Off the popular Third Creek Greenway, there’s plenty of greenery hugging the riverbank.

Trouble is, it’s the wrong greenery: Invasive bush honeysuckle and privet can grow 20 to 30 feet high, and it’s so thick, it chokes out native plants.

It’s a citywide problem: Non-native fast-growing vegetation has become entrenched in parks and along greenways, and it’s overwhelming the native plants. Even at the 318-acre Ijams Nature Center, more than 40 exotic species have been documented.

But – thanks to a $225,000 federal grant – the underdog native species will soon be starting to reclaim their home territory.

Knoxville and Ijams Nature Center received funding through the federal Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), touted as the biggest climate investment in U.S. history. Over 4½ years, the federal assistance will pay for both paid and volunteer crews to go in and strategically thin some of the spots most overrun by invasive species in the city.

City of Knoxville Urban Forester Kasey Krouse is hopeful that the combined attack – first by professional horticulture crews, then followed by scores of volunteers – will result in 100 acres being liberated from obnoxious, greedy invasive species.

“A hundred acres – that’s a really big number, and it represents tremendous progress,” says Ben Nanny, Ijams’ Conservation Director.

Krouse worries that the assertive and presumptuous non-native plants are overpowering the understories beneath otherwise healthy trees – and the long-term future of many parts of the urban forest are in peril.

“There is no next generation of dogwoods, redbuds and sugar maples that are coming up, because the invasives are out-competing the native vegetation,” Krouse says.

Ijams now has about a dozen Weed Warrior ambassadors, who take on invasives within the nature center. Expanding with the new funding, Krouse and Nanny envision squads of volunteers strategically removing invasives at key locations citywide, under the guidance of trained team leaders.

“The initial push by the contractor crews will be hugely visible – and inspiring,” Nanny says. “My hope is that the City and Ijams will recruit many volunteers to carry on the work. These are people who are based in the community, who understand the problem and hike the trails. They’re vested in the area, enjoy their local parks and want to see healthier forests.”

Now that the IRA funding has been awarded, the first step will be to scout out City parks, greenways, school grounds and Knoxville’s Community Development Corp. housing communities and to settle on the top priorities for removing invasive species. The actual removal would begin next year.

Once species like privet and kudzu are beaten back, natives – warm-season grasses, blackhaw viburnum, redbuds and dogwoods – can establish themselves.

“There’s a laundry list of native plants that are beautiful and beneficial,” Nanny says.

Besides helping to promote a healthier, more diverse urban forest, Krouse says the effort also will improve habitat and provide shelter and food for wildlife.

“The invasive species work to outcompete our native vegetation,” Krouse says. “If we do nothing, we will lose biodiversity – it’s just a matter of time. That’s why we’re so thankful for this crucial funding provided by the state Division of Forestry through the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Forest Service and the Inflation Reduction Act grant program.”

It's the second major infusion of IRA funding to improve Knoxville’s tree canopy. 

Last year, $1.7 million in federal funding was allocated to Trees Knoxville, a City nonprofit partner, to plant and maintain 7,500 trees along streets, in parks, at schools, in public housing communities, in historic African-American cemeteries, and elsewhere.  
 
The University of Tennessee at the same time was awarded $2.6 million to increase tree canopy coverage, reduce stormwater runoff, mitigate extreme heat, and bring ecosystem services to underserved communities in East Knoxville.