RMEF Media Fighting English Ivy in Western Washington

Rodger and Ramona Wallace are no strangers to hard work when it comes to RMEF. With 35 years under their belts volunteering at banquets and on the ground, the couple has also spent more than a decade promoting and coordinating annual volunteer work projects to improve wildlife habitat in western Washington.  

A few years back the couple traded their work gloves for oven mitts so that they could offer their fellow volunteers comfort in the form of a hot potluck lunch, shelter from the often cold and damp Pacific Northwest weather, warmth from a propane firepit and even a porta potty.  

“It’s our thank you to them for coming and doing the work,” Rodger says. 

The “work” involved removing invasive English ivy from the Mossyrock Unit of the 15,420-acre Cowlitz Wildlife Area (WA) near Morton. The WA is owned by Tacoma Power and managed by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW). Elk, deer, black bears, cougars, grouse, turkeys and pileated woodpeckers call the WA home. 

English ivy was first brought to the U.S. in the 1870s to add greenery to homes, buildings, gardens and parks. In western Washington, the aggressive spreader moved beyond its intended boundaries and into wild places, where its densely matted ground cover outcompetes native vegetation and reduces food sources for wildlife. English ivy also grows up tree trunks as high as 60 feet, eventually killing the trees by shading them out and making them more susceptible to disease, rot and wind. 

Nearly 90 volunteers from across western Washington representing RMEF and WDFW’s Master Hunter Permit Program gathered at the WA over back-to-back weekends. Ramona says that some of the same volunteers have been attending these work projects for nearly a decade. 

“It’s a chance for people to come together and catch up once a year,” she says. 

English ivy pulls easily from the ground by hand or rake, especially when soils are saturated from spring rains. Removing ivy from trees takes a bit of ingenuity. Rodger says volunteers loosened ivy growing on live trees with pry bars, then lopped the ivy at 5 feet above the ground before pulling the lower stems and roots out at the base of the tree, essentially cutting off life support and leaving the ivy remaining on the tree to die. 

Volunteers also felled ivy-laden snags and bucked them—along with other downed trees blanketed in ivy—then stripped off the ivy and carted the logs away. The ivy was loaded onto plastic tarps and dragged to a dump truck waiting on a nearby road. All told, the volunteers removed more than 14 tons of ivy, which was hauled to the local landfill. 

Richard Vanderlip, Cowlitz WA manager, says he was skeptical about using volunteers for the project, but that changed when he saw their level of commitment. 

“I remember sitting under the tent, enjoying a fantastic lunch, and thinking, what a great group of people. The camaraderie was undeniable, it felt more like a family gathering than a volunteer project. That same spirit carried through the entire effort.” 

Volunteers returned in 2025 and removed an additional 4,000 pounds of ivy, which Vanderlip says further supports WDFW’s goal of complete eradication of the invasive plant at the site. 

“Its presence is now small and manageable, and native plant diversity is already rebounding,” he says. “Thanks to the dedication of RMEF volunteers, I’m confident we’re on the path to winning this battle.” 

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