A tangled vine

To the Editor:

Kudzu in West Tisbury!

It’s very surprising to us, the sudden uproar with the kudzu on our property here on Pin Oak Circle. More than two years ago, it was first brought to our attention by Tim Boland of Polly Hill. He appeared in our driveway early one morning in August 2016. Tim explained that we had a very invasive weed on our property that needed to be eliminated. He further stated not to worry, he had many volunteers at Polly Hill who would come by to destroy it. Tim left his business card and said he would be in touch. The volunteers never appeared. My emails and phone calls to Tim were never returned. The “mysterious invasive vine” continued to grow.

In August 2017, we paid Island Timber $610 to eliminate the “mysterious invasive vine” on our property. The “mysterious invasive vine” on town property remained untouched.

In June 2018, we eliminated the “mysterious invasive vine” once again ourselves. At this time, we realized it was time to contact the West Tisbury tree warden for advice. We waited patiently for him to return our call. During an evening walk along Old County Road, Jeremiah Brown stopped to chat. Jeremiah is the tree warden we were waiting to hear from. During this visit, Jeremiah never identified the “mysterious invasive vine” as kudzu. He also picked up a random twig with berries and asked, “Is this what we’re looking for?” We pointed out the “mysterious invasive vine” on town property as well as on our own property. Jeremiah responded, “We’ll get some men in here to clean it up, on your property too.” He also stated that a chemical would have to be applied to the roots of the vine. No more news from Jeremiah …

Oct. 3, 2018, a stranger is looking at the “mysterious invasive vine.” He stated that he had just come from the selectmen’s meeting. The invasive vine was discussed. Our first thought was that he was a town representative. After a lengthy discussion he handed his business card over. Oh, an MV Times reporter?

Oct. 4, 2018, MV Times online. Our “mysterious invasive vine” has a name, kudzu! We also learned that Jeremiah Brown has determined we will be responsible for 75 percent of the cost of removal, the town 25 percent. We greatly appreciate Jennifer Rand, town administrator, for meeting with us on short notice.

To quote Joseph Neal, a professor of weed science at North Carolina State University, “it’s well controlled by grazing animals (goats, cattle). It’s actually very high quality for cattle.” Since 75 percent of the chemical treatment will be financial hardship for us, we’ve decided to go with a cow. Is there a permit we need for that?

Don and Marcia MacGillivray

West Tisbury