Acknowledge Farms: Invasive Plant Management and Native Community Restoration
Moving users from site-wide understanding to plant-specific knowledge, the Invasive Plant Management Manual provides a framework to protect the natural and cultural resources at Acknowledge Farms from non-native invasive plants.
The manual focuses on site-specific, ecologically informed and temporally sensitive Best Management Practices (BMPs) to address invasive plant species at a working hemp farm. It employs a holistic approach that features prevention, detection, triage, removal, monitoring, and education surrounding invasive plant species found and suspected to exist on the site. In conjunction, the manual presents native plant communities that can be used to restore or improve managed locations.
The manual provides an overview of existing site habitat typologies and shows where they can be found at Acknowledge Farm.
By outlining specific invasive plant species found at Acknowledge Farm, the manual provides a summary of information about the growing conditions the plant thrives in, how it spreads and what its impacts on the environment are. Individual plant profiles provide visual information for identification and locations of these species.
The manual lists chemical and mechanical control methods to manage each invasive plant species found or suspected on the site. A table showing how and when to manage plants provides key technical information for control. It also provides a quick start guide for where management efforts can start based on designated invasives control zones.
Recommendations for native plants that are available as seeds or in the nursery trade are outlined to restore areas where invasives have been eradicated. A set of plans shows analogous conditions for native communities to simplify plant selection for each micro-condition.
The Acknowledge Farms Invasives Management Manual was recognized with a 2025 ASLA Maryland Merit Award.