Draft Planting Policy for DeKalb County Parks

July 15. 2003

Purpose

It is the intent of the DeKalb County Parks Department, as responsible stewards of the natural resources contained within its park system, to make every effort to manage these lands in an environmentally responsible manner. Probably the biggest challenge in managing natural areas in urban and suburban locations is the problem of invasive plants that are damaging natural ecosystems and require costly control and management. The following policy has been adopted to avoid unintentionally contributing to this serious problem.

Definitions

"Native plant species" refers to a plant species that to the best of our knowledge, naturally grew in this area prior to the widespread land disturbance that followed European settlement of this area in the l6o0-1700's. "Appropriate native plant species" is further defined as one that naturally occurs (that is, was not intentionally or unintentionally introduced) in a particular microhabitat or plant community'¹' within this area (the piedmont region in general and the metro Atlanta area specifically).

"Invasive plant species" are any non-native (introduced, alien, or exotic) species whose introduction to the area does or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to humans. Most of these were introduced from other countries; however plants native to other regions of the US may be invasive. Invasive plant species are non-natives that are able to naturalize — that is. reproduce and spread without assistance or human interference — and do so in such a way as to damage or impair natural systems.

Policy

For all new plantings within DeKalb parks, the following guidelines must be followed:

• The use of appropriate native plant species is preferred in all plantings.
• All plantings in natural areas, including woodlands, stream banks, wetlands, and pond and lake margins, must consist of species that are native to this region and are appropriate to the particular habitat in which they will be planted.
• All plant species on the attached Prohibited Plant List may not be planted in any DeKalb County Park.
• Those listed plants designated as Category I must be removed from all ornamental plantings. If removal is not feasible at this time, these planting must be managed by pruning or other methods to prevent their spread. Management plans will be developed to control Category I plants that have naturalized and spread to other areas.
• Category 2 and 3 species will be phased out of existing plantings within the next three years and and will be managed in the meantime to prevent their spread.
• In all parks with the exception of those designated as Nature Preserves, non-native species may be used in ornamental plantings only with express permission from the Natural Resource section and only if provided that the species used do not appear on the Prohibited Plant List.
• For parks designated as Nature Preserves only native plants that are specific to the particular plant communities that occur within the preserve may be planted. Exceptions to this policy may be made only with the approval of the Natural Resource Section and only in the following cases:
• Specialized gardens used for educational and demonstration purposes may include species native to other parts of the southeastern United States as long as these plants are not included on the Prohibited Plant List and only if there is a justifiable reason that these species be used instead of locally native species.
• In certain cases, non-native species may be used as long as there is a clear and defendable reason for doing so, and the species do not appear on the attached list and only with the approval of the Natural Resource Section.
• All plant species of either type described above must have signage that clearly defines their true nativity.

Explanation of the Prohibited Plant List

The following list has been compiled from the lists compiled by the Exotic Pest Plant Councils of Georgia and other southeastern states and from the US Forest Service, with some additions based on observation and feedback from other land managers in the Atlanta area. It may be that some of the plants on this list are there unfairly. However, many clearly invasive plants are commonly sold in the nursery trade and there is presently no mechanism to test new introductions to the trade for invasiveness. This policy reflects the intent of DeKalb Parks to err on the side of caution.

• populations of invasive plants will change over time, particularly as climate changes;
• seed from these species may be carried to the areas in which they are clearly invasive and so their presence here may contribute to other people's problems.

DeKalb County Parks Prohibited Plants List