Hello SBCWMA Newsletter
Subscribers:
Voice your support for noxious weed management by sending a letter in support of
AB 2749 and for the appropriation of funds for the Noxious Weed Control and
Eradication Act of 2004, officially P.L.108-412. See the details in the
news items below. Contact me if you need more information on this.
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News
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AB2749 Introduced to Renew Funding
for WMAs Mar 12,
2006
Assemblyman Villines, working with Assemblyman Cogdill,
has introduced AB 2479 to provide $2.5 million to WMAs in California. This
is a big step forward, but it will only be successful if weed workers show their
support. AB 2479
(Villines) was introduced to renew funding for the WMA program. It will
take a lot of work to get it passed, and your support is vital. We need you to
send a letter of support for AB 2479 on your organization's letterhead, and to
get other organizations in the WMA to do the same right away. For more
information, a sample letter and instructions, see http://www.cal-ipc.org/day_at_the_capitol/State_legislation.html.
Appropriations Committee Meeting This
Thursday – Urgent Send a Letter
Today
The Congressional Appropriations Committee is meeting this Thursday, March
16th to consider funding for the Noxious Weed Control and Eradication
Act of 2004, P.L. 108-412, which was signed by the president and authorized at
$15 million. Federal funds have not been allocated yet. A Dear
Colleague letter is circulating among congressmen requesting
appropriations. Representatives Joel Hefley and Mike Thompson are
co-authors. Reps. Radanovich, Calvert, Costa, Woolsey and Davis have
signed.
This funding will go to cooperative weed management areas – local stakeholder
groups that include private landowners, local, state and federal agencies, non
governmental organizations and private industry.
Please consider sending a letter to your congressman to request that they
support appropriations for this Act by requesting that they sign onto that Dear
Colleague letter. In Santa Barbara County our congressmen are Elton Gallegly and Lois Capps. http://www.house.gov/writerep/
Redesigned National Invasive Species
Website Feb 1,
2006
The National Invasive Species Information Center (NISIC)
at the National Agricultural Library (NAL) has launched a redesigned Web site
making it easier to find information about invasive
species.
Users can more quickly find the information they need.
Browse for information by invasive species type - aquatic species, plants,
animals and microbes--or by other topics, such as economic impacts, laws and
regulations, management, or news and events.
Species profiles are core to the Web site; more than 80
profiles are currently available, with new profiles added every year. All types
of invasive species are profiled, including the northern snakehead fish, cane
toad, brown tree snake, fire ants, nutria, West Nile Virus, water hyacinth, and
kudzu.
The website address is: http://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/
New Video/DVD on English Ivy as an
Invasive Weed Feb
24, 2006
Leif Joslyn has completed his video/DVD presentation on
English ivy. The contents:
Part 1. Context and
Concerns
- Elton's Warning & What is a
Weed?
- cultural history - urban and
wildland impacts
- other
views
- id& life
cycle
- focus - threat to coast redwood
secosystem
People with starring roles - John Peter Thompson of
Behnke's nursery, Sarah Reichard, Jo Roberts ...
The video/DVD can be purchased for $25. You can
obtain all the information you need for purchasing the video/DVD by going to
Leif's website - www.xenob.com
US Dept of Transportation Issues
Greener Roadsides Newsletter Feb 27, 2006
The Fall 2005 issue of the Federal Highway
Administration’s Greener Roadsides newsletter is now available electronically on
their web site at:
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/greenerroadsides/fall05.htm
This issue contains the following
articles:
- When Invasives are Noxious
Weeds
- Widely Known
Invasives
- Ten Silent
Invaders
- Caltran's Sahara Mustard
Workshop
- 2005 Research Grants on
Invasives
- Available Invasive Information
Sources
- SAFETEA-LU: Section 6006, Adds
Section 329 to the US Code Title 23
- Three New Books Coming
Soon
Greener Roadsides is a quarterly publication of the
Federal Highway Administration, Office of Planning, Environment and
Realty.
Invasive Species Forecasting
System Feb 28,
2006
The U.S Geological Survey (USGS) and National
Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) have developed an Invasive Species
Forecasting System (ISFS) which utilizes USGS field data and NASA’s satellite
applications to map habitat suitable for tamarisk. Visit http://bp.gsfc.nasa.gov/. This
national-scale mapping and analysis tool will aid in the management, monitoring,
and prediction of tamarisk spread, and could be used in the future to track
other invasive species like cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) and yellow starthistle
(Centaurea
solstitialis).
The ISFS approach combines NASA satellite-acquired data
with land-based data from 40 datasets containing over 32,000 points, and builds
upon work done by USDA Agricultural Research Service researchers and others.
According to Tom Stohlgren of the USGS, data were used
to analyze past spread rates, current distributions, and predict future
patterns. The information is presented in color-coded maps which can be
used by land managers, decision makers, and others.
In 2004, the National Invasive Species Council (NISC) co-sponsored a conference
in Albuquerque, New Mexico that launched Team Tamarisk. Stakeholders at
the conference called for improved mapping technologies to monitor and analyze
tamarisk infestations. This work is a significant step forward in meeting
that need identified by Team Tamarisk. In addition, it is an important
component of Secretary of the Interior and Co-Chair of NISC Gale Norton’s 4 Cs -
Conservation through communication, consultation and
cooperation.
The work of NISC member departments and agencies has
greatly expanded the conservation tools that support the Cooperative
Conservation Initiative (CCI) and other programs. The CCI encourages the
removal of barriers to citizen participation in the conservation and leadership
initiatives at the local level. Projects funded include those that restore
or conserve natural resources (i.e., wetlands, streams, and other
habitat).
This work was reported in a recent scientific
publication (Jeffrey T. Morisette, Catherine S. Jarnevitch, Asad Ulah, Weijie
Cai, Jeffery A. Pedelty, James E. Gentle, Thomas J. Stohlgren, and John L.
Schnase. 2006. A tamarisk habitat suitability map for the continental
United States. Front Ecol Environ. 4(1): 11-17.) It was also
featured in a February 15, 2006 Department of the Interior Press Release (New
Invasive Species Forecasting System Uses NASA, USGS
Technology).
For Press Release information please contact Frank
Quimby at (202) 208-7291. For more information concerning the ISFS please
visit http://bp.gsfc.nasa.gov/ or contact
Tom Stohlgren at tom_stohlgren@usgs.gov. For information about NISC please
contact Lori Williams at Lori_Williams@ios.doi.gov.
Three Grant Applications
Submitted March 14,
2006
Three grant applications have recently been
submitted:
1. Center for Invasive Plant Management – Research. $5,000. An
application was submitted to the Center for Invasive Plant Management to conduct
baseline studies on the biology and ecology of Cape ivy (Delairea odorata) in preparation for the
release of Cape ivy biological controls in Santa Barbara County and Southern
California. Baseline studies are needed to document the status and nature
of current weed infestations to justify the introductions, and to develop
baseline information in order to assess whether introductions are ultimately
successful in achieving goals of reducing pest plant abundance and promoting
recovery of associated, native vegetation. Award announcement will be made
around April 28, 2006.
2. CDFA/USFS Forest Rangeland Enhancement Project. $8,590. An
application was submitted to the California Department of Food and Agriculture
for a 2 year project to control artichoke thistle (Cynara cardunculus) on the Gaviota Coast
on a property that is the western neighbor of the Arroyo Hondo Preserve.
3. Center for Invasive Plant Management – Cooperative WMA Program.
$5,000. An application was submitted to the Center for Invasive
Plant Management to control and survey two highly rated noxious weeds –
yellowspine thistle (Cirsium
ochrocentrum) and silverleaf nightshade (Solanum elaeagnifolium) that are found on
Santa Cruz Island and Santa Rosa Island.
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Sincerely,
David
Chang
Agricultural Commissioner's Office
County
of Santa Barbara
(805)
681-5600
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