BY JESSICA SALESMAN

Natural Resources Specialist

Fort McCoy Directorate of Public Works

Natural Resources Branch

National Invasive Species Awareness Week was February 24-28 in 2025. Invasive species cause problems that are important to bring to light — they negatively impact biodiversity, can cause or exacerbate health issues, threaten infrastructure, and cause economic harm.

According to the USDA, economic impacts include direct and indirect effects on property values, agricultural productivity, public utility operations, native fisheries, tourism, and outdoor recreation. In North America, costs exceed an estimated $26 billion per year, including the cost of control efforts.

What exactly is an invasive species? Invasive species are any species — plant, animal, fungus, even bacteria, that are introduced through human activity to new places outside their native range and thrive to the point of being problematic. The most problematic species on Fort McCoy right now are invasive plants.

On military lands, invasive plant infestations are responsible for damaging infrastructure and equipment and creating safety and security concerns. At Fort McCoy, they impact the quality and availability of training areas and present additional hazards to soldiers training here.

Woody invasive plants including glossy and common buckthorn, autumn olive, barberry, and honeysuckle form dense thickets that are difficult to travel through and reduce the area available for training. The densely branched shrubs also create favorable conditions for ticks, some of which can transmit Lymes disease and other illnesses.

Wild parsnip is a large plant with a yellow umbrella-like flower clusters that can cause blisters and a burning rash when bare skin contacts plants. Leafy spurge plants contain a milky sap that can cause skin rashes and eye damage if it comes in contact with a person’s face.

To combat invasive plants, Fort McCoy natural resource staff use an integrated pest management strategy. This is a sustainable approach that combines techniques to minimize economic, environmental, and health risks while being as effective as possible.

Once we pull together all the background information we need, we can consider what treatments will be the best to use and come up with a plan. Mechanical, chemical, and biocontrol treatments are used in combination with scouting, monitoring, and prevention measures to manage the invasive species infestations we already have and reduce opportunities for new introductions.

Goat grazing is the most recent addition the tools we use. Over the course of several years they will repeatedly strip off leaves and chew on the small stems of many of the woody invasive plants.

Over time the root reserves are exhausted, and plant density decreases to a point where hand cutting and treating with herbicide become the practical final step. Goat grazing leverages our time, is compatible with training activities, and reduces herbicide use.

Fort McCoy also participates in the Monroe County Invasive Species Working Group along with Monroe County Land Conservation, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources forestry, Monroe County Natural Resource and Extension Committee, Monroe County Highway Department, University of Wisconsin Extension, and dedicated individuals.

Partnerships and information sharing are other ways Fort McCoy fights invasive species on and off the installation. This installation hosts an annual field day at Pine View Campground every June to share information with land owners and interested individuals.

There are successes to report. Vigilance in scouting and finding new plants has prevented the establishment of a handful of species. Purple loosestrife is present, but through targeted control work it never became extensively established within installation wetlands and wild parsnip remains in very localized scattered patches that are easier to keep an eye on.

Knotweed is only present in small amounts at a handful of sites. Although knapweed and leafy spurge are widespread, years of work and the release of biocontrol insects has helped reduce the total population of each dramatically. The goal sometimes isn’t eradication but instead reducing the population to the point where it is not causing harm.

Out of all the techniques we use here, prevention is the most efficient and cost-effective way to manage invasive species. The time and money required to keep problematic plants from becoming established is a fraction of what is required once they do become established.

Fort McCoy currently manages about 40 species of invasive plants and every new one strains available resources further.

Everyone can play a role in preventing or slowing the spread of invasive species by practicing the following:

— Check for and remove any seeds or burrs clinging to clothing and clean any mud off boots before heading out hiking or hunting and check again when you leave the trail or move between locations.

— Make sure your vehicle/equipment is free of dirt and debris before heading out to your favorite hunting spot, mountain bike trail, or off-roading location and check again before you leave the site.

— Clean and dry waders, fishing equipment, and watercraft between water bodies.

— Don’t move firewood long distances, purchase it where you camp or vacation.

— Avoid planting invasive species in your landscaping. Consider adding native plants as well.

— Volunteer at a local park or with a local invasive species group or citizen science organization to help remove or map invasive species populations.

For more information invasive species managemt, also check out the following web links:

— Invasive Plants Association of Wisconsin, https://ipaw.org.

— Wisconsin Invasive Species Rule NR40, https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/invasives/classification.

— Midwest Invasive Plants Network, https://www.mipn.org.

— Monroe County Invasive Species Working Group, https://www.co.monroe.wi.us/departments/land-conservation/invasive-species-workgroup.

— Play Clean Go, https://playcleango.org.

— Clean Drain Dry, https://stopaquatichitchhikers.org/aboutus/#cleandraindry.

Learn more about Fort McCoy online at https://home.army.mil/mccoy, on Facebook by searching “ftmccoy,” on Flickr at https://www.flickr.com/photos/fortmccoywi, and on X (formerly Twitter) by searching “usagmccoy.”

Also try downloading the My Army Post app to your smartphone and set “Fort McCoy” or another installation as your preferred base. Fort McCoy is also part of Army’s Installation Management Command where “We Are The Army’s Home.”