Visitors at the Brownsville Historic Battlefield Hike and Bike Trail have noticed city workers clearing out vegetation along the trail.

The city says this is needed.

“We went into the battlefield trail to remove five Brazilian pepper trees, and they happened to be extremely overgrown, so when we did that removal, it became a sore spot for some of our trail goers,” Brownsville Parks and Recreation Director Sean De Palma said. 

De Palma said the trees were moved because they were overgrown and killing native plants.

“These exotic plants are really aggressive,” De Palma said. “They choke out our native trees and native vegetation, and end up damaging our ecosystem and our wildlife."

De Palma said the city plans to check for invasive trees at all 37 miles of trails and parks in Brownsville.

Once the trees are removed, the area will be replanted with native plants.

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