Washington state bans the sale of common ivy varieties starting in August
On July 9, the Washington State Department of Agriculture announced it was adding the English (also known as common) and Atlantic varieties of ivy, among other plants, to its noxious weed seed and plant quarantine. When the change goes into effect Aug. 9, the sale of the ivy varieties will no longer be legal in Washington.
According to Susan Hutton, executive director of the Whatcom Million Trees Project, the banned varieties of ivy pose a threat to trees by depriving them of sunlight.
'English ivy is kind of an equal opportunity creeper,' Hutton said in an interview. 'It will come to a tree and it will start to climb it, and as it climbs the tree, it starts to compete with the tree's leaves for sunlight, and in the process, it gradually weakens the tree… once ivy gets up into the crown of a tree, it's almost certain to kill the tree in a short period of time.'
Whatcom Million Trees Project, which promotes the conserving and planting trees in Whatcom County, has been pushing for the ban for two years, according to founder Michael Feerer.
'Approximately two or three years ago, we started getting involved with partnering with local agencies such as Bellingham city parks and Whatcom County parks to remove ivy. And the more and more we got involved and focused on it, we realized that one of the big facets of the problem was that nurseries, amazingly, were still selling English ivy throughout the state,' Feerer said.
According to Feerer and Sutton, the plants became popular in Washington yards and parks as ground cover, before becoming widespread enough to pose a threat to the area's trees.
'People bought it innocently. Nobody knew that it was going to become this invasive problem that it has become,' Sutton said.
Feerer said that WSDA reviews the list of banned plant and seed varieties twice a year, and advocates began working to get the ivy varieties added.
'English ivy and Boston and Atlantic ivy, which is the other ivy we have commonly out here impacting trees, was not on the prohibited plants and seeds list. So it's quite an involved process to try to petition to add something to the list, but we decided about two years ago to take on that process,' Feerer said.
Whatcom Million Trees Project wasn't the only organization pushing for the ban. Nine different groups, along with several individuals, took part in the public comment process as WSDA considered the proposed amendments. According to WSDA, there was support for banning English ivy throughout the public comment period.
'Most commenters expressed appreciation and strong support for the proposed inclusions, particularly English ivy (Hedera Helix) and its cultivars,' the department said in its explanatory statement regarding the changes.
Washington is now the second state, after Oregon, to ban English ivy, according to Feerer, but he hopes other states take notice and follow suit.
The ban doesn't impact ivy that's already been planted.
'Nobody's going to come police your backyard, or anything like that. It's just no more selling it,' Hutton said.
If you have ivy in your yard that you'd like to remove, Hutton said the process is relatively simple.
'It's actually really easy to do,' Hutton said. 'You stand in front of a tree, and you kind of go all the way around the tree, a 360-degree tour around the tree, and you identify Ivy that's between waist and shoulder height, so within easy range. What you're trying to do is just separate the ground from the ivy that's in the tree. So you make cuts in the ivy all the way around the tree, and then you just pull it down.'
According to Hutton, once the plant is uprooted, you don't need to remove the rest of it from the tree.
'You don't have to worry about anything up in the tree, because once it's disconnected from the earth, that ivy will die because it's no longer being nourished,' Hutton said.
The Washington State Noxious Weed Control Board notes that it's important to wear gloves and protective clothes while removing ivy, since its sap can irritate sensitive skin. The board also recommends disposing of the vines or letting them dry out on a tarp, logs or hard surface, so they can't re-root.
The ban only affects two varieties of ivy: Hedera helix, often called common or English ivy, and Hedera hibernica, known as Atlantic ivy. According to the Noxious Weed Control Board, English ivy is marked by alternating lobed leaves along its vines in its juvenile form, and a shrub-like adult form with egg and diamond-shaped leaves. Atlantic ivy has wide, dark green, five-lobed leaves, according to the United Kingdom-based Royal Horticulture Society.
However, according to Feerer, there's an easier way to identify the invasive forms of ivy.
'Basically, if people see ivy climbing a tree trunk, that's one of the tree-impacting ones,' Feerer said.
You can find more information on how to identify and remove ivy on the Washington State Noxious Weed Control Board's website.
In addition to the two varieties of ivy, 17 other plants were added to the list of banned species. Here's the complete list:
Common (English) Ivy (Hedera helix)
Atlantic/Boston Ivy (Hedera Hibernica)
Spotted Touch Me Not (Impatiens capensis)
Cape Pondweed (Aponogeton distachyos)
Hanging Sedge (Carex pendula, Carex pendula subsp. pedula and Carex pendula subsp. agastachys)
Green Alkenet (Pentaglottis sempervirens)
Common Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare, except bulbing fennel, F. vulgare var. azoricum)
European Coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara)
Herb-Robert (Geranium robertianum)
Houndstongue (Cynoglossum officinale)
Sulfur Cinquefoil (Potentilla recta)
Wild basil/basil savory (Clinopodium vulgare)
Yellow Nutsedge (Cyperus esculentus)
Camelthorn (Alhagi maurorum)
Russian Knapweed (Rhaponticum repens)
Puncturevine (Tribulus terrestris)
Rough Chervil (Chaerophyllum temulum)
Turkish Thistle (Carduus cinereus)
Palmer's Amaranth (Amaranthus palmeri)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
10 hours ago
- New York Post
Hiker stranded at ‘center of landslide' in Italian Dolomites rescued by helicopter — and hit with $16K bill after ignoring warnings
A hiker who wound up stranded at the 'center of a landslide' in the Italian Dolomites after ignoring warning signs was rescued by a helicopter crew who saved his life, but cost him more than $16,000. The 60-year-old hiker from England, who was not identified, was rescued via helicopter last week after he notified emergency services that he was 'on the Berti via ferrata and that rocks were falling from above,' Veneto Alpine and Speleological Rescue, or CNSAS, wrote on Facebook. 4 A 60-year-old English hiker was charged more than $16,000 for his helicopter rescue from a closed trail in Italy. CNSAS Facebook The man had brushed aside signs that the treacherous trails were closed due to falling rocks and was trekking through without proper equipment. Without an emergency GPS or similar device, he was unable to give the search crew proper coordinates, which only prolonged his rescue, according to CNSAS. 'Once he had reconstructed his theoretical position, he was told not to move from his sheltered spot and to wait for help to arrive, as the mountain was currently hidden by clouds. To decide on the recovery strategy, the hiker's exact position was needed, so they had to wait for the clouds to clear. 4 The hiker ignored at least four signs telling him to turn around. CNSAS Facebook 'When the clouds cleared, the San Vito di Cadore Alpine Rescue team unfortunately discovered that the hiker was right in the center of the landslide, at an altitude of 2,400 meters (nearly 7,900 feet),' CNSAS wrote. The adventurer had ignored four signs, at minimum, posted in Italian and English telling hikers to turn back. As if those weren't enough, he also had to leg it over a steep barrier, CNSAS officials added. 4 The hiker also apparently scaled a barrier that would've otherwise prevented him from trekking onward. CNSAS Facebook Additional trails were forced to close along the range after the man's painstaking rescue which involved two helicopters, according to CNSAS. After the neglectful Englishman was safely removed from the mountainside last Thursday, he was asked to pony up €14,225 — or roughly $16,400 — to compensate the two rescue helicopters and more than a dozen other support personnel who helped retrieve him. If the hiker had been from the European Union, he would've been fined just a couple hundred euros — but he lost that privilege after the United Kingdom's rocky withdrawal in 2020. 4 Officials said 80 people died along the Italian Alps and Dolomites mountain range in the last month. CNSAS Facebook This summer has been Italy's most deadly hiking season of the last century, with casualties cropping up left and right and rescue calls spiking by up to 20% compared to last year. Between June 21 and July 23 alone, 80 people died along the Italian Alps and the Dolomites mountain ranges, according to CNSAS. Five others are still missing.
Travel Weekly
13 hours ago
- Travel Weekly
Putting OceanGate to rest?
Arnie Weissmann I've written before about my tangential relationship with the OceanGate tragedy: I was set to dive in the submersible Titan three weeks prior to its implosion, but the dives were canceled due to bad weather. Nonetheless, I spent a week on the mother ship with a ringside view of the OceanGate operation. I got to know CEO Stockton Rush, French wreck diver Paul-Henri "P.H." Nargeolet, OceanGate staff, volunteers and my fellow "mission specialists" who were hoping to dive to see the ruins of the Titanic. Additionally, I was an acquaintance of Hamish Harding, a passenger who perished in the implosion. I had spent time with him just days before the catastrophe. I wrote a three-part series in Travel Weekly during the time of the intense search for the missing submersible. In it, I noted that Rush had told me that the carbon fiber used in the hull of the Titan had been purchased at a discount because it was past its use-by date for commercial aviation. Now that the U.S. Coast Guard has come out with the results of its investigation of the calamity, a lot of questions are officially put to rest. But it would be disingenuous for me to say that it's put the OceanGate saga to rest for me; days may go by that I don't think about it, but not many weeks do. On the day that the remains of the Titan were found, I started getting calls from news organizations. Most were focused on the expired carbon fiber. The next morning, CNN sent a crew to interview me for a documentary that it was making live from St. John's, Newfoundland. Ultimately, I was quoted in the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and scores of media outlets here and abroad that ran the two Associated Press stories I appeared in. A Reddit thread based on the Travel Weekly stories appeared, and others made YouTube mini-documentaries, some very conspiracy-minded, based on my writing. People on Reddit were generally less snarky than comments under other stories; one Washington Post reader called me out as being luckier than smart. I can't argue with that. The CNN documentary led to calls from others hoping to make a documentary on the topic. Some were producers asking that I speak to them exclusively as part of their pitch to find an outlet. Netflix called me when I was on an icebreaker en route to the North Pole. ABC asked for an interview for a documentary it was making, but I sensed it might be somewhat sensationalized and declined to appear. I was interviewed by the chief investigator for the Coast Guard. The articles I wrote were cited in a lawsuit against OceanGate filed by Nargeolet's family. I spoke with Netflix for their documentary and thought the resulting film was very well done. I was not in the final cut, but if you were to fast-forward to the last screen of credits, about 40 names are listed on a "Special Thanks" page. It appears for about a second and a half. Mine is the last name listed. If you look for it, don't blink. The Netflix documentary shows what appears to be texts among OceanGate staff questioning the company's methods and regard for safety. In one, there is mention of "expired carbon fiber." It was, at last, public corroboration of what Rush had told me. In the hundreds of stories written about the tragedy, I never saw anyone else mention expired carbon fiber. The captain of the mother ship was present when Rush said it to me and confirmed to me that he also heard it, but I felt pretty lonely out there as the only one reporting that particular aspect of the tragedy. Still, watching the Netflix documentary saddened me deeply. The images on the ship brought back people I had gotten to know, shown in a celebratory mood and full of hopeful anticipation. In the two years since the implosion I have been in touch with some people in the OceanGate-adjacent community. Many stayed loyal to Rush even after his cavalier attitude toward safety became clear. A few tried to talk me out of speaking with Netflix, sensing it would not show him in a good light. Most have now flipped, with some especially angry with him for abusing their trust. As for me, the most lasting impact occurs when I'm in the middle of an interesting conversation on a topic completely unrelated to OceanGate. Or when simply hanging out with family. It'll strike me that I would have missed those interactions had I gone down in the Titan when I was scheduled to. I'm glad to be alive. I'll still pursue opportunities for exploration but with more emphasis on due diligence than trust. And, stay focused on Roald Amundsen's observation: "Adventure is just bad planning."
Buzz Feed
21 hours ago
- Buzz Feed
17 Wild Hairdresser Confessions
There's truly nothing worse than leaving the salon with the worst haircut of your life. Trust me, I've cried for DAYS over a bad cut and color. Well, a while back, a Reddit user asked: "Hairdressers/barbers, what was your 'I f*cked up' moment and how did the customer react?" Here's what they said: "I turned a girl's head bright sea foam green. She was a teenager. It was supposed to be platinum blonde. I was alone. Tears were shed." "When I was in beauty school, my brother-in-law and husband came in to get haircuts. While I was cutting my BIL's hair, he didn't know what he wanted and kept wanting to go shorter, shorter, and shorter. I started out with a five guard and ended up down to two by the time he was happy. So, I'm finally about three minutes away from being done with the haircut, and I flick the guard off so I can clean up around his ears and hairline. He says, 'Hey, absolutely fantastic, I think it's longer on this side. Can you even it out?' So, I immediately move to that area and slide my clippers up the side of his head. With no guard on. Just take a huge slice of his hair clear off the side of his head." "I asked my salonist the other day if she had ever royally screwed up someone's hair, and she said... 'Well... once.' And I begged her for the story. Early in her career, this guy came in for a haircut. She described him as a quiet guy of few words, possibly a combination of his personality and a not-so-fluent relationship with English. She asked if he had any styles in mind, and he said very confidently that he would like a basic Caesar cut, which she explained to me was a very popular men's hairstyle. Since he seemed to know exactly what he wanted, she only asked the most basic questions, like 'How long do you want it at its longest?' And she went off." "When they sneezed. The kid didn't care, so I just brushed some hair over it." "Not my mistake, but a client came in that had her sister cut her hair into 'three layers.' Essentially, they made three ponytails and chopped the top of the shortest, next a little bit longer, and last the longest. It looked so ridiculous and came out pretty good after I fixed it. Got a good tip on that one because they didn't think it was salvageable." "My hairstylist cut me pretty badly on the neck with a straight-edge razor. His response was, 'We got a bleeder!' Followed by, 'Damn, you just never stop bleeding.' As if that was my fault somehow. He then rang me up at the register after I bled out for a good 15 minutes, and expected me to pay. I said, 'You've got to be fucking joking,' and walked out. Never went back. The guy didn't even apologize." "I had a teenage client come in for highlights. When consulting for color services, one of the most important things to find out is what previous color is on the hair (there can be weird reactions if certain products were used). She said she used a brand I knew would be fine and not cause any problems. We were going from a warm honey color to as close to platinum that I was willing to go without over-processing her hair. After foiling the highlights, I had another client come in, so I had my assistant ready to shampoo while I was applying another color. He came up to me with a worried look on his face, and I could tell something was wrong." "My sister was donating the minimum length of 10 inches to Locks of Love. The hairdresser measured it and put a ponytail at exactly 10 inches from the bottom in order to hold it in place as it was being cut. We probably should have figured she was going to cut above the holder because it wouldn't make sense for her to cut below, but at the time, it seemed like such a ridiculous mistake that we rationalized it. From the first cut, it was clear that it was too short, but by then it was too late to correct her and would only upset my sister. That absolute pancake cut a good several inches above the ponytail holder. My sister left with a bob and donated a whopping 16 inches to Locks of Love." "My mom is a hairdresser. She once told me about how a woman with hair that had been dyed red came in, wanting a different color. I don't remember if my mom had to get the red out first or could apply another color right away, but whatever chemical she used did not play nice with the red dye in the woman's hair. My mom described the hair as melted after that. The woman was actually pretty understanding, but my mom felt horrible about it." "I had a hairdresser, while cutting my bangs, snip off a chunk of eyebrow. I have very pale skin and very dark brows... It was noticeable." "I've been going to my hairdresser for years, and I have extremely big, curly hair, and it's a b*tch to get cut because, well, where I'm from, if your hair is not within the spectrum of straight to slightly wavy, you're going to have a hard time finding a proper hairdresser. Anyway, I love my hairdresser; she is extremely fashion-forward. I normally go in and say, 'Do whatever you like,' and come out with something random. At this stage, I'd been platinum blonde for a while, and went to get a haircut; I figured I may as well get the roots done while I was there. Now, I should mention that I use a different hairdresser to dye my hair, but I was at the salon, I had a wedding that night, and I thought, what the hell." "My sister has frequently burned my skin when styling, but she ripped out my cartilage piercing once when combing through. Then said, 'Good thing you aren't a real customer.'" "I once had a guard pop off while I was cleaning around the sides of my customer's head, and I ended up shaving a bald spot about 2"x4" on the back of his head. Luckily, the customer was only a child, and his mother was very understanding. I gave her whole family of five free haircuts, and they let me play around and do some chemical straightening and dye jobs. After, they tipped me $200 and wouldn't let me refuse it, even after telling them all the work I did would have only cost them around $170." "When I was 13, I asked for straight-across bangs. It was my first haircut without my parents hovering over my shoulder, so I was excited to be able to pick out what I wanted my hair to look like. The hairdresser's first mistake was 'measuring' the length of my chin-length bangs with her scissors. Then she went ahead and twitched or something and cut them, literally half an inch from where the root was. I internally freaked out. She apologized, finished the cut, then styled my hair all for free and only charged me half of what I owed her. But damn girl, I had f*cked up bangs for WEEKS after that." "Once upon a time, the first haircut I gave was to my brother. I was using clippers and thought I kinda knew what I was doing, but really, I didn't. I proceed to give him a haircut. It's actually going relatively well at this point, so my confidence is a little boosted. Saw the sides of his hair touching his ear, and decided it needed to be trimmed. Instead of using scissors or just going around the edge of the ear without a guard, I used the taper guard. By the time I realized it was a bad idea, he was missing a patch of hair on the side of his head right above his ear. I swear he looked like Skrillex. He was SO PISSED." "My girlfriend is a hairdresser, and this is my favorite story she's told me. When she was in hairdresser school, her year was the last year to do the cut-throat razor shave. It's used in a lot of men's haircuts. All the students had to bring in someone and shave them. She brought in her dad. I don't think I've ever seen him with facial hair, so it would've been pretty easy to do. This other girl in the class, however, chose someone with around a week's growth. So the girl goes in with the razor and starts on the sideburns, working her way down, and it's all going well. Then, she gets to the neck, and hidden under this small beard is the Adam's apple from hell. The girl has no idea how to deal with it, so she just goes straight in. The skin from around the guy's Adam's apple flaps off like a bit of pepperoni, and the cut goes white before pissing out blood. Had to call the ambulance and everything. freaks me out." And finally, "I dated a girl who made extra money doing hair for dead bodies (prep for open caskets). She allegedly once gave a very masculine-looking corpse a men's haircut, then found out it was a woman. The client didn't complain, though." So, to all the hairdressers out there: What's YOUR most embarrassing mistake and how did the customer react? Tell us how it all went down! Or, if you prefer to stay anonymous, you can submit a response using this form here.
