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Lowell Trust cleared to pilot volunteer-led knotweed removal along Concord River
Summary
The Lowell Parks and Conservation Trust received a negative-3 determination from the Lowell Conservation Commission to proceed with a volunteer-led Japanese knotweed control pilot at Jolene Dubner Park and the Concord River Greenway using staged cutting and targeted herbicide application.
The Lowell Parks and Conservation Trust received approval from the Lowell Conservation Commission on a request for determination of applicability to begin a pilot invasive-species removal project at Jolene Dubner Park and along the Concord River Greenway.
The project, led by the trust with consultant Brian Kollaren of Ecological Management Solutions, will use repeated manual cutting by volunteers followed by targeted herbicide injection or spraying where necessary. Jane Calvin, executive director of the Lowell Parks and Conservation Trust, told the commission that “invasives are a big issue in the city” and described the work as a pilot intended to inform future riverbank stewardship.
Why it matters: Japanese knotweed is dense and aggressive along waterways; the trust said the plants are contributing to shoreline erosion and blocking views along the Greenway. The commission’s negative-3 determination allows the trust to proceed under the city’s wetland regulations but does not change existing buffer protections for the Merrimack/Concord River corridor.
Details of the method: Consultant Brian Kollaren described a staged approach of cutting the stems at near-waist height in cycles spaced roughly two weeks apart to weaken the plants’ carbohydrate reserves, then performing localized injection of herbicide on stems where accessibility allows or limited spraying in harder-to-access areas. “We’re taking it at its lowest point in the season and trying to bring it lower,” Kollaren said, explaining the seasonal timing rationale.
Kollaren told the commission the active ingredient to be used is glyphosate in a water-safe formulation (described in testimony by brand name), and that the application method—injection versus spray—is selected to minimize off-target exposure. He said stem material containing nodes will be bagged and disposed of in the regular waste stream (contractor bags), with no composting or green‑waste reuse.
Timeline and expected results: Kollaren reviewed typical outcomes reported elsewhere—management timelines are commonly three to five years, with some localized treatments achieving functional control in a shorter timeframe. He and commission members emphasized uncertainty: results depend on site conditions and root‑stock extent, so the trust will collect monitoring data during the pilot.
Commission action and follow-up: The commission granted a negative-3 determination for the proposed work in the 100-foot buffer zone. Commissioners and the trust agreed the project should run as a pilot with volunteer involvement; the trust will provide the commission with scheduling and data-collection details for the volunteer events.
The commission’s approval allows the trust to proceed with the planned sequence of manual cutting and targeted herbicide work, subject to the commission’s jurisdiction and any conditions that may accompany the determination.
