invasive plant management

December 27, 2024

Hellbranch Meadows Controlled Burn

Earlier this month, MAD Scientist Associates had the opportunity to manage a controlled burn for the Franklin Soil and Water Conservation District at the Hellbranch Meadows site in Galloway, Ohio. This area is part of the historic Darby-Plains, which was managed through fire and other human intervention to keep an open prairie-savannah habitat versus forest. This was beneficial for grazing animals and diversity of plant types and communities.  This site took expert level planning to sustain the fire and keep it going in the right direction. Our team, led by Alexys Nolan and Cody Wright, worked the burn for nearly six hours. The footage of the burn at twilight is truly remarkable. We look forward to seeing how this area comes back to life next […]
December 27, 2022

Invasive Species- We Be Killin’ Em

We’ve always touted ourselves as having a “team that works like MAD,” but we’ve got to hand it to our Technicians and Conservation Practitioners, who truly personify this phrase. This year they’ve aided in monitoring, wildlife and vegetative surveys, performed GIS and drone surveys, organized and completed planting efforts, volunteered time to environmental causes, and tackled 250 (TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY!) acres of invasive species management. They are lean, mean, honeysuckle-buckthorn-multiflora rose-porcelain berry-euonymus-pear-tree-of-heaven-bittersweet-privet-phragmites-cattail-reed canarygrass-garlic mustard-lesser celandine-thistle-knotweed-vinca-and English ivy killing machines! Each of our staff on this team are certified pesticide applicators or trained service persons and they use meticulous care when mixing and applying herbicide, including choosing the most effective chemical that poses the least amount of environmental damage, precisely targeting invasive species and minimizing […]