The Monroe County Identify and Reduce Invasive Species group is offering residents reimbursement for removing Callery Pear trees and other invasive tree species. This is part of the group’s challenge to reduce invasive species.
Each year the group decides which species to focus on, said Ellen Jacquart, the organization’s president. This year they decided to focus on Callery Pear trees, Tree of Heaven and Asian Bush Honeysuckle. Participants are eligible to win a $30 gift certificate to be used at the organization’s native plant sale in September. To be eligible participants must submit an application and show the tree or shrub cut. The tree must be over two inches in diameter, or the shrub must be over three feet tall to be eligible for a certificate.
The challenge overlaps the group’s Invasive Tree Removal Funding Assistance, which includes up to a $400 reimbursement for the removal of Callery Pear, Tree of Heaven or White Mulberry trees. If landowners remove a Callery Pear or a Tree of Heaven they can be eligible for both the certificate and the reimbursement, Jacquart said. Only 20 applications will be funded for this year.
“When we featured a tree species like Callery Pear, it is a lot more involved to cut down a big tree from your yard versus a little shrub,” she said. “And people were saying, I would love to do this, but it's going to cost, you know, $500, $600 to get that tree down. So we started the additional program if you're taking out an invasive tree.”
The seeds of Callery pear trees have spread across the city due to people planting them in their yards, she said. The tree is very dense and shady so nothing can grow underneath. It endangers food sources for birds and small mammals because no native plants are there to provide food.
“If we go by how it behaves, it's just an incredibly aggressive invader that ruins our ecosystems and smells like dead fish,” Jacquart said.
Currently the city has a long-term plan targeting about 1,000 Callery Pear Trees for removal, Jacquart said. However, this does include the number of Callery Pear Trees on private land. Jacquart estimates there are thousands of Callery Pear trees in the city. The City of Bloomington no longer plants them.
Tree of Heaven was not intentionally planted but has come up on its own. There are a lot on the Indiana University campus and around the city, she said. This tree is a host for the invasive Spotted Lanternflies.
The Asian bush honeysuckle is one of the most invasive shrubs in the state. Its dense shrub layer excludes native understory shrubs, reduces canopy tree growth and increases ticks and tick-related illness.
White Mulberry trees produce an abundant amount of fruit, which birds and other wildlife spread. The trees then take over fields and other open areas.
