Invasive Plants in West Virginia

What are non-native invasive plants?

People have been moving plants from place to place for thousands of years. The Native Americans who first lived in what is now called West Virginia planted maize, squash, and beans far from where they were first domesticated in Central and South America, and the Indigenous peoples who call West Virginia home likely cultivated and facilitated the growth and spread of many different species of wild plants from hickory trees to wild strawberries and many other plants useful for food, medicine, and materials prior to the arrival of European settlers. What we call ‘native’ plants are species that evolved in this area and were present at or before the time of European colonization in the 1600s. The period of colonization initiated a huge transfer of species from Europe, Asia, and Africa to the Americas, and vice versa. Since that time, the human-facilitated spread of new species around the globe has only grown with the globalization of industries like agriculture and horticulture.

Many of the non-native plants introduced to our landscape by intention or accident have had no major ecological impacts on natural communities. But a small percentage has spread from where they first became established, and have become serious threats to wetlands, shale barrens, prairies, glades and other rare ecosystems. Invasive species are non-native, introduced species that cause (or are likely to cause) harm to ecosystems, the economy, or human health. Invasive plants often get started in areas disturbed by human activities such as road and trail building, timbering, mining, agriculture, and other activities that remove native vegetation, disturb the soil, or dramatically change the amount of sunlight or moisture available to plants.

Of the more than 2300 vascular plant species that currently occur in West Virginia, nearly a quarter are not native to the state. Of these introduced species, 37 have been identified as highly invasive based on their potential to disrupt ecosystem processes and cause major alterations in vegetation community composition and structure, as well as their demonstrated ability to establish readily and spread rapidly in natural systems. A further 62 are identified as moderately invasive, and 124 as somewhat invasive.

We Value Natural Areas

Natural areas are generally areas of limited development where natural occurring, functioning ecosystems are supporting the greatest amount of natural biological diversity the nonliving resources (soil, sunlight, minerals, etc.) of that area can support.

Healthy natural areas have seemingly endless interrelationships among animals, plants, fungi, microorganisms, and the nonliving part of the ecosystems, providing habitat for these species.

Natural areas often support rare, threatened and endangered species of plants, animals, and fungi. The natural communities themselves are often rare enough or of such quality that society recognizes the value of conserving them.

Natural areas are valuable part of the global landscape from which future generations can continue to learn. Areas such as Cranberry Glades, Cranesville Swamp, shale barrens, limestone glades, and riverine marshes, to name a few, are West Virginia examples.

The impact of non-native invasive plant species on natural biological diversity, in numerous examples around the world, have reduced available habitat for native species and/or eliminated associated native species altogether.

Learn More

To receive additional information about invasive plants, please contact:

West Virginia Division of Natural Resources
Wildlife Resources Section
P.O. Box 67
Elkins, WV 26241
Voice: 304-637-0245, fax: 304-637-0250