For the last two years, nurseries and garden centers across the state have been phasing out their sales of three different types of trees and shrubs. In 2004 the State designated The Norway Maple, the Japanese Barberry, and the Burning Bush as invasive. And state law mandates that sales of those three plants be discontinued by the end of this year. But a bill that recently passed that Senate would un-do that classification and permit nurseries to continue selling them.
New Hampshire Public Radio’s Rebecca Kaufman has more.
The Burning Bush foliage in spring.(Cheryl Senter, NHPR)
The original bill had nothing to do with invasive species.
In order to improve its operations, a nursery in Concord wanted to gain two rights of way over a railroad now owned by the state.
But when the bill reached the senate floor in April, Republican Bob Clegg amended it.
His provision, which passed, would allow nurseries to sell invasive species currently being phased out.
"We got calls from nurseries saying this is ridiculous so what we wanted to do is put it back out there, let it be discussed and you can’t discuss it once you’ve told everybody you can’t have them."
One of those nursery owners unhappy with the current law that will ban the sale of the Norway maple, the Japanese barberry, and the burning bush, also happens to be a state Senator.
Republican Senator Chuck Morse is the president of Freshwater Farms Nursery and Garden Center in Atkinson.
Morse recused himself from voting on the amendment.
But he did speak in support of it on the Senate floor.
He said if nursery owners still have the plants, New Hampshire residents should have the right to purchase them.
And he added another species to the list, the European Barbery, which has already been banned for 2 years.
"I’m all for some of the problems we’ve had with hemlocks and banning them and those types products but these four products I have a difficult time understanding why we did it, and for the nursery-man they mean about 5 percent of sales, 19 million was 2003 dollars."
Some nursery owners agree with those numbers.
They say the ban set to take effect January 2007 would mean a financial loss.
But others disagree with Senator Morse.
"I don’t think it’s the proper way to go about it, and neither does the new Hampshire plant growers, there’s seems to be a very good consensus there."
That’s Brett Andrus, general manager of Churchill’s Garden Center in Exeter.
He's also the president of the New Hampshire Plant Growers Association, an organization made up of over 220 members.
Andrus says nursery owners have had mixed feelings about the invasive species list.
But he says he and his colleagues have put a lot of time devising a plan to phase out the plants by the end of year.
Clegg's amendment, Andrus says, undermines all their efforts.
"We’ve all come together, sort of as a roundtable in the state, we’ve made the changes we need to make and if other changes need to be made and we feel certain species can come off the list that’s something that we have to go through the right channels with, we just can’t put amedments on and not realize their full impact, what our personal feeling are are our personal feelings, we really need to work as a team on this issue."
Environmental organizations, like the Nature Conservancy, also oppose the amendment.
So does the New Hampshire Department of Agriculture.
But Senator Clegg questions just how well the state can even control the species.
He says although it’s illegal, people will continue to buy the invasive plants on-line or bring them in from out of state.
"I have Norway Maples in my yard, I also have Burning Bush, why is it that the state can come in and tell me that if I want to move that bush I can’t I cannot transplant propagate, I can’t grow it are we going to start arresting people because they have Norway Maple, Burning Bush in their yard?"
Doug Cygan is with the Department of Agriculture and chair of the Invasive Species Committee.
He admits that enforcement is tough.
But he says the invasive species list is ultimately not about punishment.
"People should understand that their children and their children and their children future generations need an environment to grow up in and if we allow these invasive species to continue to spread we will lose the natural diversity here and if we can continue to lose it we’ve lost almost everything the state is made of."
In the meantime, the owners of that nursery in Concord are hoping the controversy over invasive species doesn’t interfere with their chances at getting a right-of-way.
The final version of the bill will have to come out of a house/senate committee of conference.
For NHPR news, I’m RK.
Dear NHPR,
I read the transcript of Ms. Kaufman's report on the possible changes to the Invasive Species legislation, and wanted to add comments.
First, there will be a meeting of a House/Senate Committee of Conference on Tuesday, May 16th at 9 am to discuss the changes to the original bill (HB 1426.) I am hopeful that Ms. Kaufman will report on the results of this meeting, and address Senator Clegg's comments (which I will refer to below.)
My wife and I own and operate a retail nursery in southern NH, and are adamantly opposed to this last minute attempt to circumvent years of hearings and participation from all sides on this issue. We have never sold Norway Maples or Burning Bush, since I have known for a long time that they are indeed invasive, and that there are better plants out there. We attempt to educate customers who come into the nursery seeking such plants, and tell them of the problems associated with them, as well as what better options there are available. Some are convinced; others go elsewhere. Until recently, I had not believed Japanese barberry to be a threat, but am now convinced that it, too, is, and we have phased that plant out of our operation.
I know many people in the business of horticulture in New Hampshire as well as New England, and can say that this ban is pretty close to being universally accepted by professionals. Unfortunately, a few larger nurseries have not read the signs on the wall, and rather than educating their clients as we have done, would rather fight the ban for reasons of profit. It is they who influenced Senators to include the amendment.
For those readers who are not familiar with the bill, the ban on invasives would go into effect in January of '07, and the legislature has empowered the Comm. of Agriculture to compile the list on an annual basis. The amendment would prohibit the Commissioner from including 4 species of plants on that list, despite the recommendations of many. It does NOT deal in any way with plants in existing landscapes, or escapees of these plants into the wild. Homeowners can continue to grow these plants; it would simply be illegal to purchase them. Sen. Clegg's comments towards the end of the transcript are simply wrong.
Please allow me to state again the virtual unanimity that the "green industry" has in supporting the ban of these plants. I am proud to be a member of it. What other group of businesses would not only willingly accept restrictions on their commerce, but fight to have them remain intact?
Thank you.
Doug Gagne
The Mixed Border Nursery and Gardens
363 Pine Hill Rd.
Hollis, NH 03049
(603) 620-5826
It's encouraging to see Doug Gagne's comments about the industry... but unfortunate that Senator Morse and others are willing to barter away our natural heritage.
Burning Bush (E. atropurpurea) can be an attractive plant -- but also qualifies as a noxious weed. Two had been planted near my home about twenty years ago. In 2002, when I learned how aggressive the species can be, I removed the mature plants. Every year since, I've had to physically remove dozens or hundreds of their seedlings springing up as much as fifty meters from the original plants. So far, they've diminished some Hepatica, Trillium, May Apple, Bloodroot and other spring treasures -- although by annual pulling I've begun to reverse that damage. It's sad to consider what might have become of the native wildflowers here without my persistence.
Softer maples and Barberry behave in similar ways -- they are as likely to invade a dry prairie as a moist forest -- and Barberry is one of the most effective hosts for wheat stem rust. Tens of millions of dollars have been invested in many U.S. states to reduce the economic and biological harm it can do.
If NH has any law on the books to halt the continued spread of these and similar invasives, that's a very good start. Amending such a law is shortsighted, to say the least..
I've a 6'+ Burning Bush that we bought 15 years ago in a small pot, lots of seedlings too. In front of it is another burning bush, it was called a "miniature" burning bush, that never seems to get seedlings. That's around 3' tall now.
I was starting to transplant the seedlings around our house, I figured I'd have hedges in a few years! It took the big one about 10 years before I got more than a few seedlings a year.
I'm pulling up the new seedlings now and my transplants too, but I need something to replace it with. The two big plants are the visual break between the dooryard and the lawn, and for once it worked exactly like I hoped. My problem isn't complying with the law, I'm happy to do that, but I've spent years getting these plants to size, and now I have to get rid of them.
So what do I replace them with? I also have a rugosa hedge, but I really don't want a thorny plant next to the house. Inevitably, you have to work on the outside of a house.... (I'd rather not have to wait another 15 years btw.) I'm open to suggestions. Ideas anyone?
jkd