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| Gloria and Rose got a little muddy on this 2008 ride. |
We ride because we
enjoy being outside and exploring the great parks in Anchorage and
south-central Alaska. We pride ourselves
on being good stewards of our parks -- we volunteer to build and maintain
trails, we pack out our garbage, and we avoid creating ruts on trails by not
riding them when they're especially muddy.
We also need to be
careful not to transport invasive plants into our park lands. Invasive plants are non-native, they grow
rapidly, and spread quickly. They can out-compete native vegetation, which can
alter an entire plant communities. These changes can affect availability of
native plants for birds and wildlife in our parks.
It's really easy to reduce the introduction and spread of invasive plants in our Anchorage
parks: After muddy rides, hose off your bike and
shoes at your house before going on another ride.
There are some good
guides online to identifying invasive plants in Alaska:
- Alaska Cooperative Extension: https://www.uaf.edu/ces/pubs/catalog/detail/index.xml?id=483
- Forest Service: http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5320150.pdf
- Alaska Natural Heritage Program: http://aknhp.uaa.alaska.edu/botany/akepic/weed-identification-workshops/
