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Cooperative Weed Management Defends Biological Diversity in the Oak Openings Region

May 6, 2022
Oak Openings CWMA coordinator and a volunteer record the occurrence of an invasive species at The Nature Conservancy’s Kitty Todd Preserve. (Credit: The Nature Conservancy)
Oak Openings CWMA coordinator and a volunteer record the occurrence of an invasive species at The Nature Conservancy’s Kitty Todd Preserve. (Credit: The Nature Conservancy)

The 130-square-mile Oak Openings region, located in northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan, is a globally unique, biologically diverse area that is home to many rare plants and animals such as drummond’s halfchaff sedge, white false indigo, prairie warbler and sharp-tailed grouse. Yet the Oak Openings region is also critically imperiled by invasive plants that threaten native flora and fauna and negatively impact habitat, water quality and ecological diversity. That’s why the USDA Forest Service GLRI grant program is supporting a project to assess invasive plants throughout the Oak Openings region and create best management practices to fight them.

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