Invasive Management Area (IMA) - Volunteer Program, Fairfax County Park Authority

Invasive
Management
Area

Invasive Management Area (IMA) Volunteer Program

Climbing vines a problem? Shrubs with thorns keeping you from exploring the woods? Many invasive plants are preventing us from enjoying our forests and are degrading our natural ecosystems.

Want to help with parkland restoration or use cool tools? Students or scouts, do you need to earn some community service hours?

IMA is the program for you! Check out our Web site, then call or email us to get involved and help remove non-native invasive species and plant native species.

What is IMA?

The Invasive Management Area (IMA) Volunteer Program is a community-based project designed to reduce invasive plants on our parklands. This unique, volunteer-led program gives residents an opportunity to connect with people while taking care of the natural resources around us. IMA enables community members to help protect the plants and wildlife of Fairfax County's forests while spending time outdoors, meeting new people and restoring natural habitats.

IMA is more than just pulling weeds. Key components of this program are habitat restoration and a long-term commitment to the park. Invasive plant species are difficult to remove and control, but with the help of IMA volunteers, undesirable non-native, invasive plants are removed manually and native plants returned to the habitat.

The IMA project began in 2006 with just 20 sites. Since then, over 35 acres have come under IMA management. The goals are:

Focus community support and momentum to do something about non- native, invasive plant and animal species
Garner more community involvement and support
Educate the public about the effects of non-native, invasive plant and animal species
Participate in outreach opportunities regarding non-native, invasive plant, and animal species
Develop healthy woodlots with uneven-aged stands of mixed trees, shrubs and ground cover with a floor of leaf litter and debris that are free of invasive plant species

Currently, funding is provided by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors in support of the Environmental Agenda. Additional funding was provided by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation's Chesapeake Bay Small Watershed Grant Program in 2007 and a donation from the Biz World students of Westlawn Elementary School in 2008.

IMA Invasive list:

Although the prevalence of invasive, non-native plants throughout parkland is of concern, habitat recovery following an invasion is still a relatively new concept. For the IMA pilot project, ten species were selected as a focus for study.

English Ivy threatens the health of this tree	The dominant plant in the understory of this forest is stiltgrass	Winged Euonymus or Burning Bush can escape cultivation and grow in the woods	Mile-a-Minute grows very fast forming a dense carpet	Japanese Barberry threatens the forest by altering soil pH and nutrients
Bush honeysuckle produces copious amounts of “junk food” berries that birds eat and disperse into our pristine forests; spreading this highly invasive shrub.	Pachysandra creates a monoculture; displacing and out competing native plants.	Once touted for its benefits to birds, Autumn olive, has now out-competed much of the other vegetation in some stream valleys.	Garlic mustard has been linked to poor regeneration of our native oak-hickory forests	Wintercreeper creeps along forest floors and up trees where it will mature and fruit, damaging the tree as it grows.