Forestry MAnagement
in Herring Run
This page is provided for the information of Herring Run Park Users.
The information below is provided by Baltimore City Recreation and Parks Forestry Division:
Park users may have noticed small orange flags posted along trails, invasive shrubs and vines cut and sprayed, or trees with a ring of cuts around their circumference. While these may appear jarring or unsightly for now, they are part of a long-term investment by Baltimore Recreation and Parks, Forestry Division in the health of the forests of Herring Run Park.
The Natural Areas Unit (NAU) in Forestry oversees the management of more than 2,000 acres of forested natural areas on city-owned park lands. Baltimore’s forests vary significantly in terms of their health and quality as measured by characteristics like canopy health, native biodiversity, and prevalence of non-native invasive species. Healthy forests are comprised of diverse native species of plants and animals, with a mix of young, mature, and older growth trees. Factors that can make forests less healthy (and less able to sustain themselves over the long term) include disturbance from development and construction, pests and pathogens, and pressure from non-native invasive species. In order to strategically manage these issues, the NAU has developed forest management plans for the four largest parks in the city, including Herring Run Park.
The forest management plan for Herring Run Park identified 25 forest stands, and characterizes the health, condition, and composition of each of those stands. Using this data, Forestry is prioritizing the preservation of our healthiest forest stands, and will gradually phase in additional areas as resources permit. Public information sessions on details of the Herring Run forest management plan will be held later this year in partnership with the Friends of Herring Run; details will be available in a future newsletter.
The NAU’s contractor, Environmental Quality Resources (EQR) is treating a wide array of invasive plants. A significant management focus is the removal of vines that threaten the health of the forest’s tree canopy such as English ivy, porcelain berry, Japanese honeysuckle, and Asiatic bittersweet. Invasive shrubs that displace native vegetation are also removed as part of this program, including Japanese knotweed, multiflora rose, wineberry, black jetbead, privet, autumn olive, and non-native bush honeysuckle. EQR uses a variety of treatment techniques, including foliar sprays, stem injections, cut stump methods in which vegetation is cut back and herbicide applied to the surface of the remaining stump, and “hack-and-squirt” applications where small amounts of herbicide are applied to small cuts in the bark of a tree.
At the NAU’s request, EQR is placing flags at the boundary of each day’s treatment area to make those areas clear to park users. Herbicide applications are conducted by trained applicators licensed through the Maryland Department of Agriculture. Click Here to See Boundary Map and Read about the herbicides
Herbicides used in the parks will all contain a marker dye (usually a blue color) to provide a visible indicator of exactly where the herbicide has been applied. While the herbicides used by EQR are considered safe to people and animals as soon as they are dry, park users may wish to avoid direct contact with treated plant materials as an additional precaution.
In recent weeks, EQR used the “hack-and-squirt” method to treat a stand of tree-of-heaven along the Herring Run Trail a short walk from the pedestrian bridge at Harford Road. Tree-of-heaven is an aggressively growing invasive tree, and the preferred host for the invasive spotted lanternfly. Last summer, park users may have noticed a sticky substance raining down along this stretch of the trail; this substance, known as honeydew, is excreted by the spotted lanternfly. In the coming weeks, Baltimore Forestry crews will remove the tree-of-heaven in preparation for new, native trees to be planted in replacement. Removing these invasive trees provides an opportunity to restore the area by planting native species that better support native birds and other wildlife, and provides the additional benefit of providing less habitat for spotted lanternfly and reducing the amount of honeydew along the trail. Forestry crews will be on site in the next few weeks to remove the treated trees; reforestation plantings are slated for the fall 2025 or spring 2026 planting season.
The information below is provided by Baltimore City Recreation and Parks Forestry Division:
Park users may have noticed small orange flags posted along trails, invasive shrubs and vines cut and sprayed, or trees with a ring of cuts around their circumference. While these may appear jarring or unsightly for now, they are part of a long-term investment by Baltimore Recreation and Parks, Forestry Division in the health of the forests of Herring Run Park.
The Natural Areas Unit (NAU) in Forestry oversees the management of more than 2,000 acres of forested natural areas on city-owned park lands. Baltimore’s forests vary significantly in terms of their health and quality as measured by characteristics like canopy health, native biodiversity, and prevalence of non-native invasive species. Healthy forests are comprised of diverse native species of plants and animals, with a mix of young, mature, and older growth trees. Factors that can make forests less healthy (and less able to sustain themselves over the long term) include disturbance from development and construction, pests and pathogens, and pressure from non-native invasive species. In order to strategically manage these issues, the NAU has developed forest management plans for the four largest parks in the city, including Herring Run Park.
The forest management plan for Herring Run Park identified 25 forest stands, and characterizes the health, condition, and composition of each of those stands. Using this data, Forestry is prioritizing the preservation of our healthiest forest stands, and will gradually phase in additional areas as resources permit. Public information sessions on details of the Herring Run forest management plan will be held later this year in partnership with the Friends of Herring Run; details will be available in a future newsletter.
The NAU’s contractor, Environmental Quality Resources (EQR) is treating a wide array of invasive plants. A significant management focus is the removal of vines that threaten the health of the forest’s tree canopy such as English ivy, porcelain berry, Japanese honeysuckle, and Asiatic bittersweet. Invasive shrubs that displace native vegetation are also removed as part of this program, including Japanese knotweed, multiflora rose, wineberry, black jetbead, privet, autumn olive, and non-native bush honeysuckle. EQR uses a variety of treatment techniques, including foliar sprays, stem injections, cut stump methods in which vegetation is cut back and herbicide applied to the surface of the remaining stump, and “hack-and-squirt” applications where small amounts of herbicide are applied to small cuts in the bark of a tree.
At the NAU’s request, EQR is placing flags at the boundary of each day’s treatment area to make those areas clear to park users. Herbicide applications are conducted by trained applicators licensed through the Maryland Department of Agriculture. Click Here to See Boundary Map and Read about the herbicides
Herbicides used in the parks will all contain a marker dye (usually a blue color) to provide a visible indicator of exactly where the herbicide has been applied. While the herbicides used by EQR are considered safe to people and animals as soon as they are dry, park users may wish to avoid direct contact with treated plant materials as an additional precaution.
In recent weeks, EQR used the “hack-and-squirt” method to treat a stand of tree-of-heaven along the Herring Run Trail a short walk from the pedestrian bridge at Harford Road. Tree-of-heaven is an aggressively growing invasive tree, and the preferred host for the invasive spotted lanternfly. Last summer, park users may have noticed a sticky substance raining down along this stretch of the trail; this substance, known as honeydew, is excreted by the spotted lanternfly. In the coming weeks, Baltimore Forestry crews will remove the tree-of-heaven in preparation for new, native trees to be planted in replacement. Removing these invasive trees provides an opportunity to restore the area by planting native species that better support native birds and other wildlife, and provides the additional benefit of providing less habitat for spotted lanternfly and reducing the amount of honeydew along the trail. Forestry crews will be on site in the next few weeks to remove the treated trees; reforestation plantings are slated for the fall 2025 or spring 2026 planting season.
PO Box 16167
Baltimore, MD 21218 410-417-8565 |