City to Take On Invasive Plant Species

Kudzu, you've overstayed your welcome. For decades, this Asian invasive species has run rampantly roughshod over anything in its path - including parts of Fort Dickerson Park and near Augusta Quarry.

Tonight, City Council supported Mayor Indya Kincannon's efforts to use state grant funding to amp up the fight against the invasive species that have dominated some of Knoxville's park landscapes.

Many people are familiar with kudzu, vilified as "the vine that ate the South." It's an unruly squatter that's taken a liking to the northeast side of Fort Dickerson Park - the tall hill too vegetated and vertical to mow, alongside Chapman Highway.

But throughout Knoxville, scrubby dense understories of privet and honeysuckle also significantly harm ecological health and biodiversity.

Following Council's approval tonight, four contractors will begin applying safe levels of herbicides to fight the invasives and give native species a chance to compete.

The 2024 Urban Forest Master Plan identified invasive species as a barrier to increasing the number and quality of trees in Knoxville. Both the Knoxville Tree Board and Ijams Nature Center support the City's approach to eradicate unwanted and destructive invasives.

The City is allocating $80,000 between the four contractors - Davey Resource Group, Forest Edge, Richmond Tree Experts, and Invasive Plant Control - deemed most responsive in competitively-bid contracts. They will be assisting with invasive-species control in parks throughout the City.

Once the invasives are put in check, the City's management plan calls for replacement plantings of native species, so long-term healthy ecosystems emerge.

A good place to start is Fort Dickerson, where masses of kudzu vines are growing a foot a day during the hot summer months.

"Invasive plant species harm habitat for birds, pollinators, reptiles and small mammals," said Rachel Butzler, the City's Public Service Director. "Kudzu is terrible at controlling erosion. The prominent invasive species - kudzu, privet, honeysuckle and mimosas - grow so aggressively that they crowd out all native trees, shrubs and groundcover."

The City has experimented - with limited success - with using goats to try and check the steamrolling growth of kudzu. The goats give it their best shot, but grazing doesn't get at the deep underground root balls - some as long as a school bus. Once the goats finish their feasting, the kudzu quickly returns.

Furthermore, the goats are indiscriminate grazers. They decimate all green growth, regardless of plant species. Other control methods target the invasives while sparing the desirable native species, which eventually leads to a diverse plant ecosystem.

A good case study for kudzu eradication is the South Waterfront, where Baptist Hospital once stood. Kudzu there was supposed to help control erosion, but instead, it worsened it. Silt from runoff after any rain harmed aquatic life in the Tennessee River below, at the bottom of the steep riverbank. The kudzu monoculture provided low-quality habitat.

However, contractors carried out a specific and targeted approach that eradicated the kudzu, with no measurable harm to the river ecosystem. Native trees, grasses, and wildflowers have since taken root along the rocky shoreline, and sediment runoff into the river has been significantly reduced.

"We're optimistic that, in the coming years, we'll be seeing better, more native habitat and less erosion inside Fort Dickerson Park," Butzler said. "If that happens, we'll look for ways to improve the natural diversity at other parks in the coming years."

In other matters tonight:

Smoking prohibited

City Council approved an ordinance on the first of two readings that would prohibit smoking and vaping in age-restricted venues.

These venues had been exempted from a 2007 statewide ban on smoking in enclosed public places and places of employment. Proponents say performers, hospitality workers, service providers and other employees remain vulnerable to health risks associated with secondhand smoke.

The issue is scheduled for a final vote on May 26.


Tech Smart Knox Seniors

The Council authorized Mayor Kincannon to execute an agreement to provide $100,000 in state grant funds to support the Knoxville-Knox County Community Action Committee's Tech Smart Knox Seniors program.

The aim is to provide adults age 60 and older with training to better use technology and close the digital divide.


AVLs in all City vehicles

Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) GPS-based technology will be added to another 376 City vehicles, following Council's authorization.

This investment helps assure public accountability by enabling all City-owned cars, trucks and buses - a total of more than 1,100 vehicles - to be equipped with AVL technology. Dash cameras will be added to brush pickup trucks.