Wild chervil eradication to continue in Howard this fall

By LeAnn R. Ralph

TOWN OF HOWARD  —  In an effort to learn more about how to control an invasive plant called wild chervil, eradication attempts will continue this fall in the Town of Howard.

Kathy Stahl, co-chair of the Lower Chippewa Valley Invasives Partnership, spoke to the Howard Town Board at the October 4 meeting.

Lee Shambeau of 4 Control out of Menomonie would like to experiment on road right-of-way in the western part of the Town of Howard to find out what might work better to kill off wild chervil, Stahl told the board.

Shambeau would like to use a different herbicide to spray this fall if the town board does not have any objections, she said.

Vernon Schindler, chair of the Howard Town Board, said Shambeau is welcome to spray the township’s right-of-way.

Last spring, the Howard Town Board approved spraying three miles of town road right-of-way to eradicate wild chervil, an invasive plant that spreads twice as fast as wild parsnip and is becoming a problem in eastern Dunn County and western Chippewa County.

Wild chervil is a member of the carrot family. The plant has short hairs on the stems and leaves, and it flowers in late May or early June.

Wild chervil does not blister the skin like wild parsnip, but the plant spreads so rapidly and adapts so well to sun or shade, dry or wet conditions, that it chokes out all other plants.

Wild chervil has been observed to have started invading water runs in certain areas, making it more difficult to control than if it is only found on road shoulders.

Shambeau would like to experiment to see what might work as a fall application to keep next year’s crop of wild chervil from growing, Stahl said.

The Howard Town Board approved hiring Eric Suvada to do the spraying this past spring.

The spraying Suvada completed killed off the growing plants but did not keep the seeds already in the soil from sprouting.

Wild chervil is difficult to control by mowing. The plant seeds out much earlier than other plants, meaning that the municipality would have to mow very early and then would have to mow again multiple times during the summer to try to keep it under control.

Generally speaking, by the time crews start mowing, the wild chervil has already put out seed heads, so mowing ultimately serves to spread the seed around.

Wild chervil “has a lot of seed bank,” Stahl said, adding that even if the adult plants are killed off, there is enough seed built up in the soil for the plant to keep coming back for quite some time.

Shambeau would like to experiment to see if there are more options to control the invasive, she said.

After the wild chervil is mowed, it will still put out seed heads even if the plant is quite short, said Ken Schmitt, who farms in the Town of Howard.

The Howard Town Board had approved spending $300 to spray three miles of road right-of-way earlier in the summer.

Suvada turned in an invoice to the Howard Town Board at the October 6 meeting, but board members were surprised to see that the invoice was marked “no charge.”

Stahl said she has asked the state Department of Natural Resources about cost-sharing for attempts to eradicate wild chervil.

“There might be some funding, but not a lot,” she said.

The Wisconsin Invasive Plants Reporting and Prevention website describes wild chervil as “a biennial or short-lived perennial plant of the parsley family. Seedlings develop into a rosette during the first year. In the second year, the plants produce hollow flower stems, usually 3-4 feet tall (can reach 6 feet). The stems are branched and covered in soft hairs, particularly near the base. The leaves are alternate, nearly hairless, and divided into smaller, fernlike leaflets.”