Invasive species are not a new problem.

Many of the plants identified today as invasive species arrived with European immigrants to the area. Invasive pests, like Emerald Ash Borer, have come in shipments of goods from around the world. Without natural controls they can wreak havoc on our environment and can be devastating to a conservation area like Omena Woods.

Herbaceous Plants:
Baby's Breath
Bladder Campion
Bouncing Bet
Bull Thistle
Canada Thistle
Dame's Rocket
Garlic Mustard
Phragmites*
Purple Loosestrife
Spotted Knapweed
Swallow-wort

Shrubs, Trees and Vines:
Autumn Olive
Black Alder
Black Locust
Buckthorn, Common and Glossy
Japanese Barberry
Japanese Knotweed
Norway Maple
Oriental Bittersweet
Russian Olive
Tree of Heaven

*Click here to download a copy of the Leelanau Township ordinance on Phragmites which has been a scourge of our beaches.

For more information on invasive species check out the Midwest Invasive Species Information Network.

Invasive Insects
Asian Longhorned Beetle
Balsam Woody Adelgid
Emerald Ash Borer
Hemlock Wood Adelgid
Spotted Lantern Fly