feet deep. Lenticels of the plant can propagate an entirely new patch of knotweed, so it is imperative to eradicate as much as possible. Its large leaves and extensive underground system monopolize the nutrients, water and sun from reaching other native plants. The most effective method of elimination is to spray herbicide when the plant is close to flowering in late summer or fall. Although many patches have been sprayed in the Pacific Northwest, knotweed is still a flourishing species.

The Washington Conservation Corps crew from Skagit County in Washington has been surveying for knotweed every summer along the rivers and streams in the county. At the foothills of the Cascade Mountains, the glacial floods and stormy winter rain soak the valleys in rushing water, then leave an array of invasive species behind when it the water dries up. The crew canvases logjams, back-channels, and flood plains along the river and takes GPS coordinates of each patch found. Because most of these areas along the rivers are inaccessible, the crew hires rafting guides to travel between gravel bars while camping overnight for the workweek.
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When working with the Skagit County crew for a week, I realized how dedicated people can be in restoring habitat and conserving ecological balance. Although it may be inevitable that non-native invasive species may consume a region, the initial transport of that plant was of human origin. Therefore, a group of us try our hand at counteracting what is environmentally unsound. After multiple bruises, scrapes and cuts on my legs, blisters on my feet, and exhaustion from climbing over huge logjams and bushwhacking through thick brush, I realize the endeavor is worthwhile. Wading through the glacial water of the Sauk River, my sneakers began to fill with quicksand–just as the old-growth forest of the Western Washington coast has become engulfed in the quicksand of the veracious Japanese knotweed.

GLOSSARY of TERMS

Riparian- buffer zone between land and stream

Rhizome- a horizontal stem of plant that send our roots and shoots from its nodes

Salinity- measurement of saltiness

Lenticel-body of cells formed on the stem, roots, and leaves of a plant