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Invasive Species
Integrys' Environmental Services employees pull garlic mustard by hand. The garlic smell can make this a less-than-pleasant experience.
Environmental Services, a department within Integrys Business Support, undertakes many efforts to control invasive species across our companies' service areas. Invasive species can threaten the existence of native plants and animals.
At Upper Peninsula Power Company, our electric utility in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, employees are controlling the overgrowth of an aggressive garlic mustard plant (Alliaria petiolata). This pesky plant is growing near the company's Autrain and Bond Falls hydroelectric plants.
At some point in history, garlic mustard was imported from Europe as a garden species for human consumption. It is a biennial herb with a strong garlic odor, which is how it earned its name. It is often found where historic farmsteads once existed.
The problem with garlic mustard is that can take over low areas of forests, crowding out other plant species. The seeds of the plant are produced in what looks like a bean pod. When the pods mature, they burst, sending the seeds out across a large area. Because the seeds can lay dormant in the soil for multiple years, multiple years of effort are needed to eliminate the species from an area where it has established itself.