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Elk River / FMR Buckthorn Summary <br /> <br />Funding secured by FMR from the Outdoor Heritage Fund as recommended by the Lessard <br />Sams Outdoor Heritage Council. <br /> <br /> <br />2015: $160,000 <br />NRMP and 100 acres of buckthorn removal and follow-up (2015-2019) <br /> <br />2018: $140,000 <br />An additional 90+ acres of buckthorn removal and follow up (2018-2022) <br /> <br />2022 (pending): $150,000 <br />Follow-up treatments on the original 100 acres of buckthorn removal (2022-2026) <br /> <br />Summary: <br />FMR has brought roughly $300k to buckthorn control efforts on just under 200 acres at the <br />William H. Houlton Conservation Area. This equates to roughly $1,500 per acre and includes <br />initial large-scale removal, multiple years of follow-up herbicide treatments, and native grass <br />seeding. On the majority of acres, control has been very successful. This cost per acre is actually <br />quite low for buckthorn control compared to other metro-area projects. However, this work <br />has not completely exhausted the buckthorn seedbank, nor has it ensured that native plant <br />cover is diverse or dense enough to resist future invasion. FMR has applied for additional <br />funding to continue follow-up treatments and native seeding and planting on the initial 100 <br />acres of removal, and may decide to pursue future funding for a second phase. This would push <br />the overall cost per acre of removal to roughly $3,000 per acre.