Funds available to property owners to fight invasive species. 

Funds available to property owners to fight invasive species. 

The North Country Cooperative Invasive Species Management Area (NCCISMA) is offering a program available for private landowners to offset the cost of invasive species treatment. NCCISMA and the Mason-Lake Conservation District received a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative for $200,000 to battle invasive species in the region. From this amount, $12,000 is set aside to reward private property owners to treat specific high priority species. The program gives property owners a $100 reward for treating garlic mustard, tree-of-heaven, bristly locust, oriental bittersweet, glossy and common buckthorn, wild parsnip, Japanese and Giant knotweed, and Phragmites. For help identifying these plants refer to the CISMA’s website, www.northcountryinvasvies.org. Look under the resources heading. The deadline to apply for these funds is July 31, 2019.

To be eligible for the $100 incentive, participants must show proof of property ownership, complete a cost share application (available at Mason-Lake Conservation District or found on the NCCISMA’s website), complete invasive plant treatments according to the NCCISMA’s recommendations, and agree to a simple three-year monitoring and treatment plan. 

The Conservation District has tools available for rent to help landowners manage plants that are most difficult to remove. A knotweed injector is a specialty tool that allows for very small amounts of herbicide to be injected directly into the stem and results in very good treatment results with minimal chemical usage. An Uprooter is also available to rent and works as a lever to remove invasive shrubs like glossy buckthorn by pulling them out of the ground.

NCCISMA is a group of organizations and individuals who work collaboratively to address invasive species in a six-county region of northern Michigan. These counties include Lake, Mason, Mecosta, Missaukee, Osceola and Wexford. Invasive species have the potential to impact recreation, tourism, property values, infrastructure, and public safety. The NCCISMA works to fight invasives, protect assets, and restore habitats for future generations.

Let the NCCISMA help you fight the invasive species on your property. If interested in this program please call Zach Peklo via (248) 210-6047 or send an e-mail to zach.peklo@macd.org.