Next week, National Park Service contractor Earth Balance will arrive on St. Croix and begin exotic plant control on the east side of Salt River Bay National Historic Park and Ecological Preserve from March 17 to April 4, according to the Park Service. 
Landscape plants from all over the world continue to threaten the ecological integrity of the native flora and associated fauna on St. Croix. A recent vascular plant inventory of the Salt River area funded by the National Park Service recorded acres dominated by nonnative invasive species such as guinea grass, rubber vine, and tan-tan.
To meet Salt River Bay’s management objectives and the NPS Organic Act, nonnative invasive plants are of immediate concern and are being treated.
Licensed, trained professionals under NPS contract will treat the plants by hand with approved herbicide. The project will begin March 17 and the initial removal will last three weeks.
"In preparation we have been working at our native plant-out site on the east side of Salt River Bay (on a) 72 acres parcel, adjacent to Estate Judith’s Fancy," according to Zandy Hillis-Starr of chief resource management in a Park Service statement.
Invasive nonnative plant species can displace native plant species, alter species proportions and reduce recreational use of resources, among other things, Hillis-Starr said. "In the area where we are working, invasive nonnative plant species’ populations cover over 90 percent of the area and discarded landscape plants and cuttings from the neighborhood continue to invade the site," she said.
In 2012, NPS, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the South Florida Conservation Network’s Exotic Plant Management Team, and NPS Youth Conservation Corps students initiated exotic plant control in the park.
More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America’s 401 national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Learn more at www.nps.gov.
