Mellissa Dionesotes, Coastal Land Trust’s Land and Stewardship Manager, recently attended the 2025 NC & SC Invasive Plant & Pest Joint Symposium in Wilmington. This annual meeting brought experts, environmental contractors, state agencies, and private land conservation organizations together to discuss current issues and concerns regarding invasive plants in their communities.
Prior to attending, Mellissa looked forward to gaining a better understanding of their rankings (based off different invasive characteristics) and their removal, with a focus on the types of ecosystems found on Coastal Land Trust properties.
This was not the type of conference where participants spend days listening to lectures in hotel ballrooms. Bring a large group of land managers together and you can expect them to get outside. After a Keynote by Steven Feuerstein of Rewild Earth, the attendees hit the parks.
Mellissa joined a group at Halyburton Park for hands-on invasive species removal in a wildlife-urban interface. They worked to remove Wisteria, a highly invasive species that the Coastal Land Trust is working to eradicate at its Island Creek Preserve in Craven County. Jesica Blake, Associate Director of the Coastal Land Trust, offered her expertise by leading another group of conference participants at Piney Ridge Nature Preserve. Jesica shared information on the Coastal Land Trust’s longleaf pine restoration work at the Preserve and the benefits of that work for southeastern North Carolina.
The Coastal Land Trust is committed to the proper management of invasive plant species on our preserves. Tackling wisteria at Island Creek has been a daunting, multi-year effort. Other preserves where we manage invasive species include our Fayetteville Preserve and Springer’s Point Preserve.
Though invasive plants are spreading nationally and there are frequent introductions to our natural habitats, Mellissa remains hopeful. In addition to our land management work and that of similar organizations, individuals can make a notable impact in combatting invasives. One easy step is planting native plants in your own landscape. Visit the NC Chapter of the Invasive Plant Council for more resources: www.nc-ipc.weebly.com.
