On Saturday, Nov. 1, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., the Society of Wetland Scientists (Wetlands Club) met at a lot along Ripley Creek to remove invasive Japanese knotweed and plant northern white-cedar. This project’s overall goal is to redevelop the unused, overgrown lot into a community park near the waterfront, providing recreational access for activities such as fishing in the creek and swimming and kayaking in the Portage Canal.
The Wetlands Club is working with the Franklin Township Recreation Committee (FTRC), along with the Keweenaw Invasive Species Management Area (KISMA) to properly remove and replant the lot, which will open late 2026.
Victoria Hunter, a recent MTU graduate and member of the FTRC, spoke about how the lot got to this state and why they’re intending to fix it. “The creek and the lot were used as a kind of dumping grounds, especially in the early 1900s…There’s a lot of broken glass, twisted-up metal, that kind of thing. And then the Father’s Day flood, when that hit, also dumped garbage and sediment on top of it. And so we’re working on just cleaning up this lot because it has the potential for a really beautiful public park. It’s right on the water, it’s close to the community of Ripley; people can walk down to it.“
Hunter elaborated on how Japanese knotweed complicates the project because it grows well in poor-quality soil, outcompetes native plants, and propagates rapidly, much like bamboo. It is also considered a noxious species, which means it’s illegal to move or transport it. “So, usually, you have to lay it out in the sun, on a dry substrate where it can’t root. So, we’ll put tarps down or sometimes they use just old carpet, put that down, and that creates a barrier. And then, once the roots completely dry out, which takes about a year…you can dispose of it. The best way would be to burn it on site.” Hunter claimed it could take ten years of regular knotweed removal to eliminate it from the area fully. To reduce erosion along the riverbank, the invasive Japanese knotweed is being replaced with northern white-cedar, a native species with a deeper root system.
When asked about what pulls her to restoration work, Emma Goodman, president of the Wetlands Club, said, “I guess I just really care about the environment. I am really passionate about native habitat restoration. That was pretty much my job over the summer, and it was really nice to make impacts you could see, especially by getting rid of invasive species. It’s so clear, like, the difference from before and after a workday. It’s just like, you can tell there’s so much more space for native species to grow in, and it’s just really important for native pollinators, native birds, just the whole ecosystem all around.”
As for future projects, Goodman stated that there will be another event at the same site on Nov. 15, and a chance for one more event next semester if the snow melts early. There’s also the last biweekly meeting of the semester, on Nov. 13, from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m., in the CFRES building, in room 144.
For more information or any questions, contact wetlandsmtu@gmail.com
