Exploring the Anacostia 3, Kingman Island and the royalty of Purple Loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria)
On the National Park Service website Purple Loosestrife makes the list of the Least Wanted Plants and is classified as an Alien Plant Invader of Natural Areas. Next time you consider buying this plant, English Ivy, or any other weed at Home Depot… please don’t. Please take a moment to consider the above list. The problem is that aggressive non-native plants like Purple Loosestrife thrive in disturbed sites like Kingman Island and disrupt the native ecosystem…basically a wrench in an intricate system that fails to provide anything of value to birds, bugs and other creatures of the area.
Of course there are other plants on Heritage and Kingman Islands (just east of RFK stadium shown below) and on the day that Josh, Lisa and I were there we came across plenty of Poison Ivy Toxicodendron radicans, Silver Maple Acer saccharinum, and Josh’s favorite invasive exotic, Porcelainberry Ampelopsis brevipendunculata (which admittedly does have one of the most beautiful berries I have ever seen).
Since the US Army Corps of Engineers created the islands in 1916 they have been a collection point for the destitute and the dumped. Left to grow largely wild, the result, now open to the public (I think) is a thicket of 100 year old weeds. Perhaps even more impressive and beautiful is the re-establishment of many wetland species along the coasts. The last time I had explored the islands, the mud and geese looked like they might overcome the efforts at regenerating the wetlands. However, beyond my surprise that the islands were open was the view from the footbridge across the Anacostia…
the plants seem to be doing quite well and are reclaiming a fair percentage of land.
Unfortunately the archaic is captured in the opposite view and we are quickly reminded of the very visible hand of destruction. Five fingers, nails stained black from the making of progress. 
2 comments
It’s great to see someone taking an interest in all of this. I’ve explored around Kingman and Heritage quite a bit and I’d love to see the latest timeline for the project. NO ONE seems to know. Once they get to it, there’s a pretty sweet nature center in the works. Already they’re cutting out the trails that will loop around both islands.
As for the hospital, they’re planning to save the old building you highlighted in your other post. Everything else will be demolished.
I read a few years ago about a major tree-planting project near RFK in an area desolated by toxic runoff from parked vehicles. Do you know where this planting took place and how effective it has been?
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