Charlottesville Tree Commission seeking funding for invasive species removal program

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) - The city manager has released a draft of the budget for Fiscal Year 2024, but the Tree Commission says there’s one thing missing.

The Tree Commission is asking for $75,000 to fund a program it says would help make Charlottesville more beautiful. The money will be put towards fighting invasive plants.

Porcelain berry is a highly invasive species that could slowly take over Azalea Park if left to its own devices.

“A lot of our trees are going to just get smothered by these vines. It might take years, but eventually, it will often kill them,” Tree Commission member Holly Lafferty said.

Funding the invasive removal plan would provide native plants with more space to grow and flourish.

“[The plan is] focused on certain areas and really trying to get the invasive species under control, and that way the trees we do have can survive better, and we can open up more area to plant new trees and keep our canopy cover from continuing to decrease,” Lafferty said. “It’s also going to help our native wildlife, so all the native pollinators we depend on for our gardens, all of the wildlife.”

Tree Commission member Mark Rylander says the money could go a long way, as typical lawn care is not enough to get rid of invasive species.

“The invasives will invade more, there’s not a whole lot that can be done. It’s throwing good money after bad to just cut them down,” Rylander said. “You could say, ‘Why couldn’t we just mow?’ Well, it’s because the roots are so powerful that they’ll regrow immediately and really start to dominate, so you really do have to spray the leaves there. Each plant has its own environmentally sensitive way of treating the plant so that it goes away.”

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