Letter to the Editor:

Dog Strangling Vine hasn't killed any dogs in St. Marys, to my knowledge, but it has certainly smothered countless other plants.  
Two weeks ago I wrote to Mayor Jamie Hahn regarding my concern about this ever-spreading vine that grows along the river beside the walkway, on the fence beside the fishing quarry, and in many other places in our town. My online research confirms that this plant, aka pale swallowwort and cynanchum rossisum, a native of Europe, is highly invasive and a threat to our native plant species and even to the monarch butterflies. Mayor Hahn passed my letter on to parks manager Tim Wolfe and to the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority.  
For the past three years I have been watching this plant spreading and taking over some natural areas in town. I called the town two years ago and was referred to UTRCA.  The response I received from UTRCA then and again this summer was that they are not willing or able to deal with this problem, if it is a problem, and that it is the responsibility of the town.   
So that leaves us, the citizens of St. Marys, to tackle the destruction of, or at least the slowing down of the growth of this invasive weed.  I envision an army of people with shovels, as, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, “removing the entire root of each individual plant” is an effective but time consuming non-chemical way to get rid of it.
Someone suggested to me that this would be an opportunity for high school students to earn some volunteer hours, if a concerned citizens' group, in cooperation with the town, can be organized.  
Tim Wolfe agrees that this is a “bad weed” and that a plan of action is needed. I would like to see the plan sooner rather than later, especially as the DSV seed pods are now formed and seeds will be wind-dispersed starting in August.  Can we at least get rid of the seed pods as a start?
Volunteers of the Fletcher Wildlife Garden near Ottawa have chronicled their battles with DSV. Maybe we can learn from them. Go to their website and click on Research/ Invasive plants to see what they've done. There are many sites on the internet that have information about the dangers of letting this plant run rampant.
The longer we put off dealing with it in St. Marys, the worse it will get. When the town parks department comes up with a plan, I'm sure we can find volunteers who will help.  Let's not wait another summer to get started.  

Nancy Vermond
St. Marys