Landscapers clear more acres of overgrown, invasive plants in Thompson Park
Sep. 21—WATERTOWN — Park-goers can soon enjoy a section of Thompson Park that they haven't been able to in generations.
The city is continuing its efforts to remove invasive species in the historic park.
A Rochester area tree expert, Tri-State Clearing & Tree Service, has been contracted to clear another 5 acres of undesirable species that had gobbled up the park and hidden parts that had not been seen for decades.
Once that work is done, folks will get "a better view of the park," and see what it was supposed to be like when the park was originally designed more than 100 years ago.
"People will be able to enjoy more of the park in its natural environment," said city planner Michael J. DeMarco, who has served as the city's urban forestry coordinator since 2016.
The Pittsford company submitted a successful bid of $75,750 to complete the work.
They've already started clearing the invasive species — European buckthorn, honeysuckle and bittersweet — from key sections of the park near the Gotham Street entrance, the overlook area and adjacent to the Thompson Park Golf Course parking lot.
On a sunny late summer day, a six-man crew began the work on Monday. Two machine operators used a forestry mower and a 30-ton excavator to tear apart and crush the overgrown brush, while a laborer manned with a chain saw cut up smaller branches.
With the sound of a chain saw buzzing in the background, general superintendent Adam J. Cowley said that the work is going fast, despite the thickest buckthorn he'd ever seen.
"It was nasty, nasty stuff," he said.
The project should be completed within the next two weeks, Cowley said. Once it's cleared, the area will be prepped for replanting grasses and trees.
Two summers ago, another company removed 11 acres of the invasive plants that overtook many of the park's once pastoral lawns and woodland edges.
These days, two other park projects also are underway. Nearby, work is in full swing to create a new section of asphalt trails on the western side of the park. And a roof will be installed on the historic bandstand.
In 2018, volunteers and members of the Friends of Thompson Park, a group dedicated to the 355-acre park, also started gathering one Saturday a month in the summer months and into the fall to work on Thompson Park's trail system.
The improvements began with volunteers using tools to remove brush by hand to widen trails, create new ones and reopen underutilized portions of the park.
Under the guidance of former City Manager Kenneth A. Mix, the city's Thompson Park expert, initiated retaining a tree company to clear large areas of the park.
The park was designed in the early 20th century by John and Frederick Law Olmsted Jr., sons of Frederick Law Olmsted, who designed New York City's Central Park and many other parks throughout the United States.
