UMaine News: Study supports need for enhanced invasive plant management in national parks

A new study led by Kathryn Miller, University of Maine alumna and quantitative ecologist for the National Park Service’s (NPS) Northeast Temperate Network, suggests that undeveloped areas within national parks require capital investments to protect their natural flora.

Kathryn Miller and Brian McGill, UMaine professor in the School of Biology and Ecology and the Mitchell Center, partnered with colleagues from the NPS to characterize long-term invasive plant trends in 39 eastern national parks. The team analyzed data gathered over 12 years from 1,479 NPS sites to document the spread of invasive herbs, shrubs, vines and trees. Data from Maine’s only national park, Acadia (ANP), was included in this study.

Read the full UMaine News story here.