BLM-Alaska Weed Warriors attack 
moose-killer invasive trees

Last summer, interns working on the BLM’s 730-acre BLM Campbell Tract near its Campbell Airstrip trailhead and Campbell Creek in Anchorage discovered several infestations of a tree that’s poisonous to moose. The invasive European Bird Cherry or Mayday trees can kill moose, in a city where hundreds of moose are found within its limits, especially during the winter. Worried the invasive trees would move upstream into the wild habitats of Campbell Tract, the Municipality of Anchorage’s Far North Bicentennial Park, and into Chugach State Park, on Oct. 5 the BLM Anchorage Field Office partnered with the Alaska Natural Heritage Program, Municipality of Anchorage, and AmeriCorps Alaska to remove the invasive trees from the Campbell Tract. A 10-member crew, mostly young adults employed through the Alaska Natural Heritage Program and AmeriCorps’ Southeast Alaska Guidance Association, worked most of a day removing the invasive trees. This event was one of several similar efforts this year by BLM-Alaska and its Anchorage Cooperative Weed Management Area partners to address invasive plants throughout Anchorage. (Contact: Laurie Thorpe, 907-267-1208)