(Started 6/13/16; will go for about 10 days of dry weather)

What is Being Done and Why?

One objective of the Turkey Run stream restoration project is to replace existing invasive plant species in the project area with native plant species to improve the ecology of the parkland and health of the animals living there.    To prevent later reintroduction of the invasive plants into the restored areas, adjacent areas of the parkland are being treated now to kill invasive plant species.

How is it Being Done?

A County contractor, Invasive Plant Control (IPC), will cut and/or spray invasive plants with an herbicide.  The spray is applied directly to foliage or, for larger plants, to cut stems in order to minimize contamination and damage to surrounding plants.  The spray uses a blue dye so that treated areas will be readily visible.   Cut pieces will be left where they lie.  Surfaces should remain dry for at least 10 hours after application, so the specific timing is weather dependent.

Where is it Being Done?

All the work will occur in the parkland from near the tennis courts to Wakefield Drive. Some is adjacent to the trails but much of the work will be in areas not immediately adjacent to the trails. Many of the areas have been denoted with reddish-orange flags.

Specifically, areas being treated are:

• Areas of parkland between the construction zone and individual home lots. It will not extend onto individual home lots.
• Areas of parkland, within the broader project area, that will not be directly impacted by the construction. It is particularly important to remove invasive plants from these areas so that these undisturbed “islands of vegetation” do not spread invasive plants back into the restored area.
• Areas of parkland near the construction access points:
  • From the south parking lot at the clubhouse, near the tennis court gazebo, to the main trail
  • The spur trail to Elizabeth Lane, below Mary Lee Lane (near London bridge)
  • At Wakefield Drive, on the trail side of the stream
• The area along the main trail, near Ann Fitz Hugh Drive, between the steps near Twin bridges and the access near Golden Gate bridge.
• Part, but not all the way, up spur paths leading from the main trail:
  • Toward the Elizabeth Lane entrance at Chapel Drive, above Brooklyn bridge
  • Toward the trails leading to Ossian Hall Lane, Burbank Road, and Aunt Lilly Lane, near Natural bridge
  • Toward the Wakefield Drive entrance at Bonnie Drive, above Tappan Zee bridge

It will not treat:

• Any individual home lots
• Areas near any of the four playgrounds
• Much of the undeveloped area toward Chippendale Court between Ossian Hall Lane and Wakefield Drive
• Any areas downstream of Wakefield Drive

What Do We Need to Do?

• People and their pets should avoid contact with the blue-stained area  while signs are posted in the parkland.  (The herbicide  is harmless 24 to 48 hours following its application.  To be sure, it is best to avoid such contact while the signs are posted.
• Do not disturb any of the reddish-orange flags

Questions? Concerns?

THA Stream Team:   Dave Curtis (703-503-8454) or stream@trurohomes.org
Fairfax County:   Charles Smith (703-324-2467) or charles.smith@fairfaxcounty.gov

List of Targeted Invasive Plants in Truro Parkland

Arrow Bamboo
Autumn Olive
Bush Honeysuckle
Callery Pear
Chinese Privet
Double File Viburnum
English Ivy
False Holly
Garlic Mustard
Golden Bamboo
Italian Arum
Japanese Barberry
Japanese Holly
Japanese Honeysuckle
Japanese Maple
Japanese Privet
Japanese Stiltgrass
Lirope
Mile-a-Minute
Multiflora Rose
Oriental Bittersweet
Pachysandra
Periwinkle
Thorny Olive
Weeping Cherry
Winged Euonymus
Yew

Other grass, vine, or forb type invasive plants found in the parkland may also be sprayed.  Other tree or woody shrub type invasive plants found in the parkland will not be cut and sprayed without the specific approval of the Stream Team.  (Some Chinese Holly was cut and sprayed in the first days of this effort.)
More information regarding some of these plants is available on the following websites that discuss activities to manage invasive plant species in Fairfax County parklands that are in the Accotink Creek watershed.

More information regarding some of these plants is available on the following websites, two of which discuss activities to manage invasive plant species in Fairfax County parklands that are in the Accotink Creek watershed.

Friends of Accotink Creek: http://www.accotink.org/IMAInfoMap.htm

Fairfax County: http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/resource-management/ima/

Mid-Atlantic Exotic Pest Plant Council: (http://www.invasive.org/maweeds.cfm)