Ramsey Resident - 2012 - November/December

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Focus on Environment - Now is the Time to Identify Recycle Your Old Buckthorn on your Property Holiday Lights Buckthorn is an invasive woody plant that has made its way into Ramsey. It is a very aggressive plant that can ăFIPMJEBZTBSFGBTUBQQSPBDIJOHBOENBOZPGVT tolerate shade, full sun, drought and poor soil conditions. will soon be putting up lights on our homes and trees. Buckthorn will out-compete native vegetation for nutrients, Who hasn’t discovered a string of lights that no longer MJHIUBOEXBUFSăFTFUSBJUT BMPOHXJUIUIFGBDUUIBUJUT works or maybe you’ve decided it’s time to purchase TFFETDBOCFWJBCMFGPSVQUPđWF ZFBST OFHBUJWFMZJNQBDU some LED lights that use less energy? Rather than native ecosystems by degrading habitat for native wildlife, tossing your old strings of lights in the garbage, there’s creating an impenetrable layer of vegetation, and reducing OPXBOPQQPSUVOJUZUPSFDZDMFUIFNGPSGSFFăF TQFDJFTEJWFSTJUZPGQMBOUTBOETPOHCJSETJOGPSFTUTăJTJT city of Ramsey once again is partnering with the why Buckthorn is considered an invasive species and when Recycling Association of Minnesota (RAM) to be a found, should be removed. DPMMFDUJPOTJUFGPSIPMJEBZMJHIUTUPCFSFDZDMFEăF #VDLUIPSODBOCFJEFOUJđFECZTFW Recycle Your Holidays™ program employs over 200 eral characteristics, including black ber- people with disabilities throughout the state and has ries that birds love, a thorn at the tip of an annual goal of recycling over 200,000 pounds of branches (between two ‘terminal’ buds), lights. and green foliage well into the fall/early ăSPVHIUIJTQSPHSBN ZPVDBOSFDZDMFIPMJEBZ XJOUFSăFFBTJFTUXBZUPJEFOUJGZCVDL Photo courtesy of: Jan Samanek, State Phytosanitary Administration, bugwood.org lights as well as electric cords, telephone cords and thorn is simply to wait until November when most trees and appliance cords. Every part of the light strand is dis- shrubs have lost their leaves. If you see shrubbery and/or mantled and properly recycled locally. We will have small trees that still have green foliage well into November, bins at the Ramsey Municipal Center to collect these DIBODFTBSFJUJT#VDLUIPSOăJTXPVMECFBOJEFBMUJNFUP items from mid-November through January. Again, mark those plants with either ribbon or paint so that next there’s no cost to you and you divert these materials spring/summer, it’s still easy to identify those buckthorn GSPNHPJOHUPBMBOEđMM BSFBMXJOXJOTDFOBSJP plants for removal. While on the topic of recycling around the ăFSFBSFTFWFSBMDPOUSPMPQUJPOTBWBJMBCMFJODMVEJOH IPMJEBZT IFSFBSFBGFXNPSFUJQT6OGPSUVOBUFMZ HJĕ pulling by hand (smaller plants up to wrap is still not recyclable due to the large amount of roughly 3/8 of an inch), using a hand NFUBMMJDJOLVTFEUPDPMPSUIFQBQFS(JĕXSBQTIPVME tool, such as a “Weed Wrench”, to pull either be saved for reuse next year or put out with larger plants (up to about 2 inches in ZPVSHBSCBHFIPXFWFS UIFADPSF UVCF PGUIFHJĕ diameter), or cutting and chemically wrap can be recycled. Boxboard (material used for treating the stumps of Buckthorn DFSFBMCPYFT JTPĕFOQBSUPGUIFQBDLBHJOHPGJUFNT greater than 2 inches in diameter and it can and should be recycled. Finally, maybe the Weed (always follow product instructions Wrench best approach is to simply look for items with less for mixing and applying any type of packaging. Reducing waste to begin with is the most herbicide). It is likely to take multiple Photo by: Bruce Larson FĈFDUJWFBQQSPBDIGPMMPXFECZSFVTJOHNBUFSJBMTBOE attempts to control buckthorn due to its aggressive and vi- UIFOđOBMMZSFDZDMJOHUIFN ability of seeds. If you have any questions Two “Weed Wrenches” are available for Ramsey resi- concerning holiday waste or dents to ‘check out’ to assist with managing and eradicating the Recycle Your Holidays™ #VDLUIPSOăFUPPMDBOCFDIFDLFEPVUGPSBUXP XFFL program, please contact Asso- period and requires a $25 deposit to ensure that it is re- ciate Planner/Environmental turned clean and in working condition. Further details are Coordinator Chris Anderson available on the city’s website or by contacting the Associ- at 763-433-9905 or cander- ate Planner/Environmental Coordinator at 763-433-9905. son@ci.ramsey.mn.us. Please help us combat this invasive plant! 12 Ramsey Resident • November/December 2012