Invasive Species

Photo Credit: UMN Extension.

Invasive Species Blitz Program Materials

As you may know, invasive species such as buckthorn, garlic mustard, and wild parsnip pose serious threats to Minnesota’s natural resources, ecosystems, and economy. These materials help new volunteers to join in a statewide effort to tackle the growing problem of invasive species.

The tools on this page and the links below will help you make a plan to manage invasive species at a site of your choosing and host local invasive plant removal events. You may even wish to adopt a local natural area you can regularly monitor and provide stewardship for into the future.

Quick Menu

Photo Credit: UMN Extension.

Tools

Invasive Species Project Planner

A useful document to help you plan your own event with one or more partner organizations. (PDF, 433KB.

Prioritizing Invasive Plant Control

A reprint of a Nature Conservancy article on how to assess your land and prioritize invasive species removal to measure success and keep you motivated to finish the job. (PDF, 779KB.)

Invasive Species Management Matrix

Provides details for best practices and removal timing for the five most common terrestrial invasives in Minnesota. (PDF, 384KB.)

Native Urban Trees of Southeast Minnesota

A useful guide to tree selection with links to other publications for other areas. (PDF, 543KB.)

Photo Credit: UMN Extension.

Recommended Resources

Minnesota Noxious List

Minnesota Department of Agriculture noxious weed list. (PDF, 295KB)

Guidelines for Disposal of Terrestrial Invasive Plants

The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and the University of Connecticut guidelines for disposal of terrestrial invasive plants. (PDF, 4.32MB)

BioBlitz Guides

A bioblitz is a group event where participants, typically a mix of volunteers and professional scientists, find and record as many species as possible at a given place during a defined time period. Many bioblitzes use iNaturalist to collect and store observations.

iNaturalist bioblitz guide

Mississippi State University Extension publication

Parks for Pollinators 2019 BioBlitz Toolkit

National Geographic Guide to Bioblitz