Buckthorn on Clough Island

Volunteers gather for a photo after completing restoration work pulling buckthorn.

(photo credit: Dara Fillmore)

A warm, calm Saturday in September gave volunteers the opportunity to canoe through the St. Louis River to Clough Island with the Friends of the Lake Superior Reserve (FOLSR), Lake Superior Reserve staff and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to remove invasive buckthorn from a section of the island. 

Common buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica) is a species of small tree that typically grows in Europe, northwest Africa, and western Asia. Buckthorn was introduced to Wisconsin in the 1880s by people creating hedges and windbreaks. It is non-native to the U.S. and spreads quickly, taking over wherever it grows. Worse yet, it berries are slightly toxic and act as a laxative when ingested by wildlife. With Buckthorn spread across many sections of Clough Island, this important work of its removal gives native plants the opportunity to grow back.

Volunteers hand-pulled live buckthorn, and thank goodness for the handy weed wrenches provided by the Wisconsin DNR and Lake Superior Reserve (photo of weed wrench below). Living Buckthorn can re-root after being pulled, so it must be stacked above ground (see photo below of pulled buckthorn hanging in a tree).

Reserve staff have also been hard at work to address the concerns of Buckthorn growth on Clough Island. A Wisconsin Conservation Corps crew spent a week in September with Reserve staff pulling dead buckthorn from the peninsula section of the island.

Come volunteer with us! Visit our page on Eventbrite or sign up here for volunteer information to learn more about restoration and conservation projects you can be a part of.

Article by Callie Grones, edited by Sharon Moen

Photos by Callie Grones