UNIVERSITY PARK, PA — A new Penn State Extension online course, titled “Managing Invasive and Competing Plants in Forests,” is designed to educate landowners and land managers on identifying, removing and reducing the spread of unwanted vegetation on their property. 

“The tricky part about identifying desirable and undesirable plants is that there is such a wide range of plants that there is no general rule of thumb to identify what is desirable and undesirable vegetation,” said Katie Brooks, renewable natural resources and forestry extension educator. “For this course, we wanted to make landowners feel empowered and give them the knowledge they need to identify, treat and manage unwanted or undesirable vegetation on their property.” 

Intended for landowners, land managers, foresters, field technicians, park managers and pesticide applicators, the course focuses on understanding general forest vegetation goals and developing strategies for effective management. This includes identifying species—both native and invasive—that compete against other forest vegetation and applying integrated management practices to encourage the growth of desirable plants while discouraging undesirable ones. 

“While our focus in the course is on managing non-native plant species, we also have a section on native plants that can become overabundant,” said Emily Rojik, forestry and wildlife extension educator, who helped design the course. “It’s not that we want to get rid of these native plants entirely in many cases, but help better promote a diverse ecosystem and good forest management strategies.” 

Part of the course is aimed at educating people on the best ways of reducing undesirable forest vegetation with safe herbicide use. Participants with applicator licenses will have the opportunity to gain Pennsylvania pesticide applicator recertification credits in the following categories: 5, 6, 7, 10 and 18. 

However, this course section was designed largely with average landowners in mind to help them learn to use herbicides properly on their land and feel more confident in their ability to use this important tool. 

Rojik noted that herbicides, when used properly, are not only effective at suppressing unwanted vegetation, but are cost-effective as well. 

“In most cases, a vegetation management plan is going to include herbicides because they are cost-effective and effective at managing the plants,” she said. “This isn’t a bad thing. They are a tool in our toolbox of practices that help us to manage vegetation effectively and help our forest ecosystems.” 

Organizers noted that in addition to landowners and managers, educators and others interested in furthering their knowledge of plant identification and herbicides would benefit from the course. The course is offered as a comprehensive program, but individual sections are available for those wishing to learn specific topics. 

“Over the course of my career, I’ve seen a shift in perception in treating plants and how the public wants to learn more about it,” Brooks said. “It went from people not understanding why we were ‘killing plants’ to being interested in learning how to identify and treat invasive species. That excites me the most about making this course—that the public is eager to learn.” 

More information is available at www.extension.psu.edu/invasive-plants-course.