The Horrors of Wall Lettuce
Spending most of my time with LRCC AmeriCorps and The Nature Conservancy has exposed me to some of the greatest preserves I’ve ever seen. I have been fortunate enough to be able to step foot in every region of New Hampshire so far this season. From the tall Atlantic White Cedar swamps of the Manchester Cedar Swamp preserve to the Canada border neighboring trails of Fourth Connecticut Lake Preserve, each preserve seems to hold something very unique. But the one that stuck out to me most so far has been the Lime Pond Preserve in Columbia, New Hampshire.
When walking into the preserve you will first notice the calming grasslands blowing in the wind. Butterflies and meadow jumping mice prance around the grasses looking for food. Traveling further into the heart of the preserve awaits the exuberant stand of sugar maple. Beneath lies very special plants, the Canada violet and maidenhair fern, only there because of the calcium enriched soils. While standing in the center of the forest you will feel a sense of symbiosis, everything seems to work perfectly together with nothing out of place. That is until you take a close look at the bottoms of the forest valleys.
Wallowing in the shadows of towering maples sits the sickening invasive plant, wall lettuce. Little by little the plant creeps around the forest floor, spreading like wildfire. Now you begin to notice the condensed pool of wall lettuce overflowing the valley. All the beautiful flowers of the Canada violet are replaced with the piercing arrow shaped leaves of wall lettuce. They are everywhere. Consuming everything in its path, the invasive surrounds the maidenhair fern, suffocating its last frond. With nothing left but the stolen soil these wonderful plants once nourished on.
One by one the tyrant of a plant is pulled, suppressing its desire to spread. Days begin to build, with feelings of being overwhelmed crossing our minds. But limb by limb we destroy the once beast of a plant. Dwindling its mass to the now manageable size of an acre. The monster of a plant has now lost, with the community of ferns and violets reclaiming their homes. We can now leave the forest with a sense of accomplishment in our minds and the residue of wall lettuce stained on our hands. But it’s still hard to rest with the horrors of wall lettuce still haunting Lime Pond and the dreams while I sleep.
I am very thankful to all the places and people I have met on this AmeriCorps journey so far. With the season around halfway through, I can’t wait to see what experiences and accomplishments await me in the end!
Masen is a half-year member serving with The Nature Conservancy this season. Learn more about him here!