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SBCWMA News
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NatureServe Explorer Website Launched July 14, 2006
NatureServe
announced the debut of U.S. invasive species assessments on their website, NatureServe Explorer : http://www.natureserve.org/explorer/.
There you'll find assessments for a total 452 non-native plants of the
U.S., searchable by name, location, invasive impact rank (I-Rank), or a
combination of these criteria. Additional assessments will be available
in the fall.
The
assessments are the result of applying a systematic protocol to determine the
degree of impact an individual non-native species has on the native plants,
animals, and ecosystems of the United States. Their hope is that these
objective and transparent assessments will build consensus and galvanize
action.
You
can determine which non-native plants in your area have been ranked
"High" impact, or which are still "Unknown." (For
those unfamiliar with the NatureServe Explorer
site: choose to "search the database for species" and then use
the "Location" and "Status" tabs that you'll see at the top
of the page) You can read the entire assessment for any species and there
is a link for providing feedback that will help them improve the information
and refine the I-ranks in the future.
NatureServe
is thrilled to finally have these assessments integrated with their other data
in a searchable format. They are especially grateful to the Federal Highway
Administration for supporting this addition to their Explorer site.
NatureServe is welcoming feedback on the website.
Contact Kat Maybury; Director, Botany
Department; NatureServe; 1101 Wilson Blvd., 15th
floor; Arlington, VA 22209; 703-908-1882; kat_maybury@natureserve.org; www.natureserve.org;
www.natureserve.org/explorer/
California Invasive Weed Awareness Week
July
17 – 23, 2006 is California Invasive Weed Awareness Week. Various
organizations around California are highlighting the problems caused by
invasive and noxious weeds. In recognition of the Week, I have arranged
for videos on invasive and noxious weeds to be shown on government access
television’s channel 20. The programs are:
Government Access TV channel
20 will be showing these videos at the following times. (Unfortunately, I
do not know which videos will be shown when.)
Saturday
& Sunday, July 15 & 16, 2006 7:00 PM
Monday,
July 17, 2006 9:00 AM & 7:00 PM
Tuesday,
July 18, 2006 7:00 PM
Wednesday,
July 19, 2006 7:00 PM
Friday,
July 21, 2006 9:00 AM
Saturday
& Sunday, July 22 & 23, 2006 7:00 PM
Monday,
July 24, 2006 9:00 AM
Tuesday,
July 25, 2006 7:00 PM
Wednesday,
July 26, 2006 7:00 PM
Thursday,
July 27, 2006 9:00 AM
Friday,
July 28, 2006 9:00 AM
Saturday
& Sunday, July 29 & 30, 2006 7:00 PM
New report of Mentha pulegium in Santa Barbara County June 20, 2006
A local native plant enthusiast reported the presence of pennyroyal, Mentha pulegium, in
Santa Barbara County. It was found in Los Berros
Creek at the east end of Burton Mesa Blvd, Lompoc. Channel Island National Park staff report
that a small population of pennyroyal, Mentha
pulegium, was recently found on Santa Rosa
Island. That small population of 25 small plants was pulled up.
Pennyroyal
(Mentha pulegium)
is a perennial mint with a variable habit, ranging from low-growing, spreading
plants to lanky, upright subshrubs. The pale or
deeper pink, blue, or violet flowers are clustered in dense whorls at the upper
nodes. The plant has a powerful and pungent minty
odor. Pennyroyal is native to Ireland, across southern and central
Europe, to the Ukraine. A European folk name for the plant is
grows-in-the-ditch. Repeatedly introduced into North America since European
settlement, pennyroyal is now found naturalized in wildlands throughout the
world. It can spread via seed dispersal or fragmentation of stolons.
The
California Invasive Plant Council has listed this species as an invasive plant
with potentially moderate detrimental effects on native habitat.
Pennyroyal grows in vernally flooded or seasonally wet areas: seeps, streamsides, vernal pools and swales, marshes, and ditches.
Livestock can be poisoned by this unpalatable plant.
More
information about this plant can be found at Cal-IPC’s website.
Farm Bill Listening Sessions June 22, 2006
(I
apologize for the late notice, but there are some sessions still available -dc)
California
Department of Food and Agriculture, Secretary A.G. Kawamura has announced the
locations of four scheduled listening sessions to seek public input on the 2007
Farm Bill. The listening sessions will be held throughout the state and will
provide individuals and organizations interested in the Farm Bill the
opportunity to provide comments to state officials and elected representatives.
Those
interested in attending the listening sessions are asked to register on CDFA's Farm Bill website at www.cdfa.ca.
Covering
such issues as energy, nutrition, conservation, rural development, specialty crops and research - the Farm Bill is omnibus
multi-year legislation for major food and farm programs. Domestic assistance
programs (food stamps) and farm credit are a few of the funding areas provided
under this legislation. The current Farm Bill, the Farm Security and Rural
Investment Act of 2002, will expire in 2007, necessitating action by Congress.
The
public input provided at California's Farm Bill Listening Sessions will be
considered for inclusion within the state's recommendations on the 2007 Farm
Bill.
California
Farm Bill Listening Sessions schedule:
July
6, 2006 - Salinas, 1:00 p.m.
Monterey County Agricultural Commissioner’s Office
1428 Abbott Street
Salinas, CA 93901
Energy, conservation and specialty crops
July 12, 2006 - Los Angeles, 10:00 a.m.
Los Angeles County Department of Agricultural Weights and Measures
12300 Lower Azusa Road
Arcadia, CA 91006
Conservation and specialty crops
July 17, 2006 - Fresno, 1:00 p.m.
Fresno County Farm Bureau
1274 West Hedges
Fresno, CA 93728
Commodity programs, conservation, energy and rural development
August 1, 2006 - Sacramento, 1:00 p.m.
California Department of Food and Agriculture
1220 N Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
All Farm Bill titles
If
you wish to submit comments or position papers regarding a California
perspective on the 2007 Farm Bill please email farmbill@cdfa.ca.gov.
Comments may also be submitted to: California Department of Food and
Agriculture, 1220 N Street, Suite 214, Sacramento, CA, 95814.
Media
Contact: Steve Lyle, Office of Public Affairs, (916) 654-0462
Smooth Distaff Thistle Found in Santa Barbara County June 26, 2006
Staff from the Los Padres National Forest report that smooth distaff thistle, Carthamus baeticus,
has been found in Santa Barbara County on Willow Spring Trail in the Santa
Lucia Ranger District in the very northernmost section of the county.
This is possibly the first known sighting of this species in the county.
Smooth distaff thistle is a CDFA “B” rated noxious weed. C. baeticus is a winter annual composite weed, with
rigidly erect branched stems to 1 meter tall. Plants exist as rosettes until
spiny-leaved flowering stems are produced in spring/summer. Plants reproduce by
seed and are highly competitive with cereal crops and desirable rangeland
species. Because of their spiny nature, distaff thistles can injure the eyes
and mouths of livestock forced to graze within dense populations of the weeds.
More information about this weed can be found at the CDFA’s
website, Encycloweedia
Maltese Thistle Rust
June 28, 2006
I thought it might be interesting to readers to hear that we coincidentally
found Maltese thistle rust, Puccinia calcitrapae var.
centaureae, on tocalote, Centaurea melitensis, nearby our YST rust inoculation
trials. The County of Santa Barbara Agricultural Commissioner's Office’s
plant pathologist had submitted a sample of rust found growing on tocalote,
which was determined to be the Maltese thistle rust. The YST rust, Puccinia
jaceae var. solstitialis from Turkey did not infect Centaurea melitensis in the host range determination for yellowstar rust.
CANGC adopts St Louis Codes of Conduct June 27, 2006
The California Horticultural Invasives Partnership reports in their summer
2006 newsletter that the California Association of Nurseries and Garden
Centers has adopted the St. Louis Voluntary Codes of Conduct. The St.
Louis Voluntary Codes of Conduct are voluntary codes designed to curb the use
and distribution of invasive plant species through self-governance and self-regulation
by the groups concerned. These codes can be found at: http://www.centerforplantconservation.org/invasives/home.html.
Increased Plague Activity in California in 2006 June 30, 2006
Of course, plague is not a weed, but I thought many of you are nonetheless
interested in natural history enough to be interested to know that…
Two
cases of human plague, in residents of Kern and Los Angeles County, have been
diagnosed in the past six months. Evidence of plague has also been identified
in squirrels, rabbits, coyotes, and feral pigs in several counties: Kern,
Mariposa, and others. The California Department of Health Services Vector-Borne
Disease Section wishes to alert you to the possibility of an unusually active
year for plague.
Plague
is a disease of wild rodents that can be transmitted to humans through the bite
of infected fleas. The VBDS oversees a statewide surveillance program for
plague. Each year, plague is identified in wild rodents and carnivores
throughout California. Preliminary surveillance data for 2006 to date suggest
that plague activity may be significantly higher this year.
Educational
materials on various vector-borne diseases found in California, may be
downloaded from the following website at: http://www.dhs.ca.gov/ps/dcdc/disb/disbindexold.htm
(scroll down to the vector-borne disease section).
New Zealand Mud Snail Found in Ventura County July 9, 2006
(…again
not a weed, but should be of high interest to those involved in the health of
riparian ecosystems.)
If
you haven't yet heard, New Zealand mudsnails, Potamopyrgus
antipodarum, have been found in Ventura County in
Malibu Creek and Piru Creek. These snails have had a devastating effect
on aquatic communities in many regions of the west, and are of little value for
direct ingestion by fish, particularly trout and other salmonids. NZMS is
parthenogenic (reproducing without needing males), so are capable of very rapid
population growth, and being very small they are readily spread to other sites.
See this flyer
on preventing NZMS spread and the following websites for more information about
this potentially devastating riparian pest.
http://www.esg.montana.edu/aim/mollusca/nzms/index.html
http://www.protectyourwaters.net/hitchhikers/mollusks_new_zealand_mudsnail.php
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Grant
Opportunities
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The
CALFED Science Program is announcing a solicitation for research proposals in
support of the CALFED Bay-Delta Program. The package will become available June
30, 2006. The goal is to invest in knowledge that will fundamentally
advance the understanding of the complex environments/systems within the scope
of the CALFED program to aid resource managers. A total of approximately
$6 million will be available for research in four topic areas:
1.
Environmental Water
2.
Aquatic Invasive (Exotic) Species
3.
Trends and Patterns of Populations and System Response to a Changing
Environment
4.
Habitat Availability and Response to Change
Please
visit http://science.calwater.ca.gov/psp/psp_package_2006.shtml
to access detailed information about this opportunity. Have questions?
E-mail help@solicitation.calwater.ca.gov
or call the PSP Helpline at 877/408-9310.
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Educational
Events
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50th Annual Weed Day; Buehler Alumni Center, UC Davis;
Thursday, July 20, 2006
Find
out what the current weed science research is at UC Davis. Weed control studies
to be demonstrated and discussed include: Yellow starthistle • Aquatic weeds • Lettuce• Bamboo •
Roadside weeds • Saltcedar • Alfalfa • Fresh and
processing tomatoes • Melons • Tarweeds • Horseweeds • Weed identification
Morning
session: Participants will be taken on a field tour of the UC Davis weed
science research plots and visit the USDA-ARS Exotic and Invasive Weed Research
Laboratory. Buses will depart
promptly at 8:15 AM from the
Afternoon
session: In the Buehler Alumni & Visitors Center, staff and students will
present information on projects that are not in-season for viewing or located
off-campus. Presentations will include basic research showing the scope of the
Weed Science Program.
Participants
will receive a special gift to commemorate the 50th Annual Weed Day!
Who: Pest control advisors, farm advisors, chemical
company cooperators, college faculty and students, and regulatory officials
should not miss this event.
Cost:
$ 50
Registration (received after 7/13/06)
$ 10 Student fee (must
show student ID at registration desk)
Registration
fee includes refreshments, lunch and handout materials.
To
register: Visit http://wric.ucdavis.edu/education/weedday06.html
Questions:
Visit http://wric.ucdavis.edu/education/weedday06.html
or contact the Weed Research & Information Center [wric@ucdavis.edu; (530)
752-1748
Preliminary Program available for Cal-IPC’s 2006 Symposium
This
is a reminder that the California Invasive Plant Council will be holding their
15th annual symposium this October 5 through 7 at the Sonoma Doubletree Hotel
in Rohnert Park, California. This year’s theme is “Research and
Management. Bridging the Gap.” A
pre-Symposium field course on Tools for Early Detection, on October 4, will
also be available. Registration opened June 1, 2006. For more
information, visit www.cal-ipc.org.
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Acknowledgement
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This
newsletter is compiled from various sources, including emails I receive from
people who are involved in the invasive weed field, and from listserves.
I modify the emails, but sometimes they are inserted here nearly
verbatim. I thank those people for this information and for their
devotion to protecting and conserving habitat. If you recognize something
that you wrote and object to its use here or on my website, contact me and I
will promptly remove it from my website.
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Sincerely,
David Chang
Agricultural Commissioner's
Office
County of Santa Barbara
(805) 681-5600
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