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PHOTOSYNTHESIS: Brush Your Boots

Peninsula State Park and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources encourage all hikers and park-goers to use boot-brushing stations because invasive exotic plant species often stick to boots and travel to new places in that way. 

Hikers should use a boot-brushing station before entering a trail because they may be introducing seeds such as crabgrass and switchgrass from home that are not found in healthy forests. They should also brush their boots upon leaving a trail because many invasive plants disperse seeds in the fall. 

Invasive plants found in Peninsula State Park include phragmites, black swallow-wort, Tatarian honeysuckle, dame’s rocket, purple loosestrife, narrow-leaved cattails and hybrid cattails.