FARMINGTON — Western Maine Audubon Society will lead a program on “Invasive Plants: Pests or Laudable Survivalists?” at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 16, at the Roberts Learning Center, classroom C23, University of Maine at Farmington.

Are invasive plants a menace to local ecosystems or a visible example of local plant evolution at work? Should they be pulled out, root and branch, or allowed to flourish and spread?

Bob Bittenbender, Maine Audubon, will discuss the topic at a free program open to the public.

Under Bittenbender’s leadership, Maine Audubon is undertaking a five-year project to eradicate invasive plants from the meadows and forests at the Gilsland Farm sanctuary in Falmouth.

He said, “Lots of Maine insects, birds and other wildlife have adapted to a pretty specific range of plants. Exotic species don’t provide much nutritional or habitat value for our wildlife, and they also crowd out the plants that our wildlife need.”

He will show slides of his work and will discuss plant identification while talking about why invasives are such a problem.

Bittenbender has been the assistant property manager at Maine Audubon for the past six years. He is a horticulturist and has delivered several workshops, including a naturalist forum at Gilsland Farm.

For more information, call Steve Bien at 897-5215.