PARIS — The Oxford County Soil & Water Conservation District will partner with the Small Woodland Owners Association of Maine for a workshop on invasive forest pests at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 19, at Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School.

The workshop will focus on the emerald ash borer, Asian long-horned beetle and hemlock woolly adelgid. All three are on a Maine watch list and can cause considerable damage to forests and the economy.

The second part of the evening will focus on “terrestrial” invasives, or invasive plants, which include bittersweet, honeysuckle, Japanese knotweed (frequently called bamboo), Japanese barberry and purple loosestrife. All of these can be found growing locally and are difficult to control or eradicate. Identification sheets will be provided as well as environmentally-friendly ways to deal with them.

The final section will be devoted to aquatic invasive plants: variable-leaf milfoil, Eurasian milfoil, Hydrilla, curly-leaf pondweed and European naiad. These have been found in a few of Maine’s lakes and are easily spread if not detected early. The focus will be on identification, prevention and eradication of these damaging plants from lakes and ponds.

SWOAM welcomes the general public to attend its meetings free of charge.

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