By Wendy Mahovlic (last updated April, 2016)
NPS Photo / Alyssa Parker-Geisman
Denali’s six-million acres is relatively unaffected by the spread of non-native plant species. As a matter of fact, most of Denali’s 28 invasive plants tend to be found in the human-disturbed footprint of the park entrance area and road corridor. However, just because the number of invasive plants species isn’t high doesn’t mean that they should be allowed to run amuck. So each summer, Denali’s exotic plant management team tracks and eradicates infestations of these alien species.
2014 Update
During the summer of 2014, Denali's invasive plants specialist, Wendy Mahovlic, along with volunteers collected a total of 26 lbs (uncleaned weight) of native seeds for revegetation projects. These volunteers donated a total of 390 hours and made in possible to revegetate 2.25 acres with native seeds.
Seed collections were made at the east and west ends of the park:
East |
West |
|
| Headysarum alpinum | 4 lbs | 2 lbs |
| Elymus sp | 8 lbs | 4 lbs |
| Hedysarum mackenzil | 6 lbs | 0 lbs |
| Leymus Innovatus | 0 lbs | 1 lb |
| Oxytopis campestris | 0 lbs | 8 lbs |
| Arnica lessingii | 0 lbs | 1 lb |
| Total | 18 lbs | 8 lbs |
Along with collecting native seeds, the invasive plants team pulled a total of 3,163 lbs of invasive plant species, and a total number of 1,524 volunteer hours were contributed to the project.
Plant Species Removed |
Common Name |
Pounds Removed |
Location Plant Removed |
| Hordeum jubatum | Foxtail Barley | 1079 lbs | Miles 237.25 and 238 Parks Hwy; scattered Mile 1-2 park road, Shaffer Bldg, CLA Bldg., Kennels Road |
| Taraxacum officinale | Dandelion | 891 lbs | Mile 1 - 43, Mile 72 - 92 of the park road |
| Vicia cracca | Bird Vetch | 515 lbs (lots of dirt) | Mile 240 and 231 Parks Hwy and Denali Education Center. Mile 1 Park Rd. |
| Crepis tectorum | Narrowleaf Hawk’s-Beard | 493 lbs | Sewage Lagoon, Mile 1 of the park road, Bus parking lot |
| Melilotus alba | White Sweet Clover | 85 lbs | Mile 232.5 and Mile 238 Parks Highway |
| Lupinus polyphyllus | Bigleaf Lupine | 60lbs | Mile 7 pull-out Park Rd. |
| Galeopsis bifida | Hempnettle | 1lb | Kantishna Horse Corral |
| Linaria vulgaris | Yellow Toadflax | 1 lb | Railroad tracks, Denali Depot |
| Trifolium pratense | Red Clover | 3lbs | Mile 1 Park Rd. |
2015 Update
During the summer of 2015, Denali's invasive plants specialist and volunteers collected a total of 65 lbs (uncleaned weight) of native seeds for revegetation projects. These volunteers donated a total of 2390 hours and made in possible to revegetate 2.1 acres with native seeds.
Seed collections were made at the east and west ends of the park:
East |
West |
|
| Headysarum alpinum | 14 lbs | 3 lbs |
| Elymus sp | 9 lbs | 12 lbs |
| Oxytropis campestris | 12 lbs | 3 lbs |
| Leymus Innovatus | 2 lbs | 5 lb |
| Calamagrostis canadensis | 0 lbs | 3 lbs |
| Arnica lessingii | 0 lbs | 1 lb |
| Delphinium glaucum | 0 lbs | .5 lb |
| Aster Sibericus | 0 lbs | .5 lb |
| Total | 37 lbs | 28 lbs |
Along with collecting native seeds, the invasive plants team pulled a total of 2,225 lbs of invasive plant species.
| Plant Species Removed | Common Name | Pounds Removed | Location Plant Removed |
| Hordeum jubatum | Foxtail Barley | 520 lbs | Miles 237.25 and 238 Parks Hwy; scattered Mile 1-2 park road, Shaffer Bldg, CLA Bldg., Kennels Road |
| Taraxacum officinale | Dandelion | 621 lbs | Mile 1 - 43, Mile 72 - 92 of the park road |
| Vicia cracca | Bird Vetch | 200 lbs (lots of dirt) | Mile 240 and 231 Parks Hwy and Denali Education Center. Mile 1 Park Rd. |
| Crepis tectorum | Narrowleaf Hawk’s-Beard | 105 lbs | Old Sewage Lagoon, Mile 1 of the park road, Bus parking lot |
| Melilotus alba | White Sweet Clover | 24 lbs | Mile 231 and Mile 238 Parks Highway |
| Descurainia sophia | Flixweed | 755 lbs | Mile 28 (Teklanika Pit), Mile 4, Mile 24 (Sanctuary Hill) |
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Last updated: January 12, 2017