Invasive species often become established, grow and produce abundant amounts of seed on edge habitats. These are the edges of your woods, along fields, roads, trails, and food plots. These plants get established on the edges of your woods long before they start to invade your actual forest. This is where invasive species control should start, and it is where the treatments should be most effective in reaching long term goals.
Invasive species are becoming the main issue with long term sustainable forest management in southern Illinois and the Midwest. Early detection and rapid response are key to keeping invasive species treatments effective and affordable. Each year that passes without treatment simply increases the size and spread of invasive plants, thereby increasing the seed bank for these species.