Sewee Longleaf Conservation - A Push to Keep Cogongrass from Spreading in South Carolina

By Colette DeGarady, The Nature Conservancy

After attending last fall’s Longleaf Alliance conference in Mobile, Alabama, members of the Sewee Longleaf Conservation Cooperative (SLCC) on the coast of South Carolina, were more inspired than ever to keep cogongrass from spreading in South Carolina.  Through the SC Exotic Pest Plant Council, the SLCC helped organize a workshop that was held May 7, 2015 in the Sewee area to train professionals and landowners to identify and search for this aggressive invader.  More than 50 participants were in attendance.   There are only 30 or so known locations of cogongrass in South Carolina. The workshop included a field trip to two of these known sites in the Francis Marion National Forest.   

The Department of Plant Industry is a leader in surveying annually in this state and treating known occurrences.  You can learn more about cogongrass in SC by visiting http://www.clemson.edu/cafls/cogongrass/index.html . 

Image 1:  Mark Danaher, USFS Wildlife Biologist, examining new cogongrass occurrence in the Francis Marion National Forest found October 2014.  Photo by Ricky Wrenn.

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