Warrick Invasive Species Partnership (WISP) is a local working group consisting of citizens and organizations within the county coming together to bring awareness of the damage that invasive species cause to our environment, health, and economy. This group focuses on invasive plant identification and detection, removal, as well as learning about healthier native options.
This group is welcome to any and all! To join simply join us at one of our regular meetings or events or fill out a contact form below if you have questions.
This group is welcome to any and all! To join simply join us at one of our regular meetings or events or fill out a contact form below if you have questions.
Upcoming Events
- Nov 16 - 9a SWCD office. Speaker Kaila Knies will be discussing New Invasive Invaders.
Callery Pear
A tree of many names, the Bradford, Callery, Cleveland Select, Chanticleer, Aristocrat Pear is an invading tree native to China. It was introduced in the late 1800s as cloned sterile trees. Due to their fast growth, tolerance of air pollution, pretty flowers in the spring, they became a popular landscaping tree. The trees had one drawback though, they had poor branch structure and frequently broke and split eventually kill the tree.
Horticulturists started developing new cultivars of the pear tree to improve its branch structure. Due to multiple new varieties being planted in the same area, these once sterile trees were able to reproduce. Birds readily eat the fruit of Callery pear trees, spreading the seeds far and wide. Bradford pear trees start growing in their leaves in the spring weeks before our native species come out of dormancy. This allows then to shade out the understory and quickly take over.
WISP is trying to help combat the spread of Callery pear trees in our county with a bounty on the trees. If you have a Callery pear growing on your property, if you cut it down and send proof you will get a native tree to replace it with.
Horticulturists started developing new cultivars of the pear tree to improve its branch structure. Due to multiple new varieties being planted in the same area, these once sterile trees were able to reproduce. Birds readily eat the fruit of Callery pear trees, spreading the seeds far and wide. Bradford pear trees start growing in their leaves in the spring weeks before our native species come out of dormancy. This allows then to shade out the understory and quickly take over.
WISP is trying to help combat the spread of Callery pear trees in our county with a bounty on the trees. If you have a Callery pear growing on your property, if you cut it down and send proof you will get a native tree to replace it with.
