The Beach Vitex Task Force Archived AnnouncementsJULY TO DECEMBER 2009

July 2009 South Carolina Update

July 11-12, 2009 Converse College, Spartanburg, SC, received a grant from the Belle W. Baruch Foundation to document the eradication of beach vitex. Students Karissa Terry, Cristin Fedina and Megan Heuse toured various sites with SC Task Force Coordinator Betsy Brabson, to observe the invasive plant in different stages of growth and eradica-tion. The grant abstract states that they will use digital photographs and scanned specimens to document beach vitex. Eradication efforts by the Carolinas Beach Vitex Task Force and Clemson University, the in-vasive plant’s impact on native species and the re-emergence of threat-ened species with the removal of beach vitex will also be recorded. The group will make five visits over the summer and early fall to gather their research information.

July 12, 2009 Sea turtle volunteers from South Litchfield Beach in Georgetown County found a turtle nest laid in beach vitex. The turtle had to break through the plant’s woody stems to dig her nest. The site was in front of the last oceanfront property in the county to give Clemson permission to eradicate the invasive plant. The volunteers relocated the nest to ensure the emerging hatchlings would not get caught in beach vitex roots and runners.

Task Force and sea turtle volunteer, Bev Ballow, sent current photographs of the Isle of Palms Seascape Condo-miniums. In 2004 there were two rows of dunes planted with beach vitex in front of these condos. Erosion began in 2005 and continued with the ocean taking the seed laden beach vitex to parts unknown. The northern part of the Isle of Palms beach was renourished in 2008 with sand pumped from offshore. Today, the dunes have been restored, sand fenced erected and native vegetation planted.

Converse College students will be documenting the impact and eradication of beach vitex.

Left: Sea turtle volun-teers from South Litch-field Beach in George-town County found a turtle nest laid in beach vitex.

Right: Beach vitex roots inside a sea turtle nest.

Clemson Update

Retreatment and replanting of the A, B and C lists was completed. Two new sites were identified for fall treat-ment. All uninhabited SC beaches were searched for beach vitex from the NC line to Pritchards Island. No new beach vitex was found on the uninhabited islands.

July 14-18, 2009 Two Task Force partners attended ‘Invasive Species in Coastal Dunes and Maritime Forests Conference’ at Georgian Court University, Lakewood, NJ. The conference, funded by Sea Grant, focused on inva-sive plants in shoreline environments, their biology, management and other related topics. It was attended by Eastern Seaboard natural resource managers from Virginia to Maine and from the private sector, state natural resource personnel and Federal agency employees from NRCS and FWS. Dr. Randy Westbrooks, USGS, was a key-note speaker via teleconference. His message focused on the importance of a multi-agency task force to address invasive species citing the Carolinas Beach Vitex Task Force as a good model. Dr. Chuck Gresham, retired from Clemson’s Baruch Institute, also spoke about the biology of beach vitex and restoration once it is eradicated.

North Carolina Update

Permission letters for treatment were re-sent to property owners/managers who did not respond to last year’s initial mailing. The goal is 100% response by this fall.

August 2009

Virginia has recently become a part of the Carolinas Beach Vitex Task Force. This addition called for a name change since efforts seem to be spreading as quickly as this invasive plant. The Task Force partners voted to simplify the name to The Beach Vitex Task Force. We will be gradually changing the name on the website and printed material.

Clemson Update

The Clemson crew spent August continuing to clear and treat beach vitex sites. They will conduct one more treatment this fall and winter.

North Carolina Update

Groundwork was laid with herbicide applicators to begin fall treatments both for new sites and to retreat where beach vitex has resprouted. Plans are to get most all of the NC coast treated by November.

2004: Two rows of dunes in front of the Seasacpe Con-dos were planted with beach vitex.

2005: Erosion of vi-tex covered dunes may have spread vitex seedlings to other areas.

2008: Dunes were lost from in front of condos.

2009: Native veg-etation and sand fencing help to pro-tect the renouished dunes.

Virginia Update

The beach vitex “Genie” has now fully escaped the bottle in Virginia with its discovery in late July on multiple private properties in the oceanside community of Sandbridge in the City of Virginia Beach. From an initial “wind-shield” survey it appears that all of the vitex was planted by residents, not on the dune system per say but in the front yards bordering the street. However, in many cases the plant is now moving up and over the back slopes of the sand dunes out onto the beach as well as beginning to cover the beach access trails (see photos). A coordi-nation meeting was held on August 31st with representatives from the City of Virginia Beach, State government and the Sandbridge Civic League to discuss next steps. Any eradication effort in Sandbridge is complicated by the fact that almost all of the vitex there is on private property where the only prior known colony in Virginia was on public land in Norfolk. Lee Rosenberg, the Virginia Beach Vitex Task Force Coordinator, is tentatively scheduled to speak to the Sandbridge Civic League in September to provide information and to gauge along with City of Virginia Beach staff the civic league’s receptiveness to moving forward with vitex eradication.

Next month, a second year herbicide treatment will be applied to the remaining (and new) beach vitex plants on Willoughby Spit in Norfolk. The first year treatment was about 90 percent effective but it appears that there are new plants sprouting from seeds around the perimeter of the main colony as well as new plants in both directions down the shoreline. As noted in the June update, Lee Rosenberg has also been appointed to serve as the Hampton Roads representative on the State’s Invasive Species Advisory Committee. At the first meeting he attended on August 26th, he brought the issue of beach vitex to the committee’s attention and sought their support in advancing this plant for designation as a State noxious weed. Further action on this is expected over the next few months. Further, the committee was advised that even following a requested voluntary cessation of sales of beach vitex by wholesale and retail nurseries by the State’s Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services, a few nurseries are continuing to sell the plant. This situation however should strengthen the argument to pursue the noxious weed designation.

September 2009

South Carolina Update

September 1, 2009 Task Force partners surveyed remote, undeveloped North Island (Georgetown County) look-ing for beach vitex, sea beach amaranth and turtle nests. The annual survey is part of SC Dept. of Resources match on the Task Force’s National Fish and Wildlife grant. Participating were: Jennifer Koches, USFWS: Charlotte Hope, SC DNR; Wendy Allen and Jennifer Plunket, NI-WB NERR; Tom Marshall and Bill Brabson, SCUTE and Betsy

Coyote tracks were found on North Is-land.

Volunteers posefor the 2009 beach vitex survey group shot.

Overcast weather made for a great day to survey North Island for beach vitex

Brabson, Task Force Coordinator. Mark Spinks, SC DNR, provided transportation to and on the island. Four beach vitex plants were found and flagged about 6 miles down the 8.5 mile island. Hal Drotor, Clemson, will treat these sites with Habitat.

No sea beach amaranth plants were located. Hog-predated sea turtle nests were found all

along the dune line with a total of 46 counted. In addition, coyote tracks were documented for the first time.

September 11, 2009 Sea turtle volunteers from Hobcaw and DeBordieu S.C.U.T.E. (Georgetown County) sur-veyed 2.25 miles of undeveloped Hobcaw Beach for beach vitex. An oceanfront home on adjacent DeBordieu had a large planting of beach vitex that has been eradicated and the dunes have been replanted with native species. The seeds and root fragments have traveled in the ocean from this site and continue to populate Hob-caw Beach with seedlings. Volunteers flagged 45 sites representing about 80 plants for herbicide treatment by Clemson staff.

Volunteers surveyed 2.25 miles of undevel-oped Hobcaw Beach for beach vitex. 45 sites representing about 80 plants were flagged for herbicide treatment.

Four beach vitex plants (left) and a total of 46 hog-predated sea turtle nests (right) were found dur-ing the survey.

September 28, 2009 A television crew from the Korean Broadcasting System (KBC) traveled to South Carolina to shoot a documentary on US efforts to address kudzu, beach vitex, bur cucumber and giant ragweed. Kudzu, native to Korea, has taken on invasive characteristics in the Asian country. The KBC is developing a 40 minute film segment which will be shown on an environmental program similar to NOVA on PBS. Also featured will be beach vitex, another plant native to Korea. The KBC interviewed Chuck Gresham, Clemson University (ret.) who provided an overview of control methods. SC Task Force Coordinator Betsy Brabson spoke of the plant’s effect on sea turtle nesting and ongoing Task Force efforts to address the problem.(Article in th appendix about KBC by Randy Westbrooks)

Clemson Update

Fall retreatment was initiated on SC barrier islands and one new site on front beach has been added. Hal Drotor, who heads up the eradication crew, held a workshop with the City of Myrtle Beach Landscape and Maintenance Department on beach vitex identification and control.

North Carolina Update

September 16, 2009: Volunteers working to preserve the nature trail at Selwyn Elementary School in Charlotte found that invasive exotic plants had taken over. These out-of-control plants devastate ecosystems worldwide, cost the American taxpayers billions of dollars annually and contribute to acceleration of species extinction. In response, Selwyn’s volunteers mustered a group of parent professionals and regional environmental experts to produce an informative and entertaining 9 minute video titled Green Invaders. This month, with funding from Duke Energy, Green Invaders was re-released on DVD accompanied by a new 21 page study guide for educa-tors. Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation is partnering with organizations including Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools and the Charlotte Nature Museum to use the curriculum as the basis for service projects that will engage area students in hands on learning about invasive species. South Carolina Task Force Coordinator Betsy Brabson is featured in the study guide and attended the premiere showing of the DVD.

This month, with funding from Duke Energy, Green Invaders was re-released on DVD ac-companied by a new 21 page study guide for educators.

Dale Suiter, US Fish & Wildlife Service, revisited all known sites on Topsail Island and spot-(re)treated where he found any growth. Kathy Mitchell, NC Aquarium Roanoke Island, is working on collecting signed permission let-ters from property owners for treatment of the few known sites in Dare County.

September 17, 2009 Dale Suiter and Melanie Doyle, NC Task Force Coordinator, met with Larry Sellars, Ocean Isle Asst. Town Administrator. All known locations of beach vitex were visited and all plants treated. Several ad-ditional sites were located that day, bringing the total to fourteen locations, including the several plants at the east inlet end of the island. An observation of Dodder (Cuscuta sp.) was made on a single vitex plant – most of the affected vitex appeared dead. Also, newly germinated seedlings were found at two sites here.

September 18, 2009 Melanie Doyle visited with Billy Beasley, Dir. of Parks and Recreation of the Town of Wrights-ville Beach. Only a few new locations of beach vitex were found over the summer. All sites have been treated with several required re-treatment due to some residual leaf growth from treated stems. An important lesson was learned at the Blockade Runner hotel site. Treated stems were removed in the spring and by August the entire colony had re-spouted. This showed that the treated stems must be left uncut for at least a full growing season (one year). No other sites grew back as that one did and it has been re-treated.

September 21, 2009 Hope Sutton, NC ERRS/UNCW, Melanie Doyle: Joanne Harke, NC Aquarium Ft. Fisher, and Billy Beasley treated two large colonies of beach vitex on undeveloped Masonboro Island, part of the NC Estua-rine Research Reserve System. Within 12 hours there was heavy rain on the site; it will be watched closely in the spring for re-growth. Newly germinated seedlings were found at this site.

Virginia Update

Following the discovery of beach vitex in Sandbridge, VA, a local group was established to determine the best way forward in educating property owners as well as determining the actual geographic extent of the plant. There is concern that it may have been planted in some of the other coastal communities of Virginia Beach, including Croatan and Chesapeake “Chicks” Beach. The first recommendation of the group was to bring the issue before the Sandbridge Civic League, which was done on September 19th. Lee Rosenberg, Virginia’s Beach Vitex Task Force Coordinator, provided an overview presentation to over 100 people in attendance. The audience included both the State delegate who represents Sandbridge as well as a Virginia Beach city council member. The mes-sage that beach vitex will have a significant and profound impact on the community unless it is eradicated was well received. Representatives from the Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge were also in attendance, since it is in close proximity to Sandbridge along with the State’s False Cape State Park. The Refuge has a vested interest in the beach vitex issue since they are already actively involved in invasive plant control, i.e., battling Phragmites.

On another beach vitex front, a “Catch 22” issue was resolved regarding three specimens of beach vitex that have existed at the Norfolk Botanical Gardens for many years. The Gardens had a policy that any plant listed by the State’s Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) as highly invasive would be removed from the Gardens as a standard protocol. However, since beach vitex had heretofore not been identified in Virginia, it had not been evaluated or listed on the DCR invasive species list. Based on work done by members of the BV Task Force, the analysis was quickly done by DCR and beach vitex is now on the list. Eradication of the three plants is scheduled for the first of next month.

Also, in October the second treatment of beach vitex on Willoughby Spit in Norfolk will occur. This site has shown how quickly beach vitex can spread if one main colony is allowed to remain. Historic aerial photographs taken by the City of Norfolk provided clear evidence that the beach vitex in Willoughby were planted after Hurricane Isabel in September 2003. Over the next five years, the plant expanded in either direction down the dune sys-tem for a distance of over 1,000 feet (all by either seeds or non-water transport of plant material since the main beach vitex colony never made it out to the toe of the dune where waves could erode the plant).

October 2009

South Carolina Update

October 2, 2009 The North Carolina Physicians and Surgeons (N.O.C.A.P.S.) held their annual meeting in George-town, SC. Beach Vitex Task Force SC Coordinator Betsy Brabson was on the slate of speakers and gave a Power Point presentation about loggerhead sea turtles. Brabson spoke about the declining numbers of these ancient reptiles, a species over 200 million years old. Loss of habitat is one major cause of fewer nests. Beach vitex was cited as the newest obstacle for nesting and hatching loggerheads. Brabson educated the group on the origins of the plant, eradication efforts and the restoration of the dunes once beach vitex is removed.

October 21, 2009 Task Force South Carolina partners gathered at the new Hobcaw Barony Discovery Center, Georgetown County, for a planning meeting. The group was updated on Task Force activities in SC, NC and VA and partners gave individual reports on work done by their respective agencies. Work is progressing on ap-pealing to the SC Dept. of Agriculture to list beach vitex as a State Noxious Weed. There was discussion on the amount of work remaining to eradicate beach vitex in SC and the funding needed to do so. Plans were initiated for the 2010 7th Beach Vitex Symposium.

North Carolina Update

The remaining known beach vitex sites on Masonboro Island were treated by Hope Sutton and Melanie Doyle.

Dale Suiter treated, re-treated and oversaw treatments on Topsail Island, Bogue Banks, Morehead City, and Ocracoke. Helping were Nancy Leach (NC Center for the Advancement of Teaching) and Gwendy Womble (NC Aquarium PKS).

Melanie Doyle and Doug Noonan (NC Aquarium FF) treated sites in Carolina Beach.

Treatment on Wrightsville Beach was completed for the season. All known sites have been treated/re-treated with thanks going to Billy Beasley (WB Parks & Rec. Director).

Virginia Update

October 8, 2009 The remaining beach vitex plants known to exist in the City of Norfolk were treated with Habi-tat. The plants on Willoughby Spit were spread out approximately 1,000 feet in both directions from the main colony that was discovered in 2008. The eradication was completed by Tim Lane with the City of Norfolk’s Parks and Urban Forestry Division. All of the beach vitex plants on Willoughby Spit are located on public property so there was not a requirement to obtain permission from adjacent property owners. After finishing the treatment on Willoughby, the crew went to the Norfolk Botanical Gardens and treated three beach vitex plants that have existed at the Gardens for many years. The eradication was closely coordinated with the Garden’s Director of Horticulture, Brian O’Neil. Both efforts, if successful, will eliminate known colonies of beach vitex within the City of Norfolk.

A coordination committee has also been formed to deal with the beach vitex infestation in Sandbridge, a coastal commu-nity located in the City of Vir-ginia Beach. The effort is being lead by Clay Bernick, Virginia Beach’s Environmental Man-agement Administrator. The committee is comprised of various members from the Sandbridge community, the Virginia Coordinator of the Beach Vitex Task Force, various State agency representatives and the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission staff. The committee is working on developing a FAQ sheet and an eradication strategy to commence next year. The work of the committee was covered by the local newspaper as well as TV channels.

October 16, 2009 An article, written by Oren Dorell, entitled “Invasive vines assault East Coast beaches” ap-peared in USA Today and was picked up by the Associated Press. Beach vitex, prevalent in the Carolinas, has now been found in Virginia and most recently at Assateague Island National Seashore in Maryland. This article, in a national newspaper, provides excellent exposure for the problems with invasive beach vitex.

October 26, 2009 The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) issued a temporary quarantine to restrict the movement of beach vitex within the cities of Norfolk and Virginia Beach and the East-ern Shore counties of Accomack and Northampton. Movement of beach vitex within these areas may only occur if a permit has been issued by VDACS. The quarantine is only valid for 90-days but the establishment of a per-manent quarantine will be considered by the VDACS Board during their December 3, 2009 meeting. The Beach Vitex Task Force provided a letter of support to make the quarantine of beach vitex permanent as well as for the Board to consider starting the process to list beach vitex as a noxious weed.

November 2009

South Carolina Update

November 11, 2009 The Georgetown Garden Club asked SC Task Force Coordinator, Betsy Brabson, to speak about sea turtles and beach vitex. Invasives have been a focus of the organization and the members wanted to learn more about how beach vitex threatens the dune ecosystem as well as nesting and hatching loggerhead sea turtles. Brabson explained the correlation through a Power Point presentation.

Beach vitex was treated at the Norfolk Botanical Gardens (left) and on Willoughby Spit (right) in Virginia.

Clemson Update

The Clemson crew began treating the final two beachfront sites in SC that have not been treated. Previously treated sites are systematically being retreated with 70% completion. Cool season American beachgrass will continue to be interplanted where applicable.

Clemson’s grants will be depleted as of late January 2010. Other funding sources are being explored. It is hoped that regulations are passed for inclusion of beach vitex as a State Noxious Weed in SC.

North Carolina Update

North Carolina completed beach vitex treatments for this season. A very mild fall has appeared to extend the season this year. Beach vitex colonies treated with herbicide include sites at Carolina Beach, Morehead City, Wilmington, all known sites at Ocean Isle Beach, additional sites in Surf City and Topsail Beach, the single site in Ocracoke and most of the sites known on the northern Outer Banks. This is a great wrap-up of second year of treatments with the NFWF Keystone grant funding.

November 6, 2009 Dale Suiter and Melanie Doyle met in Nags Head with Kathy Mitchell, Debbie Kelso, and Jim Gallagher (owner of Aqua Turf) to demonstrate the herbicide application method used for treating beach vitex. Mr. Gallagher’s company is the new contracted applicator for beach vitex control on the Outer Banks.

The NC Task Force is going to begin working closely with Chuck Bargeron (Univ. of GA) of EDDMapS in order to create a highly detailed and functional map of beach vitex locations in North Carolina. It will take some time to transform and up-load all the data but once up-to-date will prove to be an incredibly useful tool.

December 2009

Clemson Update

The crew has continued to retreat sites and replant in areas where beach vitex was cleared. The last two new signed-on sites have been treated and retreated.

There are 4 or 5 sites (a reported site in Wild Dunes has not been located) in coastal SC that have not been treated and 99% of the treated sites have been retreated at least once.

North Carolina Update

December 1-2, 2009 The annual NC Exotic Plant Pest Council meeting, held at the UNC Botanical Gardens, was attended by Melanie Doyle, Dale Suiter, Sara True, Rob Richardson, Rick Iverson, and several other members of the NC Beach Vitex Task Force. Sara True presented findings from her MS Thesis research regarding herbicide ef-fectiveness on beach vitex. Melanie Doyle presented a poster summarizing to date the survey and control work done on the invasive plant in North Carolina.

The unusually warm temperatures during the fall allowed beach vitex treatments to continue through the mid-dle of December in southern NC. This made it possible for several additional sites to be treated that would have otherwise been treated in fall 2010.

NC Sea Grant: In an effort to extend outreach and education efforts through online media, North Carolina Sea Grant and other Sea Grant programs are working with Google Earth to provide con-tent -- including photos, videos, stories and more -- for a new functionality called “Explore the Ocean.”

North Carolina Sea Grant chose to feature beach vitex as a video and picture story, given the need to raise aware-ness about the plant and its eradication efforts in the coastal Carolinas and beyond. The video is titled “Beach Vitex: Kudzu of the Coast.”

One Google editor called the video “brilliant,” adding that it “...has practical advice and very compelling.”

To find the beach vitex video using the latest version of Google Earth, open the application and click the “Search” tab. Make sure the “Fly To” heading is highlighted, then enter “Bald Head Island” in the search box. Click to open the “Layers” tab and check the “Ocean” box. Click the gray triangle next to the “Ocean” box to expand the layer, then select “Explore the Ocean.” Look for the “Explore the Ocean” icon on the map of Bald Head Island. Click the icon to play the video.

You can also find “Beach Vitex: Kudzu of the Coast” on North Carolina Sea Grant’s YouTube Channel:

http://www.youtube.com/user/NCSeaGrant

Virginia Update

December 3, 2009 The Virginia Board of Agriculture and Consumer Services voted to make permanent a Beach Vitex quarantine. Todd P. Haymore, Commissioner of the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Ser-vices (VDACS), announced a temporary quarantine on October 26, 2009, for four Virginia localities: the counties of Accomack and Northampton on the Eastern Shore and the cities of Norfolk and Virginia Beach. The same localities are included in the permanent quarantine.

Korean Broadcasting System to Showcase U.S. Efforts to Address Kudzu, Beach Vitex, Bur Cucumber, and Giant Ragweed on Public Television in Korea. By: Randy Westbrooks. U.S. Geological Survey, Whiteville, North Carolina. October 7, 2009.

In recent years, Kudzu, Bur Cucumber, and Ragweed have become serious problems in Korea. Kudzu, which is native to Korea, is spreading rampantly throughout the mountainous regions of the country, following roads and housing developments that have been built there in recent years. Bur Cucumber, a spiny-fruited vine from the northeastern U.S., has become a serious problem in croplands of Korea. Ragweed, which was accidentally introduced to Korea from the U.S., is causing serious public health problems in much of the country.

In order to educate the Korean public about these serious new problems, as well as problems with Beach Vitex along the Carolina Coast*, the Korean Broadcasting System is currently developing a 40 minute film segment that will be shown on the Environment Special, which is an hour long television nature series which is similar to NOVA on PBS in the United States. The Environment Special is viewed by 5 million people nationwide in Korea. Newt Hardie (Kudzu Coalition), Betsy Brabson (BVTF Coordinator), Dr. Faith Keuhn (Delaware Department of Agriculture), and Dr. Randy Westbrooks (USGS BRD in Whiteville, NC), are assisting KBS in the project.

*NOTE: Beach Vitex is native to the beaches of Korea.

Initially, on Monday morning, September 28, 2009, Chong Lee, a San Francisco based producer with the Korean Broadcasting Service, and Randy Westbrooks filmed the South Carolina Kudzu Coalition in action in Spartanburg, South Carolina. The Kudzu Coalition has developed a very effective non-chemical approach for kudzu control – manual removal methods that will be very effective in controlling Kudzu in the mountains of Korea.

On Monday afternoon, Randy Westbrooks brought Chong Lee and KBS videographer So Ho Kim to Litchfield Beach, South Carolina, to learn more about the Beach Vitex Task Force from Betsy Brabson and Dr. Chuck Gresham.

In the interview, Betsy Brabson described her initial concerns about the impact of Beach Vitex on Sea Turtle nesting along the Carolina Coast in the late 1990s. She discussed ongoing efforts by the Beach Vitex Task Force to address the problem. She also stressed the importance of volunteers in addressing new invaders such as Beach Vitex.

Dr. Chuck Gresham, who recently retired from Clemson University at Hobcaw Barony in Georgetown, S.C., provided an overview of control methods he developed that are being used to eradicate Beach Vitex from the Carolina Coast. The interview was conducted at the last major Beach Vitex infestation along the South Carolina coast – in south Litchfield Beach.

On Tuesday morning, September 29th, Chong Lee and So Ho Kim visited Randy Westbrooks at the USGS Coastal Plains Invasive Species Field Station near Whiteville, North Carolina. During the visit, Randy gave an indepth interview to KBS on the worldwide issue of invasive species.

Randy explained that the South Carolina Kudzu Coalition and the Beach Vitex Task Force are good examples of the current trend in interagency partnering to address new and emerging invasive species across the United States. After the interview, Chong concluded that lessons learned by the Kudzu Coalition and the Beach Vitex Task Force will be very helpful to the people of Korea as they deal with new invaders like Kudzu and Bur Cucumber.

On Wednesday, September 30th, Chong Lee interviewed Dr. Faith Keuhn and Todd Davis of the Delaware Department of Agriculture Division of Plant Industry about Bur Cucumber and Giant Ragweed in Delaware. Bur Cucumber and Giant Ragweed are both listed as a State Noxious Weeds in Delaware.

According to Chong, it will take about three months to produce the final version of the film segment that will be aired on Korean Public Television. Once the segment is aired, a copy of the story will be posted on the Kudzu Coalition Website and the Beach Vitex Task Force Website – including Korean subtitles…….

Stay tuned!

Waller Whittemore, left, and Cheryl Petticrew walk by the invasive beach vitex growing near a sand dune in Virginia Beach. Image by Hyunsoo Leo Kim, The (Norfolk, Va.) Virginian-Pilot, via, AP.

Invasive vines assault East Coast beaches. By Oren Dorell, USA TODAY. October 16, 2009.

A fast-growing vine imported from Korea to stop massive erosion of sand dunes — home to sea turtle hatchlings and such shore birds as plovers — is destroying dunes in the Carolinas and threatens to creep into beaches up and down the East Coast.

The beach vitex, a woody plant with waxy leaves and a pretty purple flower, was planted widely along the Carolina coast after Hurricane Hugo ravaged beaches and dunes in 1989.

States wanted to act fast because, aside from being a nesting site for shore birds, dunes help hold back storm waters.

The vine proliferated, but there were unforeseen consequences. The plant's thickness harms nestlings, and its shallow root system fails to hold dunes together.

"They really flubbed it on this one," said Randy Westbrooks, an invasive-species prevention specialist for U.S. Geological Survey.

Beach vitex was promoted by J.C. Raulston, then-director of the North Carolina State University arboretum, because it thrives on nutrient-poor, sandy soils and grows fast. With an average growth rate of 60 feet a year, the vine can completely cover dune systems, said Melanie Doyle, a horticulturist at the North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher.

Betsy Brabson, an artist and sea turtle advocate in Georgetown, S.C., said beach vitex with all its vines and runners creates such a tight network that sea turtles can't nest.

"I don't want something like beach vitex to cover the dunes for miles and miles and then we have no sea turtles," said Brabson, who heads the South Carolina Beach Vitex Task Force.

And, unlike the native sea oats and other grasses that people are used to seeing on dunes, beach vitex doesn't help dunes grow into a high barrier against storm surges, Doyle said.

This year the North Carolina Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services declared the plant a "noxious weed," banning it from being sold or planted.

Crews have fanned out across coastal North and South Carolina to eradicate it, cutting the plants with machetes and dabbing them with a herbicide.

Indications are that the eradication may be tougher than first thought.

Isolated strands of the vine have been found in Georgia, Florida and Alabama.

Members of the Beach Vitex Task Force thought they were on the road to victory against the invader until a "real bombshell" was discovered in Maryland, said Lee Rosenberg, environmental services manager for Norfolk, Va.

This month, a U.S. Park Service biologist reported beach vitex in the Maryland side of Assateague Island National Seashore, home to about 300 wild ponies. Westbrooks suggests that the plant's seeds are transported by ocean currents.

Rosenberg said he believes migratory birds are behind the propagation.

"That means any area north and south is subject to being colonized by beach vitex just by seeds being brought by birds," Rosenberg said.

Dale Suitor, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife biologist, said the Assateague discovery rocked the Beach Vitex Task Force. "It hadn't really crossed our minds that it could be that far north," he said.

Based on an evaluation of the plant's native range, along the Pacific Rim, Suitor now thinks beach vitex might take root as far north as Rhode Island.

Instead of focusing on the Carolinas and Virginia's Eastern Shore, the task force will have to send word as far as southern New England "to keep a look out for this thing," Suitor said.

"There's lots of preserves — Fire Island National Seashore, Cape May (Point State Park), Delaware Seashore State Park — we're going to have to figure out a way to get in touch with all of them," he said.

Cape Cod received the news this week. The response: "That would be bad," said Mark Faherty, science coordinator for the Mass Audubon's Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary.

December 4, 2009 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE AND CONSUMER SERVICES ISSUES PERMANENT BEACH VITEX QUARANTINE Contact: Elaine J. Lidholm, 804.786.7686

On December 3, 2009, the Virginia Board of Agriculture and Consumer Services voted to make permanent a Beach Vitex quarantine. Todd P. Haymore, Commissioner of the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS), announced a temporary quarantine on October 26, 2009, for four Virginia localities: the counties of Accomack and Northampton on the Eastern Shore and the cities of Norfolk and Virginia Beach. The same localities are included in the permanent quarantine.

“The Board’s action to limit the spread of this highly invasive plant was very timely,” said Haymore. “Beach Vitex grows rapidly along dunes and shorelines causing damage to these areas by crowding out native plants and threatening the habitats of various animals, including the endangered loggerhead sea turtle. Beach Vitex is less effective than native grasses in controlling dune erosion, and it crowds out those native plants that are considered superior for dune stabilization.”

The Beach Vitex quarantine restricts the movement of the plant itself, in any life stage, including roots, stems and seeds, as well as the movement of other regulated articles such as sand, soil or mulch known to contain any life stage of Beach Vitex.

"VDACS will continue to monitor this situation and work with localities and other partners to protect Virginia's coastal ecosystems," said Haymore. "If warranted, the agency has the authority to expand the Beach Vitex quarantine as needed."

The first confirmed finding of Beach Vitex in Virginia occurred in Norfolk in 2008. Since then, it has been detected in other coastal sites in the Commonwealth. Beach Vitex has the potential to spread to other areas through artificial movement by individuals or through natural movement. Seeds and stems could be carried by water currents to uninfested coastal areas. The plant can reproduce easily from seeds and even the smallest pieces of broken stem.

For more information on Beach Vitex, citizens should contact their city or county agricultural Extension agent, listed in the local government section of their telephone directory under Virginia Cooperative Extension Service (VCE), or visit the VCE Web site at www.ext.vt.edu/offices. They may also call VDACS’ Office of Plant and Pest Services in Richmond at 804.786.3515 or in Franklin at 757.562.6637. More information is available at www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/plants/beachvitex.shtml, the Web site of the United States Department of Agriculture, National Invasive Species Information Center.

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