Michigan landowners have until June 22 to register for a free invasive-species workshop at the MSU W.K. Kellogg Experimental Forest in Augusta.
The June 24 event runs from 1:30 to 4 p.m. at 7060 N. 42nd Street and is aimed at southwest Michigan landowners and community members dealing with invasive plants on wooded lots, lake properties, trails, pastures, and backyard edges.
The official MSU event page says the workshop will cover identification, management strategies, technical guidance, financial assistance programs, and cost-share opportunities. Registration closes at 11:59 p.m. ET on June 22.
The workshop comes weeks after Michigan approved new restrictions for six invasive plants, including several species still common in yards, hedges, landscaping, ponds, and water gardens.
The Free Workshop Covers Identification and Control
The MSU workshop includes an introduction to Kellogg Forest, a session on Cooperative Invasive Species Management Areas and conservation districts, and a field portion focused on identification practice, control techniques, and safety.
Speakers include Sara Rahn, invasive species coordinator for the Barry, Calhoun and Kalamazoo Cooperative Invasive Species Management Area, and Ben Savoie, district forester with Barry Conservation District. The session gives landowners a direct place to ask about plants spreading along fence lines, trails, driveways, pastures, pond edges, and wooded areas.
The BCK CISMA says it provides services to private and public landowners for high-priority species, including treatment and monitoring. Those services may be covered by grants or offered for a small fee, so landowners should ask what help is available for their property before assuming every service is free.
Michigan Just Added Six Plants to Its Invasive Lists
View this post on Instagram
On May 20, the Michigan Commission of Agriculture and Rural Development approved six plants for the state’s prohibited or restricted invasive-species lists. The newly listed species are common buckthorn, glossy buckthorn, Callery pear, Japanese barberry, water hyacinth, and water lettuce.
The state announcement says common buckthorn, glossy buckthorn, Callery pear, and Japanese barberry become restricted on January 1, 2028. Water hyacinth and water lettuce become prohibited on June 19, 2026.
Michigan says property owners are not considered in violation if the newly listed species are already established on their property or in adjacent waterways. New sales, imports, intentional propagation, and distribution are treated differently under the state’s restricted and prohibited categories.
Landowners who already have these plants can still use the workshop and local CISMA resources to identify problem areas, ask about removal options, and avoid spreading seeds or plant fragments during routine mowing, clearing, landscaping, or pond work.
Landowners Should Ask About Local CISMA Help
Michigan defines invasive species as non-native species whose introduction causes, or is likely to cause, harm to the state’s economy, environment, or human health. The state also points residents to identification, reporting, and local CISMA resources.
A small patch can become harder to manage once birds, water, equipment, mowing, dumping, or foot traffic move seeds and plant parts farther across a property. Landowners with forest edges, trails, ponds, lakefront lots, pastures, or natural areas should ask whether a site visit, treatment plan, monitoring, grant-funded work, or cost-share support is available.
Before the June 24 workshop, owners can make a list of problem plants, take clear photos, note where the plants are spreading, and ask which species should be controlled first.