Several Decorah trail areas will temporarily close this week while city crews treat invasive plants, including Japanese barberry, buckthorn and Japanese knotweed. The work is scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 21, and Thursday, Oct. 22, if weather and other conditions permit.
Where treatment is planned
In the Phelps Park trail system, Japanese barberry and buckthorn will be cut and stump-treated with glyphosate along the Upper Broadway Trail and above the Upper Phelps Park Trail. The affected section is beyond the second bridge from the Park Maintenance Shop.
A small area near the Canoe Landing, adjacent to Pulpit Rock Road, is scheduled for treatment on Thursday with aquatic-label imazapyr for Japanese knotweed. Also Thursday, segments of the Northeast Trail Zone in Carlson Park will be sprayed and spot-treated with glufosinate for buckthorn.
Closures and public notice
All treated areas will be closed until 24 hours after application, which is the stated re-entry period. Signs will remain in place for 96 hours and will include additional information about the applications.
The schedule comes from a Monday, Oct. 19, 2026, press release issued by Decorah Parks and Recreation. The release identifies Marc Holtey, the department’s parks and recreation director, as the press contact and lists the department’s phone number as 563-382-4158.
Residents planning to use the affected trails should follow the temporary closures and posted instructions while the work is underway. Because the treatments are conditional on suitable conditions, the timing may change if those conditions are not met.