An Application to the
Center for Invasive Plant
Management’s
Cooperative Weed Management
Area Support Grant Program – 2006
Cooperative WMA name:
CWMA location:
Year CWMA was established:
January
2001
Contact information:
Agricultural
Commissioner's Office
263
Camino
(805)
681-5600
Total request in this proposal
$
5,000
How many acres overall are encompassed by this project?
5 acres
What types of ecosystems are involved (riparian, alpine, desert, forest,
etc.) in your project area?
Grassland,
riparian and coastal sage scrub habitat.
What is the dominant land use of your
project area?
Nature
reserve/National park for recreation, habitat conservation and cultural
resource conservation.
What species are targeted for control?
Solanum elaeagnifolium, silverleaf nightshade
Cirsium ochrocentrum, yellowspine thistle
What species are targeted for protection?
All of the eleven threatened and endangered plants
on Santa Cruz Island are endemic to the Channel Islands and are threatened by
encroachment by invasive and noxious weeds.
See Attachment A for a list of plant species of concern found on Santa
Cruz Island. Without active concerted
efforts to control invasive and noxious weeds, the total numbers of threatened
and endangered plants and their range extent and distribution will continue to
decline.
Invasive and noxious weeds compete with threatened
and endangered plants for space, sunlight, water and nutrients. Invasive and noxious weeds are often more
competitive because of biological characteristics that allow them to dominate –
high seed production, rapid growth, large size, poisonous content that prevents
browsing, lack of natural enemies, vegetative reproduction, copious litter
production, allelopathy, etc.
Invasive and noxious weeds degrade habitat by
altering ecosystem processes, such as nutrient cycling, soil chemistry,
intensity and frequency of fire, hydrological cycles, sediment deposition and
erosion.
The
result is that plant community structure is altered, native species recruitment
is suppressed and native animal habitat is degraded. This project intends to remove and reduce the
competition from two noxious weeds and change the balance to favor native
animal and plant species including those that are threatened or
endangered.
Organizational Information (20 points)
Who is taking the lead in bringing the group together?
Santa Barbara Chapter of the Audubon Society, a local non-profit
organization.
Who is involved with your CWMA?
The Nature Conservancy
UCSB Natural Reserve System
USGS Channel Islands Field
Station
MOU Members:
Audubon Society Inc.,
Agri-Turf Supplies
Cachuma Resource
Conservation District
California Department of Transportation (Caltrans)
Carpinteria Salt Marsh Friends
Mary Carroll
Community Environmental Council
Growing Solutions
Land Trust for
Montecito Fire Protection District
Native Landscapes
Pacific Vineyard Company
Sierra Consulting and IPM
Los Padres National
Forest
Natural Resources
Conservation Service
Daniel Wilson
What commitment have the CWMA partners made
to the proposed project to date?
Channel Islands Restoration will manage the project, apply
herbicides, create educational materials, create maps and recruit and manage
volunteers.
The Agricultural
Commissioner’s Office will administer the project.
The UCSB
Santa Cruz Island Reserve Program will provide lodging, vehicles and
expertise.
The National
Park Service will provide lodging and expertise.
The Nature Conservancy will provide fuel and
expertise.
The US
Geological Survey, and the Santa
Barbara Botanic Garden are also partners in this project and provide
in-kind services, in the form of expertise, planning and review, and labor.
Island Packers provides transportation at
a reduced cost.
Volunteers provide survey, site
preparation and control labor and pay for their own transport to the islands.
Contributions to the project have been included in
the budget.
Project Need (20
points)
Explain project need (for example, does it involve spread vectors, corridors, a
leading edge, fire rehabilitation, high-priority weed species, isolated
patches, sensitive habitats, etc.). Why is this project or site a high
priority in your CWMA?
Two highly rated noxious weeds can be found on
Santa Cruz Island and Santa Rosa Island.
Santa Cruz Island is part of The Nature Conservancy’s preserve system
and the National Park system. Santa Rosa
Island is part of the National Park system.
Ranching was formerly conducted on both of these islands. The two weeds occur at former ranch
locations. Ranching has been
discontinued within Channel Islands National Park and a concerted effort is
ongoing within the park to restore habitat.
Prime examples of unique habitat, native plants and wildlife can be
found in the park.
Cirsium ochrocentrum is designated by the
California Department of Food and Agriculture as an “A” rated noxious
weed. “A” rated noxious weeds are plants
of know economic importance subject to enforcement action and are the highest
priority for eradication by the CDFA and the SBCWMA. Populations of this weed are of very limited
distribution in
Cirsium ochrocentrum is a patch-forming perennial
that spreads by roots or seeds. Stems,
leaves, and flowers are covered with very sharp, stout spines. Large infestations could ruin a landscape for
recreational activity or wildlife habitat.
Cirsium ochrocentrum is rare in
Solanum elaeagnifolium is designated by the
California Department of Food and Agriculture as a “B” rated noxious weed. “B” rated noxious weeds are plants of known
economic importance. They are regulated
and enforcement action is taken at the discretion of the local agricultural
commissioner, or when found in a nursery.
Populations of this weed are limited in distribution in
Solanum elaeagnifolium is a perennial that
spreads by roots or seeds. Stems are
sparsely covered with short yellow thorns.
The berries and foliage are poisonous to livestock. Large infestations could potentially compete
with native plants for nutrients and moisture.
It is believed to have allelopathic properties (CDFA Encycloweedia).
Solanum elaeagnifolium is rare in
Islands provide a unique opportunity for habitat
restoration. An island provides a
discrete land area for enhancement and protection. An island’s isolation creates a barrier to
the return of invasive species that have been eradicated. Access by humans to
Incipient infestations take fewer resources to
eradicate, based solely on the smaller size of an incipient infestation, than a
fully established, widespread infestation.
Once a species is eradicated, the enhancement of habitat is expected to
last for decades.
Project Management Plan (30 points)
Describe your overall management plan,
including the technologies/tools that will be used to reduce invasive plants
and promote desired habitats.
Four
methods will be employed to eradicate the infestations on both islands:
Survey – Volunteers will be used
to survey known sites and surrounding areas to determine the exact distribution
of the targeted incipient infestations and to gauge the efficacy of herbicide
treatment. The boundaries of the
populations will be recorded using global positioning system (GPS) receivers
for incorporation into a geographic information system (GIS) database.
Herbicide Treatment – Herbicide treatment of
the target plants will occur concurrently with the survey. Volunteers will prepare the area for
herbicide treatment by pruning native vegetation and removing any fruiting
bodies found on target invasive plants.
Treatment using back-pack sprayers will be timed for the wet season when
the plants are vigorously growing and are more susceptible to herbicide
uptake.
Plant native plants – Native plants, as
available, will be planted in Solanum
elaeagnifolium sites to speed
recovery of infested sites. S. elaeagnifolium eradication will be
enhanced by competition from native species.
Coastal sage scrub and grassland species such as Baccharis pilularis, Leymus
condensatus, Artemisia californica
and Nasella pulchra will be
considered. Native plant nurseries are a
new component of the entire restoration effort for the Channel Islands National
Park. A nursery has been established on
Santa Rosa Island, and one is being developed for Santa Cruz Island. The planting effort will be conducted in the
second year of this project.
Educational Materials – Educational materials
will be produced to raise awareness about the infestations among Nature
Conservancy and National Park Service staff and contractors. The materials will highlight the need for
personnel to report any sightings of the target species.
How does your proposed project fit within
the overall CWMA plan?
This project is a component of the Santa Cruz
Island Native Plant Restoration Project, which is supported by the Santa
Barbara County Weed Management Area. The
SBCWMA’s Strategic Plan generally identifies a highly rated noxious weed or invasive
weed designation as a characteristic of its targets, and identifies that
specific habitats are worthy of protection.
|
Species |
Number |
|
Acacia
melanoxylon |
1581 |
|
Albizia
lophantha |
341 |
|
Eucalyptus
camaldulensis |
8814 |
|
Eucalyptus
globulus |
1356 |
|
Pinus
pinea |
303 |
|
Robinia
pseudoacacia |
172 |
|
Schinus
molle |
130 |
|
Tamarix
ramosissima |
122 |
|
Total: |
12,819 |
The Santa Cruz Island Native Plant
Restoration Project has been controlling invasive and noxious weeds for a
number of years and was awarded grants in 2003 and 2004. To date, the project has spent $83,000 of
$105,000 in grant money from the Partners for Fish & Wildlife and the
National Fish & Wildlife Foundation.
The remaining money is committed to the removal of invasive trees on
Santa Cruz Island. The chart at right
quantifies the number and species of trees that have been controlled.
We have also been controlling a number of invasive
and noxious herbaceous species and shrubs including Vinca major, Pennisetum clandestinum, Conium maculatum, Piptatherum
miliaceum, Carpobrotus edulis, Centaurea solstitialis, Centranthus ruber, and
many others. A treatment of Solanum elaeagnifolium and Cirsium ochrocentrum on Santa Rosa Island,
paid for by the County of Santa Barbara, was conducted in 2005.
This
project is conducted under the direction of a steering committee composed of
The Nature Conservancy, Channel Islands National Park, Channel Islands
Restoration, the Agricultural Commissioner's Office, the Santa Barbara Botanic
Garden, UCSB Natural Reserve System Santa Cruz Island Reserve, and the USGS
Channel Islands Field Station.
Describe the prevention/early detection
component of your project.
The limited distribution of these
weeds in
The SBCWMA depends upon the Santa
Barbara County Agricultural Commissioner's Office to conduct its exclusion and
nursery standards program to provide the main part of its prevention and early
detection program. The Agricultural
Commissioner's Office is charged with preventing the introduction and
establishment of noxious species. This
is achieved by daily inspections of incoming shipments via mail and truck of
agricultural and plant products; weed surveys, and nursery standards
inspections.
The National Park Service is
drafting a Non-Native Species Prevention Plan for the
The SBCWMA enjoys the vigilance of its members,
which includes many botanists, for detections of incipient infestations of
invasive and noxious weeds. This
includes the services of the
SBCWMA conducts an education and outreach program
to encourage the agricultural and general public to practice phytosanitary
techniques, report outlying and incipient infestations of invasive weeds, and
support eradication and management projects.
The program includes an annual seminar, speakers on request, brochures,
a website, a monthly newsletter, and news releases.
An outreach and education component
will be designed specifically for this project for staff, professional, and
research visitors to the island. See the
next response for further discussion.
Is there an education or outreach component
to your plan? If so, who is your intended audience and how will you evaluate
success?
The
outreach component of this project will highlight the need for ongoing
monitoring of the targeted invasive plant population by Nature Conservancy and
National Park Service staff and contractors.
Because incipient infestations are difficult to eradicate in a single
year, ongoing monitoring of these populations will ensure the long-term success
of the project. Color printed and
emailed flyers, which will include images of the targeted plants, will be
designed and distributed to Park Service, TNC, and UCSB researchers and staff,
at headquarters, on board boats and at research and housing facilities on the
islands.
Aspects
of this project will also be incorporated into ongoing educational outreach by
the Santa Cruz Island Native Plant Restoration Project. Project personnel make presentations to
community groups promoting the island restoration project on an ongoing
basis. This project to eradicate
incipient populations will highlight the need to prevent future introductions
of non-native flora to the islands.
Also, project volunteers will receive a PowerPoint presentation, which
will include detailed information on this effort to eradicate incipient
populations. Success will be measured by
the number of locations where flyers are posted, the number of presentations
made to community groups and the number of volunteers working on the project/viewing
presentations.
If you are incorporating
education and outreach into your proposed project, how will these activities
result in actual prevention and early detection of invasive plants?
Ongoing
monitoring of incipient populations is a vital component of any eradication
effort. Staff and contractors will
receive information about these infestations and will be asked to report any
sightings of these plants and will be asked to remove and properly dispose of
any fruiting bodies that are seen. The
Santa Cruz Island Native Plant Restoration Project has an ongoing commitment to
eradicate incipient populations on the islands and will follow up on any
sightings of the plants in the future.
This project is a good example of how an incipient population once
introduced can spread in an otherwise pristine environment. Our ongoing outreach program to community
groups and volunteers will raise awareness of the need to prevent the
introduction of non-native flora to the islands.
For more information, visit our websites: www.countyofsb.org/agcomm/wma
and www.channelislandsrestoration.com/sci.
Project Goals (20 points)
If you receive this grant, what will be
accomplished in the next 12 months?
|
First Quarter |
|
|
Project Organization |
|
|
Design/distribute Educational Materials |
|
|
Trip Organization |
|
|
Survey/Treatment |
Conduct survey and treatment (an initial trip to survey
infestation and remove fruiting bodies will take place regardless of the time
of year. Herbicide treatment will only
occur during wet season). |
|
Second Quarter |
|
|
Trip Organization |
|
|
Survey/Treatment |
Conduct survey and treatment |
|
Presentation |
Conduct one public presentation about the project. |
|
Third Quarter |
|
|
Trip Organization |
|
|
Survey/Treatment |
Conduct survey and treatment |
|
Presentation |
Conduct one public presentation about the project. |
Fourth Quarter |
|
|
Trip Organization |
|
|
Survey/Treatment |
Conduct final survey and treatments |
|
Presentation |
Conduct one public presentation about the project. |
|
Final Report |
Prepare final report |
What is your long-term goal for this site?
The SBCWMA and all of the organizations involved in
managing and restoring habitat on the
Budget (10 points)
Budget request: Provide an itemized list of
projected expenses. Make sure it is clear how CIPM grant funding will be used.
|
Project Task |
Est cost |
CIPM |
CIR |
UCSB |
CSB |
NPS |
TNC |
Volunteers |
IPCO |
|
Project
Management, |
$4,500 |
$4,500 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Survey
and prepare site |
$17,280 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
$17,280 |
|
|
Project
Administration |
$12,800 |
|
|
|
$12,000 |
$800 |
|
|
|
|
Lodging |
$672 |
|
|
$560 |
|
$112 |
|
|
|
|
Transportation-Vehicles |
$868 |
|
|
$808 |
|
$60 |
|
|
|
|
Transportation-Boat |