Throughout Missouri, many individuals are making significant progress in the early detection and control of invasive plants. MoIP is pleased to highlight their efforts.
The Missouri Pheasants Forever/Quail Forever (PFQF) Habitat Specialist Crew, of which Dylan Jacobs has been a part since its organization in 2021, is stationed at Shaw Nature Reserve in Gray Summit, Missouri. The Habitat Specialist Crew was established via a collaborative effort to coordinate and conduct wildlife habitat management practices on cooperating lands in east-central Missouri.
The PFQF Habitat Specialist Crew is supported through a partnership between the Missouri Department of Conservation, Shaw Nature Reserve, and Quail Forever, and by generous donations from Nestlé Purina, Steve & Jeanne Maritz, and Roeslein Alternative Energy.
The PFQF Habitat Specialist Crew has been enhancing native habitat on both public and private lands in a 75-mile radius of Shaw Nature Reserve in Missouri with stewardship services including prescribed burning, burn plan development, establishment of firebreaks, woodland management, invasive plant control, site preparation prior to establishing native plantings, and seeding native plants.
Habitat Restoration Manager Dylan Jacobs with PFQF took time out of his busy schedule to describe his work. Enjoy!
What is your job title? How long have you been with PFQF Habitat Specialist Crew?
I was recently promoted to Habitat Restoration Manager, a position that oversees all the PFQF Habitat Specialist Crews across the state. I was the crew lead for the Shaw Nature Reserve crew for the past three years. The Habitat Specialist Crews are designed to increase capacity in treating invasive species, expand prescribed fire activity, and diversify native habitats in prioritized regional landscapes on both public and private land. These teams fill the gap when landowners cannot secure a contractor to complete management practices on their property.
What is your educational and professional background?
I studied biology at Bowling Green State University where I earned my bachelor’s degree. After graduation, I worked for The Nature Conservancy in Arkansas, Ohio, and North Carolina before coming to Quail Forever in Missouri.
What are some of the invasive plant control projects you have led over the years? Why are they important? What has been the impact?
I have worked with just about every invasive plant we have in Missouri. Some of our larger projects have involved removing bush honeysuckle and treating sericea lespedeza. These two species in particular are well known for outcompeting our native flora and tend to colonize into monocultures pushing out all native vegetation. By targeting sericea we aim to protect our grasslands by preserving a diverse native plant community that benefits a wide range of wildlife. Treating honeysuckle ensures we keep our woodlands healthy by allowing native grass and forbs to persist in the understory while also allowing for increased recruitment of oaks and other hardwoods.
How do you prioritize invasive plant species work within the strike team area? What is your strategy?
Our projects are prioritized using Missouri Department of Conservations tiered approach to conservation. We focus heavily in priority geographies and also target high quality remnant systems where invasives are just getting established. We keep our high-quality areas in as best shape as possible and move to more heavily infested areas as we can.
Please share one of your favorite invasive plant control success stories.
My favorite invasive success story is a glade restoration project I started back in 2016. The glade had filled in with eastern red cedar and had a thick stand of bush honeysuckle developing in the understory. We treated the honeysuckle with a combination of foliar and cut stump treatments, then cut and burned the cedars. After a few prescribed burns, the native plant community bounced back, with several remnant-dependant native plants present, including Fremont’s leather flower (Clematis fremontii), prairie turnip (Pediomelum esculentum), and Gattinger’s goldenrod (Solidago gattingeri).
How can landowners sign up for invasive species control services from the Habitat Specialist Crews?
Landowners interested in invasive species control and other habitat improvements should contact their local private land conservationist with the Missouri Department of Conservation or a Farm Bill Biologist with PFQF.
My colleagues and I are currently in the process of establishing two additional habitat crews across the state. One will be located in the Missouri River Hills Priority Geography based at Prairie Fork Conservation Area and the other will be in southwestern Missouri working in the Golden Grasslands Conservation Opportunity Area.
Before and After – Glade Restoration
One of Dylan’s most satisfying projects has been to witness the native plant community spring back to life on this glade. After he and his colleagues cleared the glade of bush honeysuckle and eastern red cedar, and after a few prescribed burns, several remnant-dependant native plants were apparent, including Fremont’s leather flower (Clematis fremontii), prairie turnip (Pediomelum esculentum), and Gattinger’s goldenrod (Solidago gattingeri). Photos by Dylan Jacobs.
