[APWG] Homeowners and restoration

[Bucky Edgett]

Dear Friends,
    I know this is an intrusion, and aologize for it. I'm about to 
unsubscribe, and before I did thought perhaps you good folks could help me 
out.
    Please if you know of any, recommend a few lists and sites for HOMEOWNERS 
who are interested in restoration. Loie and I have a nine acre property in 
central Maryland, US. It's a mix of plantain-infested "lawn" (hah!), scrubby 
new woods and a bit of stream-bottom older woods. All of it is rampant 
Canadian thistle, Japanese multiflora rose, Tartarian and Japanese 
honeysuckle, Oriental Bittersweet, Autumn Olive and probably lots more 
invasive Dirt we haven't yet identified.
    We had hoped, when we moved here a dozen years ago, and are still 
trying--agonizingly slowly--to do something (now we realize: anything!) to 
"restore" this place to native species. But really, it's turning out to be 
beyond us. The time and effort and money needed are immense. To us, at least. 
We've had very pleasant advice and some offers of help from Maryland state 
agencies, but we never qualified for any help: our hoped-for projects didn't 
fit the available bills.
    I know a few people here in Maryland that work with groups of restorers 
on various communal projects: Nature Conservancy, parks and so forth. I've 
been searching the web for resources for information. But all I've found is 
info for large groups, such as the projects you yourselves run.
    Nowhere do I find information slanted toward do-it-yourself-restoration 
homeowners! (Maybe I'm beyond what we can reasonably do).
    Here's an example of the kind of hands-on, practical advice I need. I 
have created a huge brushpile of multiflora rose and Tartarian honeysuckle we 
(Loie and I) have pulled out all along the lawn-woods edge. Of course these 
huge things were spreading seed all over, and acting nasty, so I poisoned 
them, and used a towchain on the old truck to pull them out bodily. We 
(unwittingly illegally) burned the first pile. Then I found out what kind of 
trouble we could get in by burning.
    I got the local volunteer fire company to come and legally burn the 
second pile, but now they are telling me I might not be able to get an EPA 
permit to burn the third one. I also have a stand of this stuff many times 
bigger than what we've pulled so far. I could create a brushpile the size of 
our house.
    So what the heck am I supposed to DO with it?!?! <laughing> We can't 
afford a chipper shredder (I'd need to own an industrial size one) and then, 
what about the alleopathic chips that would still remain? Jeeze. If I just 
leave the current one as a rotting brushpile, of course it will soon grow up 
in more Dirt Weeds from seeds dropped in it from other people's Dirt, 
defeating the entire purpose.
    Is there anywhere people discuss this kind of thing? My list of practical 
dilemmas goes on: best way to kill Dirt, best way to Pull dead Dirt, best 
ways to foster Plants (without their being over run by new Dirt, of which 
here is an unending invasion), best way to AFFORD the new Plants, etc, etc. 
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for all your good work 
I'll wait a week or so and then unsubscribe.
Yours truly,
Bucky Edgett
Dirt Weed Beleaguered Homeowner