Conservation Stewardship Project Middle Patuxent Environmental Area

Sponsoring Organizations: Howard County Recreation & Parks and Howard County Master Gardeners

Barberry Revisited

Japanese Barberry is very tolerant of shade and can form dense colonies in a variety of habitats including closed canopy forest. This pesky plant reportedly changes soil pH and nitrogen levels as it displaces native herbs and shrubs. For these reasons, we are hosting this second removal event. Using the same techniques we practiced in June, we’ll keep digging and uprooting these unwelcome intruders of natural areas.

The Conservation Stewardship Project, a joint program of the Howard County Recreation & Parks and the Howard County Master Gardeners, targets the problem of controlling invasive, exotic species in the Middle Patuxent Environmental Area. Volunteer work dates occur monthly from March through November, skipping July & August. Each date includes an educational component concerning the target invasive species or target work area for the day.

The Middle Patuxent Environmental Area (MPEA), established in 1996, encompasses 1,021 acres and contains a diversity of habitat types. There are upland and bottomland hardwood forest, fields, wetlands, ponds, and riparian habitats. The primary components of the MPEA's mission are natural resources management, education, research, and recreation.

For more information, contact Master Gardener Aylene Gard at (410) 992-9889; or Jeff Claffy, Assistant Natural Resources Manager, MPEA at (410) 313-6209 or jclaffy@howardcountymd.gov.

Driving Directions to Trotter Road entrance to MPEAt:

• From U.S. 29 at 32: Take 32 west to the Great Star Drive exit. Turn right onto Great Star Drive. Then make a right onto Summer Sunrise. Continue to Trotter Road and make a left. Proceed about 1 mile to the parking area on the right just beyond the small traffic circle.
• From U.S. 29 at 108: Take 108 west and continue past Centennial Lane. Proceed past Harpers Farm Road to Trotter Road and make a left. Continue to the parking area on the left. If you reach the small traffic circle, you've gone too far.