Mad River Valley Conservation Commissions See Progress on Knotweed Eradication

The conservation commissions in Vermont's Mad River Valley have demonstrated effective methods for controlling Japanese knotweed, according to multiple municipal records from across the state.

Evidence of Success

The Montpelier Tree Board minutes from March 6, 2025, specifically highlight that "The Mad River Valley conservation commissions have made great progress on knotweed eradication." This assessment was shared during a report on the Watershed Forestry Partnership meeting. The minutes identify three specific factors that have contributed to the Mad River Valley's success :

1. "Well-coordinated strategy"
2. "High community attachment to the Valley landscape especially swimming holes"
3. "High degrees of resident resources and volunteer capacity"

Multi-Town Collaboration

The Huntington Community Forest Committee meeting minutes from January 18, 2024, reference a "Mad River Conservation Commission Tri-Town (Waitsfield, Warren, Fayston) Knotweed initiative" that "have had some success in the Mad River Valley and recently secured $100K grant."

Experimental Approaches

Earlier documentation from the Huntington Conservation Commission meeting on February 11, 2021, notes that "the Warren Conservation Commission's exploration of knotweed" included "experimenting with knotweed clippings to confirm what is needed to destroy the plant and prevent them from regenerating." The minutes mention that Jito Coleman created "videos and other demonstrations" and that "several articles in the Valley Reporter" documented these efforts.

Diverse Control Methods

The Middlesex Conservation Commission meeting minutes from May 28, 2024, reference a project "using grazing animals to control knotweed in the Mad River Valley." This indicates the region has explored multiple approaches to knotweed management.

Technical Approaches

The Middlesex Conservation Commission meeting from February 27, 2024, provides additional detail on the techniques used in Waitsfield, describing a process that "involves repeated cutting of the plants with digging out the roots and placing them on pallets to dry out." The minutes also note that "Waitsfield is looking into assistance from federal programs with some of the very large knotweed patches along the Mad River; this would require using herbicides."

Regional Influence

The success of these efforts has led other Vermont communities to look to the Mad River Valley as a resource. As noted in the Middlesex Conservation Commission meeting from February 27, 2024, when discussing their own knotweed project, "Adrienne described the project as envisioned for Middlesex and said Waitsfield is a great resource."

The documented progress in the Mad River Valley demonstrates that with coordinated community efforts and appropriate resources, significant advances can be made in controlling this persistent invasive species.

Other Sources

Recently, the Vermont Land Trust hosted a webinar based on their findings. You can view it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84gpR2x_51Q

Note that as of the date this is published, we don't have coverage for the documents from the towns in Mad River Valley — this post is based on the accounts within documents from other municipalities. When we add Fayston, Moretown, Warren and Waitsfield, etc, we will update with additional details found in their documents.