JORDAN LAKE, N.C. — The first thing Thomas Nelson does is look up. The twisting vines of wisteria wind around the tree in tight coils, climbing higher and higher as they struggle toward the light before disappearing into the canopy. 

Then he rests his tools on a dry patch and looks down. He knows that beneath the tangled wisteria, a young tree could be fighting for a chance to survive. 

On Aug. 30, Nelson and another volunteer spent two hours clearing roughly 500 square feet of Jordan Lake’s forest floor. Before reaching for his loppers, Nelson inspected each tangled mound of wisteria, just in case it was concealing a young sweet gum or willow oak rather than a fallen branch.

That small patch is part of a larger fight against invasive plants capable of changing the composition of a forest. At Jordan Lake, volunteers are working to remove Chinese wisteria, an invasive vine that can outcompete native vegetation and form dense stands that leave little room for other plants to grow. But the lake is just one of many ecosystems facing the problem, and restoring an area does not mean the invader is gone. 

“Wisteria fundamentally changes forests,” Nelson said. 

The consequences reach beyond the plants themselves. Nathan Gatlin, an area-specialized forestry agent, said invasive plants can displace vegetation that wildlife depends on and even alter entire soil communities. Disturbances from roads, thinning and clear-cutting can expose the soil, giving invasives a clear opening. Storms can do the same when fallen trees open the canopy. 

At Jordan Lake, Nelson carries hand saws, loppers, pruners, a hedge trimmer and an herbicide-filled dauber. For a young tree wrapped in vines, he cuts carefully around the trunk, severs the vines near the ground, treats the stump and marks the tree with purple flagging tape. Soon, the severed vines begin to brown. 

But wisteria is stubborn. It can send roots and runners in multiple directions, meaning a cleared patch may require several passes. 

“Each underground root has the potential to send up new growth,” Nelson said. 

Ecologist Sam Wright said successful restoration generally requires periodic monitoring and consistent follow-up treatment because invasive plants can return. 

That persistence has not stopped volunteers from trying. Rewild NC founder Steven Feuerstein said the organization works in roughly two dozen parks and preserves around the Triangle, often beginning with “tree triage”: freeing mature native trees before working downward. 

Restoration can bring change. At a Chapel Hill restoration site, Wright has documented 37 native plant species emerging naturally from the seedbank after three years of wisteria removal. 

For Nelson, the scale can be daunting. Volunteers cannot keep pace with every invasive plant. Still, the problem feels smaller when a tree is freed or a patch of forest floor opens again. 

“We may not be able to win the war,” Feuerstein said. “But we can win every battle.” 

After hours of cutting, the forest may only look slightly different. But for the tree underneath, that may mean another chance to grow. ###