Invasive plants are a major issue in Kentucky and beyond, impacting a wide range of habitats from forests to grasslands. Already there are many different invasive trees, shrubs, vines, grasses, and herbaceous plants that cause problems in the state.  In addition, new plants arrive each year.  From recognizing new invasives to best practices in managing current problems, landowners and professionals need more information about invasive plants.

To increase understanding of these issues and facilitate increased communication, I organized and spoke at the Kentucky Invasive Plant Conference on Nov 2, 2023, working with partners including the Kentucky Invasive Plant Council, Kentucky State University, the Kentucky Division of Forestry, and the Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves.  This conference was offered in-person at the Kentucky State Farm in Frankfort, KY, marking a change from our previous two conferences which were hosted over Zoom.  In addition, this conference lasted a full day, longer than the shorter Zoom-based conferences previously hosted.  As in past years, CEUs were provided to professionals (e.g. Kentucky Pesticide Applicators).

Over 150 people registered for this conference and invited speakers from around the country presented on a range of topics, from new research into invasive plant management techniques to success stories with invasive plants. Topics included:

1. Prairie restoration
2. Biological control of invasive plants
3. New invasive plants to watch for
4. Aerial herbicide management of invasive plants
5. Using drones for invasive plant monitoring and management
6. Managing invasive plants with goats 

Participants attending the conference were surveyed after the event and 100% said it met or exceeded expectations, speakers, topics, and facilities were rated good to excellent and 100% of attendees completing our post-conference survey said they were likely to attend next year’s conference.  This was the third annual KY Invasive Plant Conference and, based on this positive response and high attendance, we plan to continue this conference into the future.