Hello
WMA Newsletter Subscribers:
Here is
a newsletter for June 2005. Please note that CEC’s Arundo Workshop on June
18th has been cancelled. Also, I encourage you to watch GATV
(channel 20) during July for a series of television programs on invasive weeds.
The program schedule can be seen at http://www.gscares.com/GATV/programSchedule.asp.
****************************************
NEWS
****************************************
July 18th –
24th is California Invasive Weeds Awareness
Week
The second annual California Invasive
Weeds Awareness Week allows local groups that control invasive plants a chance
to show off their hard work while educating local citizens and policymakers.
Weeds Week is a project of the California Invasive Weeds Awareness
Coalition (CALIWAC), with local activities organized by Weed Management
Areas and other groups.
In Santa Barbara
County, five different educational programs on invasive weeds – arundo, brooms,
pampas grass, yellow starthistle, and plant invaders – will be shown on the
county’s government access TV channel 20, during July in association with
California Invasive Weeds Awareness Week. Take advantage of this
opportunity to learn more about some of the invasive weed problems, and how to
control the weeds, that occur in California. The schedule will be posted a
week before July at http://www.gscares.com/GATV/programSchedule.asp.
Other counties’ activities can be
found at: http://groups.ucanr.org/ceppc/California_Invasive_Weed_Awarness_Coalition/California_Invasive_Weeds_Awareness_Week.htm
Carla D’Antonio Joins UCSB’s
faculty
The University of California at Santa
Barbara recently appointed Carla D’Antonio as the Schuyler Endowed Chair and a
Professor in Environmental Studies. Carla is a leader in the field of
conservation biology and has published many significant papers on invasive
weeds. Her inaugural lecture on May 13, 2005 was titled “Invasive Species
in the Landscape: Merging the Science of Invasion Processes with
Management Needs.” Her current research topics include controls over
biological invasions by non-indigenous plant species; feedback between
population and ecosystem processes in plants; plant effects on soil resources;
and processes controlling plant population dynamics particularly of non-native
plants.
Carla also brings her husband, Tom
Dudley, to Santa Barbara County. Previously, Tom was on the research
faculty at the University of Nevada at Reno conducting research on invasive
weeds. He was also a past member of the board of directors of the
California Invasive Plant Council.
The Santa Barbara County Weed
Management Area welcomes Carla and Tom to Santa Barbara
County.
TAdN Adding Contractors to List of
Resources
Team Arundo del Norte is compiling a
list of contractors in northern and central California who do weed removal for a
variety of invasives (not just Arundo) and revegetation work. Periodically
they receive requests for such a list.
If you would like to be added to the
list, please send your company name, contact person, address, phone, email, a
description of the services you provide, and the geographical area you cover, to
the Sonoma Ecology Center; P.O. Box 1486; Eldridge, CA 95431; 707-996-0712, ext.
104 (Tue., Thu.); Fax: 707-996-2452; arundo@comcast.net.
Congress Considers Pest Management
and Fire Suppression Flexibility Act
Congress is considering amendments, HR
1749, to the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to allow the activities
below without permits being required by states or other entities. This is an
effort to overcome the Talent decision's effect of requiring NPDES permits for
aquatic treatment even when using an herbicide registered for that
use.
If passed, the amendment would affirm
that NPDES permits would not be needed for: (1) the proper use of a pesticide
that is registered or otherwise approved for use under the Federal Insecticide,
Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act; (2) the use by or in cooperation with the
Federal or State government of a fire retardant, chemical, or water for fire
suppression, control, or prevention in accordance with relevant Federal
guidelines; (3) silvicultural activities except for specified point source
activities; and (4) the use of biological control organisms for the prevention,
control, or eradication of plant pests or noxious weeds pursuant to specified
provisions of the Plant Protection Act.
For more information, visit:
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?c109:1:./temp/~c109hKfK8q::
****************************************
Educational
Events
****************************************
Arundo Control Workshop Has Been
Cancelled
CANCELLED! >
The Community
Environmental Council has cancelled the arundo control workshop it was
sponsoring. It was to be held on June 18, 2005, 10:00 AM - 12:00 Noon;
Watershed Resource Center, Arroyo Burro Beach County Park < CANCELLED!
Save the Date! 2005
SBCWMA Noxious Weeds Seminar
The Santa Barbara County Weed
Management Area has scheduled its fifth noxious weeds seminar. The seminar
will be held on September 14th, 2005 at the Royal Scandinavian Inn in
Solvang, California.
The theme of this year's seminar is
"Riparian Weeds". Scheduled to appear: Mona Robison - Cape Ivy Biology
& Distribution; Joe Balciunas - Cape Ivy Biocontrol; Jason Giessow - Arundo
Control; Tom Dudley – Biocontrol of Riparian Weeds - Arundo and Tamarisk;
Maureen Spencer & Tom Lockhart - Habitat Restoration & Stabilizing
Streambanks; and Ken Owen - Santa Cruz Island Project and Vinca Control.
Registration will begin in July.
For more information: http://www.countyofsb.org/agcomm/wma/WMASeminar.htm
Fire and Chaparral Seminar
The Forest Service, San Diego Natural
History Museum, San Diego Fire Lab, and the San Diego Fire Recovery Network are
sponsoring a free collaborative learning seminar titled “Living with Fire in
Chaparral Ecosystems. Providing Tools for Decision Makers.”
The overall goals are to: (1) Improve
cross-professional knowledge of wildfire in chaparral; (2) Provide a stronger
link between science and management decisions; (3) Offer tools to decision
makers. The interdisciplinary audience will include fire managers,
fire-safe councils, architects and landscape architects, biologists, land
managers, realtors, leaders and government officials, public agency personnel,
and other stakeholders. The format will ensure and request an active
contribution from each participant on issues such as: the house and homesite;
habitats and watersheds; community fire planning and
policies.
The seminar will be held on June
16th, 2005 at the Reagan Library in Pasadena and on June
23rd, 2005 at the Anaheim campus of the School of Continuing
Education. For more information visit: http://www.sdnhm.org/chaparral/index.html
**********************************************
Sincerely,
David
Chang
Agricultural Commissioner's Office
County
of Santa Barbara
263
Camino del Remedio
Santa
Barbara CA 93110
(805)
681-5600
http://www.agcommissioner.com/wma
You have
received this message because you are on the list to receive news about the
SBCWMA. If you do not want to receive these messages, click
here to reply to this email and place “Remove WMA NEWS” in the subject
line. For more information about the SBCWMA visit http://www.countyofsb.org/agcomm/WMA