Vote to help our community!

Hi, my name is Linda Hughes and I'm a constituent from Williamsburg. I'm calling today to ask you to vote YES on HB109 by Delegate Holly Seibold, YES on HB88 by Delegate Amy Laufer, and YES on HB388 by Delegate Katrina Callsen. I'm a certified Virginia Master Naturalist and I know first hand how Invasive plants are costing Virginians millions of dollars each year and destroy native ecosystems that support pollinators & wildlife. These bills will help stop the spread of invasive plants across the Commonwealth by allowing regulators to add plants to the Noxious Weeds List based on merit & science, by ensuring that invasive plants are not planted along our state highways, by empowering local jurisdictions to raise funds to treat & control invasive plants, and by giving state agencies flexibility to use volunteers to help control invasive plants on state lands. Together these bills will support Virginia’s efforts to combat invasive plants and the damages they are causing to our farms, our forests, our health, our parks, and our economy. And, vote YES on Delegate Jessica Anderson's HB 291. As a Wildlife transporter I see far too many beautiful birds & mammals entangled by fishing line often killing them. Thank you.

I would like to limit invasive species in Va. Therefore I am encouraging voting yes for these bills.

Speaking as the 'volunteer-in-chief' of a watershed stewardship 501(c)3 in west Falls Church/eastern Fairfax County/west end Alexandria with 340 members, I can attest to the damage to our stream valleys and parks by invasive plants that have made the leap from residents' yards. Last year, alone, volunteers in our watershed logged about 2,500 hours in invasive removal, including rescuing close to 1,000 trees. Most volunteers I train are unaware until they see it with their own eyes, and once they see it, they are appalled that such plants are still widely available. We support HB109 to close the loophole in what qualifies as 'noxious' plants. The loss of biodiversity in stream valleys, parks and edge spaces to invasive monocultures not only impacts wildlife, it undermines the essential benefits of such spaces to humans: SWM, clean air/water, less heat islands, temp regulation, filtration, carbon sequestration, etc. According to the National Bureau of Economic Research (July 2024), localized species loss has two effects: Reducing both the productivity of an ecosystem function AND that system's resilience to further species loss. In other words, biodiversity loss has a compounding impact on the ecosystem which in turn ultimately reaches the economy, too. The solution: Proactively address threats to biodiversity before their harmful impacts fully materialize. Removing infestations of harmful plants after the fact is hard enough. Support HB109 to also turn off the spigot!

We must do better to protect our natural surroundings. Invasive plants are costing Virginians millions of dollars each year. These bills will help stop the spread of invasive plants across the Commonwealth by allowing regulators to add plants to the Noxious Weeds List based on merit and science, by ensuring that invasive plants are not planted along our state highways, by empowering local jurisdictions to raise funds to treat and control invasive plants, and by giving state agencies flexibility to use volunteers to help control invasive plants on state lands.

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Invasive plants are costing Virginians millions of dollars each year. These bills will help stop the spread of invasive plants across the Commonwealth by allowing regulators to add plants to the Noxious Weeds List based on merit and science, by ensuring that invasive plants are not planted along our state highways, by empowering local jurisdictions to raise funds to treat and control invasive plants, and by giving state agencies flexibility to use volunteers to help control invasive plants on state lands.

I support these bills: HB109 HB88 HB388 SB163

Please vote yes.

HB 109, we need immediate action on this. Vote yes and save our state from further native tree and native plant losses. Invasive plants don't stay where you plant them. They can not be controlled.

With the reduction in areas that sustain our wildlife, we need to plant for wildlife. Invasives are blank space.

Hello, my name is Renee Kitt, and I'm a constituent from Warrenton, if Fauquier County. I'm writing today to ask you to vote YES on HB109 by Delegate Holly Seibold, YES on HB88 by Delegate Amy Laufer, YES on HB388 by Delegate Katrina Callsen, and YES on SB163 by Senator Ryan McDougle. Invasive plants are costing Virginians millions of dollars each year. These bills will help stop the spread of invasive plants across the Commonwealth by allowing regulators to add plants to the Noxious Weeds List based on merit and science, by ensuring that invasive plants are not planted along our state highways, by empowering local jurisdictions to raise funds to treat and control invasive plants, and by giving state agencies flexibility to use volunteers to help control invasive plants on state lands. Together these bills will support Virginia’s efforts to combat invasive plants and the damages they are causing to our farms, our forests, our health, our parks, and our economy. Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to hearing about Mr. Michael J. Webert's efforts to address this critical issue. I would like to add that I am an active volunteer that works to remove invasive plants from The Clifton Institute and I have removed invasive plants from my acre of land that I own and have planted all Virginia native plants in my yard. Doing my part. I have received a VCAP award as well for the work I am doing on my property. This means so much to me that I started a business helping others do the same. We need the state to start doing what the citizens have been doing for years and we help. Please vote yes on this important bill. Thank you, Renee D. Kitt

Hello, my name is Sharon Moore, and I'm a constituent from Charlottesville, VA. I'm writing today to ask you to vote YES on HB109 by Delegate Holly Seibold. Invasive plants are costing Virginians millions of dollars each year. These bills will help stop the spread of invasive plants across the Commonwealth by allowing regulators to add plants to the Noxious Weeds List based on merit and science, by ensuring that invasive plants are not planted along our state highways, by empowering local jurisdictions to raise funds to treat and control invasive plants, and by giving state agencies flexibility to use volunteers to help control invasive plants on state lands. Together these bills will support Virginia’s efforts to combat invasive plants and the damages they are causing to our farms, our forests, our health, our parks, and our economy. Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to hearing about the efforts to address this critical issue.

Please vote Yes.

Hello, my name is Sue Puleo, and I'm a constituent from Delaplane, VA I'm writing today to ask you to vote YES on HB109 by Delegate Holly Seibold, Also encouraging you to vote YES on HB88 by Delegate Amy Laufer, YES on HB388 by Delegate Katrina Callsen, and YES on SB163 by Senator Ryan McDougle. Invasive plants are costing Virginians millions of dollars each year. These bills will help stop the spread of invasive plants across the Commonwealth by allowing regulators to add plants to the Noxious Weeds List based on merit and science, by ensuring that invasive plants are not planted along our state highways, by empowering local jurisdictions to raise funds to treat and control invasive plants, and by giving state agencies flexibility to use volunteers to help control invasive plants on state lands. Together these bills will support Virginia’s efforts to combat invasive plants and the damages they are causing to our farms, our forests, our health, our parks, and our economy. Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to hearing about [Delegate Name]'s efforts to address this critical issue.

As a Master Naturalist, I spend a great deal of time eradicating invasive vines from area forests. Some of the worst are English ivy and wisteria. They both kill trees in natural settings, yet they can still be found being sold in some stores. It needs to stop. Please vote "yes" on HB109 by Delegate Holly Seibold,

I am submitting this written testimony in strong support of House Bill 109, which amends Virginia's noxious weed laws to remove the exclusion for plants (or parts thereof) that are commercially viable or propagated in-state, and eliminates the requirement for the Noxious Weeds Advisory Committee to analyze in-state commercial viability and economic impacts before recommending a designation. My name is Jonathan Hoover and I reside in Warrenton, Virginia. I work in the re-wholesale industry of plants, where I witness known invasive or toxic plants being sold daily to retailers, landscapers, and consumers across the state. In my daily work, I handle and see species that are widely recognized as invasive—plants that aggressively outcompete native vegetation, degrade biodiversity, disrupt ecosystems, reduce habitat for pollinators and wildlife, and cause lasting environmental damage. These plants continue to flow through the supply chain unchecked because Virginia's current law includes a "commercial viability" loophole: profitable species are shielded from being designated noxious or restricted from sale, even when clear evidence shows their harm. I am choosing to support this bill precisely because I want to help save our environment rather than continue to profit from these plants. While my industry benefits from selling these invasives in the short term, the long-term costs to Virginia's native ecosystems, wildlife, water quality, farmland, and overall natural heritage far outweigh any individual or business gains. Prioritizing profit over protection is unsustainable and irresponsible. Virginia needs stricter restrictions on the sale and propagation of known invasive plants, similar to those in other states that have acted decisively to ban or regulate them without destroying their nursery sectors. HB109 provides a science-based solution by removing commercial and economic considerations from noxious weed decisions, allowing the Board of Agriculture and Consumer Services to focus on ecological health and responsible stewardship. This change would give us real tools to curb the spread of invasives, protect biodiversity, and stop the ongoing harm—before more damage is done. I urge the committee to report HB109 favorably (with or without the subcommittee substitute) and advance it to a full House vote without delay. As someone in the plant wholesale trade who sees the problem every day and is willing to forgo profits tied to harmful species, I believe this bill is essential and overdue. Thank you for considering this testimony and for addressing these critical environmental issues.

I’m writing to urge a YES vote on HB109, introduced by our Town of Vienna delegate, Holly Seibold. I work with many other volunteers to protect our local ecosystems from the damage caused by invasive species. Season after season, year after year, we work to remove invasive plants. At times it seems futile. The invasive threat is not unique to Vienna. Driving from Vienna on the highway, heading toward Winchester, there are horrifying examples of invasive vines that have overtaken and smothered trees, a truly dystopian and sickening outcome. Along that same stretch I’ve seen State of Virginia workers spraying the invasive overgrowth. It doesn’t make common or fiscal sense for workers to be spraying invasive plants in the absence of proactive, sensible measures, such as identifying and adding invasive plants species to the Noxious Weed List. Every generation has an obligation to protect, preserve, and maintain the legacy of Virginia's natural resources for future generations. Please vote yes on HB109 for the benefit of our current and future generations Thank you for your consideration, Lea Giovanniello

Hello, my name is Clover Carroll, and I'm a constituent from Crozet. I'm calling today to ask you to vote YES on HB109 by Delegate Holly Seibold. Invasive plants are costing Virginians millions of dollars each year. These bills will help stop the spread of invasive plants across the Commonwealth by allowing regulators to add plants to the Noxious Weeds List based on merit and science, by ensuring that invasive plants are not planted along our state highways, by empowering local jurisdictions to raise funds to treat and control invasive plants, and by giving state agencies flexibility to use volunteers to help control invasive plants on state lands. This bill will support Virginia’s efforts to combat invasive plants and the damages they are causing to our farms, our forests, our health, our parks, and our economy. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Hello, my name is Olivia Gathright, and I'm a constituent from Scottsville. I'm writing today to ask you to vote YES on HB109 by Delegate Holly Seibold, YES on HB88 by Delegate Amy Laufer, YES on HB388 by Delegate Katrina Callsen, and YES on SB163 by Senator Ryan McDougle. Invasive plants are costing Virginians millions of dollars each year. These bills will help stop the spread of invasive plants across the Commonwealth by allowing regulators to add plants to the Noxious Weeds List based on merit and science, by ensuring that invasive plants are not planted along our state highways, by empowering local jurisdictions to raise funds to treat and control invasive plants, and by giving state agencies flexibility to use volunteers to help control invasive plants on state lands. Together these bills will support Virginia’s efforts to combat invasive plants and the damages they are causing to our farms, our forests, our health, our parks, and our economy. Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to hearing about efforts to address this critical issue.

As a former outdoor worker and horticulturalist, I fully support this bill. The fact is, most problematic invasive and introduced plants arrived via the horticulture trade, and it is bad enough that they escaped cultivation and are taking over wild spaces, but are still being sold. I spent several weeks hunting down and cutting every last callery/Bradford pear tree I could find in Claude Moore Park in Loudoun when I worked there a few years ago, and I estimated over 100 removals. My neighbor had just planted one in their front yard. The same problem exists with dozens of other species as well. Virginia has such a rich natural heritage that is very rapidly being lost to invasive plants left unchecked by humans; the scale is also so large, that even active management is frequently not enough to curb their spread. Furthermore, with the number of yards and developed areas ever-increasing in Virginia, the space the invasive plants take up in cultivated spaces reduce the capacity for wildlife greatly as well. Native and non-invasive plants are beautiful and demand is there, but with little desire from the nursery trade to change habits despite the harm they know they cause, this bill should help address that.

I support this bill by Del. Seibold to eliminate the loophole for the sale of noxious plants in the commonwealth.

I support this bill to limit the sale of invasive plants. This is a common sense step to reducing the damage these plants do to the ecosystem by reducing habitat as well as the destruction they cause to other properties as invasive seeds are spread by wind and birds. Thank you.

I support this bill by Del. Seibold to eliminate the loophole for the sale of noxious plants in the commonwealth. These plants are causing damage far beyond the capability to try to control them. Thank you.

I support this bill by Del. Seibold to eliminate the loophole for the sale of noxious plants in the commonwealth. These plants are causing damage far beyond the capability to try to control them. Thank you.

Please pass this legislation! I cannot believe English Ivy, Euonymus, and several other of the plant, shrub, and tree species listed by the VA Dept of Conservation and Recreation as non native invasive species are still sold in the state. Does this make sense? They should be prohibited in the state period. It's past time to codify growers and sellers of these non-native invasive species which cost homeowners (not to mention volunteer organizations and the state government) hundreds of dollars to remove. Personally I've been working on removing 15 non-native invasive species from less than .25 acre of land for 8 years now, and also work on removing them from our HOA common area. I'm suppose to be retired.

Please support HB 109, HB 88 and HB 388 as invasive plants are crowding out our native species, causing an ecological disruption with our wildlife and pollinators and costing millions of dollars to remediate. There are plenty of good native alternatives.

Please vote YES on HB109 by Delegate Holly Seibold Invasive plants are costing Virginians millions of dollars each yearas they ruin our forests and landscapes. This bill will be a means to educate the nursery industry and homeowners to find better plants to use while preventing the continued promotion of these noxious plants.

Hello, Please vote YES on HB109 by Delegate Holly Seibold, Invasive plants are costing Virginians millions of dollars each year. These bills will help stop the spread of invasive plants across the Commonwealth by allowing regulators to add plants to the Noxious Weeds List based on merit and science, by ensuring that invasive plants are not planted along our state highways, by empowering local jurisdictions to raise funds to treat and control invasive plants, and by giving state agencies flexibility to use volunteers to help control invasive plants on state lands. Together these bills will support Virginia’s efforts to combat invasive plants and the damages they are causing to our farms, our forests, our health, our parks, and our economy. I am presently working on the removal of invasive plants on my own property. This is something that is very important to me, my friends and my neighbors. Thank you for your time and consideration. Best, Margaret Carter

Invasive species need to be removed from the sources to prevent further spread and destroying our native environment. They reduce the natural inhabitants that our state needs.

I have been gardening in Albemarle County, and the City of Charlottesville, for over 30 years. I have been focusing on invasive plant removal and gardening with native plants for many years now. Invasive plants are costing Virginians millions of dollars each year. HB109, HB88, HB388/SB89, and SB163 will help stop the spread of invasive plants across the Commonwealth by allowing regulators to add plants to the Noxious Weeds List based on merit and science, by ensuring that invasive plants are not planted along our state highways, by empowering local jurisdictions to raise funds to treat and control invasive plants, and by giving state agencies flexibility to use volunteers to help control invasive plants on state lands. Together these bills will support Virginia’s efforts to combat invasive plants and the damages they are causing to our farms, our forests, our health, our parks, and our economy. It's well past time to be planning for the next 100 years, and a diverse native ecosystem is a vital piece of that plan.

Invasive plants cost the citizens (and taxpayers) of Virginia in multiple ways. Invasive plants cause harm by reducing agricultural yields, devastating timberland, and destroying the native habitats that are crucial to keeping our watersheds clean and supporting our wildlife and natural heritage. Coping with invasive plants also costs the taxpayers of Virginia something like $1 billion each year. It's time to stop protecting the profits of narrow business interests in ways that permit the continued, unnecessary sale of plants that are known to cause such devastating environmental and economic harm. Moreover, a lengthy "phase in" of the change to Virginia Law proposed in HB109 can serve only to prolong the wasteful continuance of current practices. If a phase-in must be considered, it should be as brief as possible in order to arrest further harm to the Commonwealth and its citizens.

Invasive plants cost the citizens (and taxpayers) of Virginia in multiple ways. Invasive plants cause harm by reducing agricultural yields, devastating timberland, and destroying the native habitats that are crucial to keeping our watersheds clean and supporting our wildlife and natural heritage. Coping with invasive plants also costs the taxpayers of Virginia something like $1 billion each year. It's time to stop protecting the profits of narrow business interests in ways that permit the continued, unnecessary sale of plants that are known to cause such devastating environmental and economic harm. Moreover, a lengthy "phase in" of the change to Virginia Law proposed in HB109 can serve only to prolong the wasteful continuance of current practices. If a phase-in must be considered, it should be as brief as possible in order to arrest further harm to the Commonwealth and its citizens.

Invasive plants cost Virginians millions of dollars each year. This bill, along with HB 88, HB 388/SB89, and SB 163, will help stop the spread of invasive plants across the Commonwealth by allowing regulators to add plants to the Noxious Weeds List based on merit and science, by ensuring that invasive plants are not planted along our state highways, by empowering local jurisdictions to raise funds to treat and control invasive plants, and by giving state agencies flexibility to use volunteers to help control invasive plants on state lands. Together these bills will support Virginia’s efforts to combat invasive plants and the damages they are causing to our farms, our forests, our health, our parks, and our economy.

I'm writing today to ask you to vote YES on HB109 by Delegate Holly Seibold, YES on HB88 by Delegate Amy Laufer, YES on HB388 by Delegate Katrina Callsen, and YES on SB163 by Senator Ryan McDougle.

Please support HB109. We have a farm in Albemarle County and the invasive weed problem continues to encroach on our woodlands and pastures. My husband spends countless hours every year working to control them but it is a losing battle. Many of the most pernicious invasive weeds were sent here as ornamentals and several continue to be sold by some nurseries. Please support HB 109 and also HB88 and HB388. More needs to be done to control these damaging invasives and this legislation will help.

Invasive plants are costing Virginians millions of dollars each year. This bill will help stop the spread of invasive plants across the Commonwealth by allowing regulators to add plants to the Noxious Weeds List based on merit and science. Thi bills will support Virginia’s efforts to combat invasive plants and the damages they are causing to our farms, our forests, our health, our parks, and our economy.

I support this bill as a step to reduce the prevalence of alien invasive plants that are destroying native vegetation in my neighborhood and along a trail I maintain in Shenandoah National Park. I have spent hundreds of hours reducing and slowing invasive plants in these area and welcome measures to prevent the invasive plant problem from increasing.

Invasive species are actively destroying our abundant natural resources in VA. This is done for the profit of a select few while at the expense of the greater population and especially, the environments we all depend upon. We are home to thousands of beautiful and intricately evolved native plants that have developed over millions of years to be suited to our scenic Commonwealth. Nurseries that set up shop here should reflect our native selections and do their part in NOT causing ACTIVE harm to nature. It should be a basic requirement that nurseries and landscaping companies do NOT work to undermine our natural capital (that is already under threat by many invasive pests and diseases!) by selling invasive species. Allowing them to continue business as usual is a disservice to the qualities that make Virginia unique, across environmental, social, and cultural boundaries. There are simply too many invasive species to contain and control nowadays and land managers are drowning in lost time, money, and broken backs from all the physical labor. Not to mention the existential heartbreak of seeing yet another species go extinct, or a natural area get overrun by invasive vines. The native splendor we all want to conserve for our communities and future generations is rapidly diminishing. When you have a leak in your sink, patching the leak is futile when the water is still running. First, you MUST turn off the faucet. This is the same principle as dealing with invasives. Stop the flow of damaging invasives into our environment and only then can we begin to start to heal! Thank you for your time.

I'm a constituent from Charlottesville, and I'm asking you to vote YES on HB109 by Delegate Holly Seibold, Invasive plants are costing Virginians millions of dollars each year. This bill would help stop the spread of invasive plants across the Commonwealth by allowing regulators to add plants to the Noxious Weeds List based on merit and science, by ensuring that invasive plants are not planted along our state highways, by empowering local jurisdictions to raise funds to treat and control invasive plants, and by giving state agencies flexibility to use volunteers to help control invasive plants on state lands. This bill, along with HB88, HB388, and SB163, would support Virginia’s efforts to combat invasive plants and the damages they are causing to our farms, our forests, our health, our parks, and our economy.

Please support this bill. My family has spent more than a thousand man-hours and a fair bit of money trying to eliminate and knock back invasive plants on our property. We need the state (VDOT) and legislators to do their part to stop loophole sales and making excuses about the problems with these non-native, aggressive and costly (invasive) plants. Sincerely, William Benish Verona (Augusta County)

I support HB 109, which removes outdated protections that allow invasive plants to remain legal simply because they are commercially sold. Virginia needs science-based authority to stop known invasive species at the source.

Invasives should be pulled or killed by herbicide and not be permitted to be sold in nurseries

Support HB109. Currently, any species that is sold commercially in Virginia cannot be designated as a noxious weed. This means many invasives that have significant negative impacts on the environment and economy remain on the shelf at plant stores. As a volunteer site leader for habitat restoration in Fairfax County, it’s frustrating to spend so much time leading hundreds of volunteers a year to remove invasives while local garden centers continue to sell them.

Environment Virginia is a non-profit organization with thousands of members across Virginia. Managing invasive species and protecting native pollinators and wildlife are priorities for us and our members. We thank Delegate Seibold for introducing HB 109 and express our support for it. We want more nature in Virginia where wildlife can thrive, clean water can flow and old trees can grow. Invasive plant species get in the way of this. English ivy covers entire portions of the James River Park system, trail crews are overwhelmed by kudzu on the Appalachian Trail, and farmers cannot keep up with the Callery pear trees spreading rapidly throughout the Shenandoah Valley. Not only do invasive species cause a headache for anyone managing land, they outcompete native plants. Native plants are pollinator powerhouses and feed Virginia’s more than 400 native bees. Our mountain mint is a favorite during a monarch’s migration. Our white oaks are habitat to countless critters. And our gorgeous Virginia bluebells have festivals dedicated to them. Stopping the spread of invasive plant species is critical to protecting Virginia’s wild spaces and wildlife. Of the 103 species DCR lists as invasive, 26 are additionally classified as ‘noxious weeds.’ Noxious weed designation requires the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to manage the spread of that species and allows for the complete ban of selling or transporting the species. Because of this, designating species as noxious weeds is one of the strongest policy tools available for managing invasives. Currently, any species that is sold commercially in Virginia is not eligible for noxious weed designation. This means many invasives that have significant negative impacts on the environment and economy remain on the shelf at plant stores. HB 109 will remove the exclusion of commercially viable plants from noxious weed designation. This will allow the powerful noxious weed rule to be applied to any invasive with significant harm to the environment, economy, or public health. Please take action on invasives and vote YES on HB 109.

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