You Can Help Stop Sale of Invasive Plants

Invasive plants are still for sale in Indiana, and you can do something simple to help stop this.

We’re spending millions of dollars to control invasive plants in Indiana every year, but most of those invasive plants are still for sale at your local garden shop.

Good news – the DNR has drafted a rule that would make it illegal to sell all the highly invasive plants in Indiana! Bad news – that rule is now stuck in the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

Want to suggest to Governor Holcomb that this rule should move forward? Here’s how you can do that in just a few minutes!

  1. Go to http://www.in.gov/gov/2752.htm
  2. Select the topic ‘Natural Resources, Department of’
  3. Enter your contact information
  4. Add the message that you would like to see the draft Terrestrial Plant Rule that makes it illegal to sell highly invasive plants in Indiana move forward. Give your reasons why. Suggestions:
  • Invasive plants cost money. A 2012 survey of 120 agencies and landowners in Indiana found we spent $5.7 million to manage these species and protect our natural areas. Nationally, agricultural and control costs due to invasive plants are estimated at $15 billion per year. Each year the cost grows. And yet we continue to allow the sale of these damaging species.
  • Invasive plants hurt wildlife by crowding out the plants our native animals need for food and cover.
  • Most invasive shrubs and trees are little used by native insects. This reduces habitat for beneficial pollinators and predatory insects, as well as reducing the amount of food available for birds to feed their nestlings.
  • Invasive plants destroy habitat for rare wildflowers and animals, threatening two-thirds of all endangered species.
  • Invasive plants can become weedy in a home garden, crowding out other landscaping.
  • Invasive plants can also decrease your ability to enjoy hunting, fishing, mushroom collecting, bird-watching, and many other recreational pursuits by crowding forest floors and choking waterways.
  • Tell your story of the invasive plants you are fighting to control, and why it is important to you that invasive plants not be sold in Indiana.

Hit Submit. You’re done!

Thanks for your help.