It was the story of someone being in the right place at the right time.

For the first time Japanese Stilt Grass with identified in Wisconsin in July, but the discovery was by chance. Amanda Weise is a botanist for the University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. She was volunteering for the Wisconsin DNR’s Rare Plant Monitoring Program at the Coulee Experimental State Forest in La Crosse County.

“I was getting out of my van in the parking lot and looked down and went, ‘huh. That’s weird.’” Weise said.

Weise is originally from New England where Japanese Stilt Grass has been an ongoing problem for the area. She was not 100 percent sure of its prevalence in Wisconsin, but grabbed a specimen and then continued with her fieldwork. When she returned and looked up more information on Japanese Stilt Grass distribution in the area, she realized this was the first time it had been identified in the Badger State.

After reporting the finding to EDDMapS, the Wisconsin DNR quickly sprang into action.

“They’ve been great and super responsive,” Weise said. “I recorded it in the evening, and by the next morning, I had an email from Kelly Kearns wanting to get in touch ASAP.”

Kearns is an invasive plant specialist with the Wisconsin DNR. She said although this is the first reporting of Japanese Stilt Grass in Wisconsin, it has been on their radar.  

“We've known for quite a few years this eventually was going to be found in Wisconsin,” Kearns said. “It's found throughout the Midwest much more abundantly down in near the Ohio River, Southern Indiana, Ohio, and Illinois, so we know it can survive Wisconsin winters.”

Japanese Stilt Grass easily travels by ‘hitchhiking’ on mud from fishing and hunting gear or boots. Kearns said they were fortunate to have a grass specialist such as Weise identify the invasive grass because it is similar to other species in the area. Weise helped show the DNR distinguishing features.

“I think grasses, in general, can be overlooked,” Weise said. “It looks very similar to native plants which occur in the same habitat and can be side-by-side, but Japanese Stilt Grass does have a unique, shorter leaf shape and a really strong white or almost translucent midvein down the leaves like a white racing stripe. Once you are familiar with it, you can spot it pretty quickly.”

DNR staff and partners surveying the property hand-pulled small patches of the plants and sprayed larger patches with herbicide to contain the grass. Kearns said monitoring will continue in that area because it could take multiple years to be completely eliminated.

“This plant is an annual, so it takes only one year from the time that it gets into an area to grow and produce seeds,” Kearns said. “It also has a fairly short lifecycle as a seed in the soil, so we will probably be monitoring for at least five to seven years and make sure no plants go to seed.”

She explained the consequences of what could happen if Japanese Stilt Grass does become established. Kearns said it can completely take over an area, causing concern for the local ecosystem and agriculture.

“Because it is an annual, it spreads very quickly,” she said. “Each plant can produce between 100 and 1,000 seeds. It also roots at the nodes, so it can spread vegetatively and take over the understory of a forest. It out-competes other species. Then when it gets cold, the plant dies back and is extremely flammable. When there is a fire, it just makes a wonderful habitat for the Japanese Stilt Grass seed so they can germinate and grow the next year.”

Another key prevention tactic is outreach. The DNR is trying to remind hikers, hunters, or anyone enjoying the outdoors to clean off gear, boots, cars, and even pets before leaving an area. They also ask people to be observant and report sightings if they can confirm it is Japanese Stilt Grass.

“Make sure you are looking at the correct identifying characteristics,” Kearns said. “Get up close photos so we can actually identify it from the photo. We do want people to try to figure out what it is before they send us any reports.”

Anyone who does find Japanese Stilt grass is then asked to email the DNR (invasive.species@Wisconsin.gov) with the location and picture.

It was the story of someone being in the right place at the right time.
For the first time <a href="https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/Invasives/fact/JapaneseStiltGrass.html">Japanese Stilt Grass</a> with identified in Wisconsin in July, but the discovery was by chance. Amanda Weise is a botanist for the University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. She was volunteering for the Wisconsin DNR&rsquo;s Rare Plant Monitoring Program at the Coulee Experimental State Forest in La Crosse County.
&ldquo;I was getting out of my van in the parking lot and looked down and went, &lsquo;huh. That&rsquo;s weird.&rsquo;&rdquo; Weise said.
Weise is originally from New England where Japanese Stilt Grass has been an ongoing problem for the area. She was not 100 percent sure of its prevalence in Wisconsin, but grabbed a specimen and then continued with her fieldwork. When she returned and looked up more information on Japanese Stilt Grass distribution in the area, she realized this was the first time it had been identified in the Badger State.
After reporting the finding to EDDMapS, the Wisconsin DNR quickly sprang into action.
&ldquo;They&rsquo;ve been great and super responsive,&rdquo; Weise said. &ldquo;I recorded it in the evening, and by the next morning, I had an email from Kelly Kearns wanting to get in touch ASAP.&rdquo;
Kearns is an invasive plant specialist with the Wisconsin DNR. She said although this is the first reporting of Japanese Stilt Grass in Wisconsin, it has been on their radar. &nbsp;
&ldquo;We've known for quite a few years this eventually was going to be found in Wisconsin,&rdquo; Kearns said. &ldquo;It's found throughout the Midwest much more abundantly down in near the Ohio River, Southern Indiana, Ohio, and Illinois, so we know it can survive Wisconsin winters.&rdquo;
Japanese Stilt Grass easily travels by &lsquo;hitchhiking&rsquo; on mud from fishing and hunting gear or boots. Kearns said they were fortunate to have a grass specialist such as Weise identify the invasive grass because it is similar to other species in the area. Weise helped show the DNR distinguishing features.
&ldquo;I think grasses, in general, can be overlooked,&rdquo; Weise said. &ldquo;It looks very similar to native plants which occur in the same habitat and can be side-by-side, but Japanese Stilt Grass does have a unique, shorter leaf shape and a really strong white or almost translucent midvein down the leaves like a white racing stripe. Once you are familiar with it, you can spot it pretty quickly.&rdquo;
DNR staff and partners surveying the property hand-pulled small patches of the plants and sprayed larger patches with herbicide to contain the grass. Kearns said monitoring will continue in that area because it could take multiple years to be completely eliminated.
&ldquo;This plant is an annual, so it takes only one year from the time that it gets into an area to grow and produce seeds,&rdquo; Kearns said. &ldquo;It also has a fairly short lifecycle as a seed in the soil, so we will probably be monitoring for at least five to seven years and make sure no plants go to seed.&rdquo; She explained the consequences of what could happen if Japanese Stilt Grass does become established. Kearns said it can completely take over an area, causing concern for the local ecosystem and agriculture.
&ldquo;Because it is an annual, it spreads very quickly,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;Each plant can produce between 100 and 1,000 seeds. It also roots at the nodes, so it can spread vegetatively and take over the understory of a forest. It out-competes other species. Then when it gets cold, the plant dies back and is extremely flammable. When there is a fire, it just makes a wonderful habitat for the Japanese Stilt Grass seed so they can germinate and grow the next year.&rdquo;
Another key prevention tactic is outreach. The DNR is trying to remind hikers, hunters, or anyone enjoying the outdoors to clean off gear, boots, cars, and even pets before leaving an area. They also ask people to be observant and report sightings if they can confirm it is Japanese Stilt Grass.
&ldquo;Make sure you are looking at the correct identifying characteristics,&rdquo; Kearns said. &ldquo;Get up close photos so we can actually identify it from the photo. We do want people to try to figure out what it is before they send us any reports.&rdquo;
Anyone who does find Japanese Stilt grass is then asked to email the DNR (<a href="mailto:invasive.species@Wisconsin.gov">invasive.species@Wisconsin.gov</a>) with the location and picture.

Join Pam Jahnke for the latest farm news. Heard daily on WOZN 96.7 FM and 1670 AM in Madison Wisconsin from 5-6am. Also heard on affiliate stations all over Wisconsin.

Join Pam Jahnke for the latest farm news. Heard daily on WOZN 96.7 FM and 1670 AM in Madison Wisconsin from 5-6am. Also heard on affiliate stations all over Wisconsin.

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