Field Notes 2025: Assessing Invasive Species at Forestry Lot #5

A sunny view from the edge of the bog.

The Bog Blog

Written by Brittnee Bukowski and Manny Singh, Invasive Species Management Assistants

As part of the 2025 Crew Assistance Program, WNY PRISM partnered with Erie County Department of Parks, Recreation & Forestry to survey and map invasive species in areas surrounding a protected bog within Erie County Forestry Lot #5. Forestry Lot #5 is 263 acres of mixed forest and wetlands near Holland, NY, within which is an area classified as a highbush blueberry bog thicket referred to as Protection Bog. This bog offers high ecological value as a rare habitat in western New York. It is not a highly trafficked area by the public but offers great opportunities for environmental education focusing on wetland ecology and forest management practices. Recreational opportunities are available such as hiking, birdwatching, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and wildlife viewing.

Bogs are a very distinctive kind of wetland characterized by acidic waters, spongy peat deposits, and carpets of sphagnum moss. Highbush blueberry bogs like in Forestry Lot #5 are often characterized as ombrotrophic, meaning they receive most or all their water from precipitation rather than from groundwater. The dominate vegetation found there are highbush blueberries (Vaccinium corymbosum) which produce small bell-shaped flowers throughout May that turn to small fruits in late June, as well as a rich variety of sedges, clubmosses and ferns growing within the water and sphagnum moss.

Brittnee Bukowski, Invasive Species Management Assistant, using a tablet to map invasive shrubs.

To aid in the protection of this rare habitat, Erie County is taking steps to update the Erie County Forest Management Plan. As part of this effort, the Crew prioritized identifying invasive species throughout 40.3 acres of hemlock hardwood swamp, pine and larch plantations, and mesic hardwood forest immediately surrounding the bog. Over the course of three days in May, the Crew surveyed and mapped populations of honeysuckle (Lonicera spp.), multi-flora rose (Rosa multiflora), purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) and garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata) near access roads and trails and throughout the forest understory. Hemlock woolly adelgid (Adelges tsugae) and beech leaf disease (Litylenchus crenatae mccannii) were also found throughout the area. The Crew saw firsthand how the presence of invasive plants was much denser along the roads and trails, most likely coming into the area on vehicles and boots, with the invasive plant density lessening as they surveyed further into the woods. Providing Erie County foresters with this spatial data on where the invasive plants are located is the first step in identifying and prioritizing management techniques to help stop the spread of invasive plants in this ecologically rich ecosystem.

A side by side comparison of the leaves of invasive honeysuckle (left) and native American fly honeysuckle (right).

Forestry Lot #5 also provided the Crew the rare opportunity to see American fly honeysuckle (Lonicera canadensis). To an untrained eye, this native species can appear very similar to invasive honeysuckles. Both species have opposite leaf arrangements and similar leaf shape. However, invasive honeysuckles have a hollow stem whereas American fly honeysuckle do not. The different texture and hairs on the edges and undersides of the leaves were also used to distinguish between the two plants in the field.

With assistance from Erie County Forester Joshua Konovitz, the Crew had the opportunity to see some rare and interesting native plant species as well. Under the cover of the forest, they noted pink lady’s slipper (Cypripedium acaule), Jack-in-the-pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum), cinnamon fern (Osmundastrum cinnamomeum), Canada mayflower (Maianthemum canadense), squirrel corn (Dicentra canadensis), and black cohosh (Actaea racemosa). The Crew saw an exciting plant called beechdrops (Epifagus virginiana) which is a parasitic plant that contains no chlorophyll and survives solely by getting its nutrients from American beech tree roots. A few yellow-spotted salamanders (Ambystoma maculatum) and a wood frog (Lithobates sylvaticus) stopped by to say hi! There were also multiple species of fungi and birds seen throughout the area. The presence of these wonderful species indicates a healthy and diverse forest. Being able to start off the field season in such a unique habitat was an amazing experience for the Crew.