His slide show dealt with “Organism Pollution,” which Ford defined as the result of the invasion of exotic plants and animals that did not evolve the ecosystem in which they are now found. They cause $26 billion in losses per year in North America. “That’s a lot of money. They also decrease the diversity of our native ecosystems. They decrease, or drive to extinction our native species, create fire hazards and spread diseases,” Ford explained.
One slide Ford showed listed about two dozen varieties of invaders, including those often mentioned like Asian Carp, Kudzu and wild hogs. But there are others seen nearly every day if you go outdoors or garden in Southwest Arkansas that you might not be as aware of.
The first Ford named was Privet, a leafy evergreen shrub that is even tougher than Kudzu since it needs no light to grow. “I did Privet research and control in 1983,” Ford said, then fast-forwarded to more recent times: “Behind my house I spent, I spent weeks after I retired removing privet 10 feet back into my neighbor's vacant lot behind me, between me and 16th Street. So I wouldn't have a fire hazard if somebody threw a cigarette out on 16th Street.” While some have counselled pulling the plants out to uproot them, Ford said he uses a weedkilling spray.
Next, Ford showed a slide of a fierce black insect seemingly equipped at its jaws with multiple buzzsaws, the Emerald Ash Borer. They’re not named for their ability to cause men or women named Ashley to feel sleepy at parties, but for their habit of boring deep holes into Emerald Ash trees that seriously endanger the health of trees whose wood is used to make the best baseball bats. The bad news is that it was discovered around ten years ago in Nevada County, “probably brought from up north on firewood for deer hunters. It is killing all the ash trees. There seems to be no genetic resistance. We thought we could save the seed and freeze it and let the ash borer do its thing, dry out by starvation, and then we could replant ash in the ecosystem again. But we found out it likes things like Grancy Greybeard or Eastern Fringe tree, anything in the olive family.” So the plan to just allow the Borer to eat all the Emerald Ash trees failed due to its diet being more varied than was thought.
Next, Ford showed the slide of the Asian Jumping Worm, which look similar to Night Crawler earthworms but seem a bit lazier. As Ford explained it, the invasive worm does not like to go deep. “They just feed at the surface and get rid of litter at the surface. And because they feed at the surface and get rid of litter so fast, it can create erosion within the places where they occur.” This can lead to more severe flooding and more rapid conquest of shore or wetlands by bodies of water.
Another long-bodied creature found in the ground, especially by gardeners is the Hammerhead Worm. The head of this worm is shaped like that of the shark of the Hammerhead Shark while its body may be a multiplicity of colors. “There are some that are tiger-striped. There are some that are red, white or black … This is a terrestrial planarian. How many of you remember from biology what a planarian is?” Ford asked. No one guessed.
Ford explained that they are flatheaded worms that both feed and excrete waste from the same tube. They also have the ability to regenerate if body parts are cut away, which is startling to see. “So people have been seeing these things and chopping them up with their hoe, and I've had people call me in my office and say, ‘I chopped that thing into 100 different pieces. What’s this?’ I said, ‘You now have a hundred different worms.’” This caused some nervous chuckles among the Lions members, but Ford’s description was not finished.
“Now, what makes them so bad? If you see one, don't handle them,” Ford said. “They have a toxin in their skin, which is the same toxin in Puffer Fish. It's a neurotoxin. The reason they have it, as you can see here in the lower left-hand side, is they will detect an earthworm, slime this earthworm and knock it out with the toxin, cover it up, exude digestive enzymes and suck up the liquid.” Ford apologized for broaching the subject during lunch.
“These are in south Arkansas,” he said. “I found these about 2013” at the Southwest Research and Extension Center just outside Hope. “They were moved around from flower pot, shrubs, and we have them.”
After the Hammerhead Worm, Ford moved on to sturdier, taller invaders, one of which his wife Cindy complimented for their beauty while he was helping her put up real estate signs. “I said, ‘Those are the worst things in the world. And I'm in the fence row putting and I'm getting stuck. It's picking my pants. It's doing all the things you can imagine with the thorns on it. She goes, ‘What in the world is that?’ I said, ‘That's Bradford Pear.’”
Another problem tree is the Chinese Popcorn, which was cultivated because its wax could be used as an alternative to animal fats to make candles. But it turned out to be invasive. Ford said he has seen it around Hope and that it is everywhere. The Chinaberry Tree is in the same category. While it does have insecticide properties, it outcompetes native species.
Cogongrass looks like it would be a nutritious plant for livestock, but not even goats will eat it. “What we end up doing is trying to kill it as it comes,” Ford said. The grass has a tendency to catch fire very easily.
Ford is available for questions at his email oldforester1955@gmail.com.
At the same meeting, several Lions who could not do so at the banquet one week ago picked up their certificates and trophies. Lion of the Year Mary Hughes was among these and is pictured before Ford’s slides with other awarded Lions. From left to right is new Lions president James Bradford, Hughes, Russell Cornelius and Steve Montgomery.
Bradford also announced the club had won SWARK.Today's Readers' Choice Award in 2025 for Best Civic Club. The photo of him holding up the certificate follows that of the award winners.
