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Chester Land Trust resumes Japanese Knotweed mitigation program at Carini Preserve
Chester Land Trust (CLT) initiated a Japanese Knotweed (JK) mitigation program at the Carini Preserve in the fall of 2022 and plans to begin planting native grasses and shrubs in selected areas where JK was cut and cleared this winter. Plantings should begin sometime in April 2023.
The Carini Preserve (entrance at 30 Water Street) is a beautiful 6.5 acre CLT property that lies at the confluence of Great Brook and Pattaconk Brook where they run into Chester Creek. Unfortunately, a serious invasion of JK is present all along the banks of Great Brook and Chester Creek, overtaking native vegetation throughout the property and threatening the structural integrity of the gazebo at the Preserve.
Take a stroll through Carini Preserve (which is easy to access and open to the public). If you visit early in April, you will see numerous reddish JK sprouts emerging. These sprouts will grow 3-5 inches a day later in April. If left uncut, they’ll probably be 3-4 feet high by Earth Day (April 22, 2023)). Be aware that JK is a highly invasive non-native herbaceous perennial that is notoriously difficult to get rid of.
Recognizing this difficulty, CLT intends to utilize several JK control methods at Carini Preserve over the course of 3-5 years. During your visit, take a look at the education poster that CLT created and mounted on the back of the sign at the Preserve entrance. It shows what JK looks like in various stages of development and briefly describes methods to control it.
If you are interested in participating in CLT’s JK mitigation program, contact the Steward of the Carini Preserve at mdcressman@hotmail.com. We are grateful to all of our CLT donors, members and to the Town of Chester, the Community Foundation of Middlesex County and the Rockfall Foundation for providing funds to support this critically important project.
Photos by Bill Myers
• Mission Statement •
The Chester Land Trust is a volunteer non-profit organization established in 1987. Currently, the Land Trust has 87 gifted or donated preserve acres and an additional 6.7 purchased acres which is the Motley preserve.
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2022 CLT Properties
Carini Preserve
Scudder Preserve
Burr Brook Preserve
Duck Pond Preserve
Piquet Preserve
Wood Preserve
Chester Creek Preserve
Waterhouse Brook Preserve
Rayner Preserve
Gateway Preserve
Constance Baker Motley Preserve
Lakeview Avenue Preserve
The Old Tannery Preserve
Melillo Preserve
The Pines Easement
Brooks Lane, Liberty Ridge Easement
Bush Conservation Easement
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Chester, Connecticut
P.O. Box 82, Chester CT 06412
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