Wednesday, April 16, 2025
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Serving Kosciusko County and parts of Elkhart, Marshall & Noble Counties Know Your Neighbor . . . . . . . 2➤ Good Neighbors . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Spring Home Improvement . . . . . . . . . 8-11
Vol. 54, No. 43
Milford (574) 658-4111 • Warsaw (574) 269-2932 • Syracuse (574) 457-3666
WEED WRANGLE EVENT — Weed Wrangle started in Tennessee and now Indiana has more Weed Wrangle events than any other state in the country. KWWIP hosts a number of Weed Wrangle events when
114 W. Market, Warsaw, Indiana 46580
community volunteers can come out and help eradicate invasive plants. Shown armed with their loppers are Shannon Williams, Cecilie Keenan, Kay Pylant and Marilyn Homme. Photo provided by Shannon Williams.
KWWIP working to educate the public about
INVASI INVA SIVE VE PLANTS
By LAUREN ZEUGNER Staff Writer Kosciusko Water and Woodland Invasive Partnership is a relatively new nonprofit with the goal of educating the public about invasive plants, both terrestrial and aquatic. The organization started in 2019 and received its 501(c)3 status in 2020. KWWIP was started by Erica Luchick, who quickly partnered with other conservation groups in Kosciusko County, such as the Lilly Center for Lakes and Streams, Soil and Water Conservation Districts, The Watershed Foundation as well as volunteers
and philanthropists. The federal definition of an invasive plant is one that is non-native or alien to the ecosystem whose introduction causes or likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health. “The goal is to try and get community members involved and educated about native and invasive species,” said Shannon Williams, a KWWIP volunteer and master naturalist. To educate the public, KWWIP hosts a number of Weed Wrangle events where community volunteers are educated on invasive species and the proper way to re-
move them. “Then we eradicate it. It’s fun,” said Dugan Julian, northeast regional specialist at Southern Indiana Cooperative Invasives Management. Dugan explained Weed Wrangle is an organization based out of Tennessee. Weed Wrangle Indiana is a project KWWIP participates in. “Indiana has more Weed Wrangle events than any other in the country,” Julian said, “and very few Weed Wrangles deal with aquatic invasives as well as terrestrial.” Julian explained billions are spent on eradicating invasive
IN THE THICK OF IT — Kosciusko Water and Woodland Invasive Plant volunteers Karen Troxel, left, and Tracy Gilliland help remove invasive plants along a lake shore in Kosciusko County. KWWIP is a nonprofit dedicated to educating the public about invasive terrestrial and aquatic plants. Photo provided by Shannon Williams.
species, which damage both ecosystems and infrastructure. An example is Kudzu, which is from the 1930-1950s the Soil Conservation Service promoted as a great tool against soil erosion. Used abundantly in the south, Kudzu quickly grows out of control spreading through runners, rhizomes and vines that can grow a foot a day. The vine has been known to over take trees, abandoned homes and telephone poles. To make matters worse, the plant has moved northward with plants being found in the northeast, midwest and even Oregon. Kudzo has been found in Elkhart County and is contained in quarantine.
Along with damaging infrastructure, some invasives are dangerous to pollinators, mammals and humans. For example, a garlic mustard plant is poisonous to pollinators while poison hemlock is poisonous to both humans and animals. Wild parsnip has a chemical that reacts to sunlight, which can cause chemical burns on human skin. Another problem with invasives is they tend to be beautiful, such as honeysuckle and Callery pear trees. William noted there are beautiful natives, such as red bud to replace Callery pear. One advantage to invasive speContinued on page 4
PULLING OUT INVASIVES — Dugan Julian, northeast regional specialist at Southern Indiana Cooperative Invasives Management and KWWIP volunteer, pulls out brush that was cut down during a Weed Wrangle event. The brush was then hauled away and disposed of in a manner the plant isn’t able to spread. Photo provided by Shannon Williams.