Don't let Lesser Celandine Take Over Our Parks!

The Maryland Chapter of the Sierra Club requests restoration and expansion of research by the Federal Government, including the US Department of Agriculture, on host specific biological controls of Lesser Celandine and other non-native invasive plant species. Lesser Celandine is taking over our local forests.

Please take a minute to send a message to your members of Congress  urging them to vote for restoration and expansion of research by the Federal Government on host specific biological controls of Lesser Celandine and other non-native invasive species.

Lesser Celandine is invasive in 19 states in the Northeast and Pacific Northwest according to the U.S. National Forest Service. It forms large, dense mats on the forest floor and displaces nativespring ephemeral wildflowers. We have been removing it at many of our preservation sites so that native plants, and the butterflies and birds that depend on them, can recover.

One of our most productive activities to save our natural areas is to facilitate research that will make host specific biological controls available.

Don't let Lesser Celandine Take Over Our Parks!

Insects that consume the non-native invasive plant species can substitute for the controls where the species came from in the world. Of the 15 top non-native invasive plant species in the mid-Atlantic region, three (Purple Loosestrife, Mile-a-minute and Garlic Mustard) now have one or two non-native insects or fungi that feed on them. These insects were brought over after being tested for host specificity in Eurasia and then tested in quarantine conditions in the United States.

We want the same research done for finding biological controls for Lesser Celandine so that our native plantsand animals can live healthy lives in our parks.

Help by taking just ten seconds of your time to send a message to your Federal legislators today.

A previous alert was sent out in 2013 regarding Japanese Stiltgrass. It received 750 replies within two days! Now there is ongoing funding and research for biological control for Japanese Stiltgrass. Lesser Celandine is now comparable to Japanese Stiltgrass in its degree of damage. Please take action and help promote researchfor Lesser Celandine so it can have the same success for funding as Japanese Stiltgrass received. 

Thanks for all you do for the environment!

Marc Imlay, PhD - ialm@erols.com
Dave O'Leary - dave.oleary@mdsierra.org
Christina Zendman -  stewardship.outings@mdsierra.org
Sierra Club Maryland Chapter

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