From: Chang, David
Sent: Tuesday, October 10, 2006 4:22 PM
Subject: [SBCWMA News] October 2006
SBCWMA Newsletter
October 2006
Please note that in the
Educational and Grant Opportunities sections of this newsletter there are items
that are happening very quickly – the CREF grant; the Prop 84 workshops are on
Oct 11 in San Diego and Oct 12 in Los Angeles; and the SERCAL Conference in
Santa Barbara on October 26 – 28. I apologize for the late delivery of
these items. – dc
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News
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New Find of Water Hyacinth (10/2/06)
During one of her frequent walks nearby Cieneguitas
Creek at Modoc and Hollister Avenues, Jan Hamber, a local environmentally aware
citizen, noticed an unusual plant floating in the water. The plant was
subsequently identified as Eichhornia crassipes, water hyacinth.
Water hyacinth is an aquatic plant with a beautiful flower that is often sold
for use in water gardens. Unfortunately, it is one of the fastest growing
plants, able to clog canals, block access to lakes by waterfowl, increase water
loss, and lower water quality. It is considered one of the world’s worst weeds
(Holm, et.al.) and is a rated noxious weed by the
California Dept of Food & Agriculture.
While water hyacinth is still allowed for sale, it is a weed that the Santa
Barbara County Weed Management Area would like to prevent the establishment of
in the rivers and creeks of the County. It has been found and hopefully
eliminated from Lake Los Carneros, Laguna Creek, Carpinteria Creek, and now, Cieneguitas Creek. Jan along with her grandson,
Zachary Hamber, removed approximately 2 large trash bags of water hyacinth from
Cieneguitas Creek. It can still be found in
ponds at La Purisima Mission, and it has been sighted in Sycamore Creek.
Water hyacinth will not tolerate brackish or saline water with salinity levels
above 1.8 percent. It is unlikely to be a problem in southern California
streams because of their periodic flashiness, although establishment in
reservoirs and ponds could be very problematic.
Click here for pictures of and more information
about water hyacinth.
Congress Passes Bill for Research on Eradicating Invasive
Plants (10/4/06)
http://www.stpns.net/view_article.html?articleId=10148718648641888 -- By The Raton Range staff. RATON, New Mexico
(STPNS)
The U.S. Senate last week gave final approval to legislation developed by New
Mexico Sens. Pete Domenici and Jeff Bingaman and Rep.
Steve Pearce. Officially, the Salt Cedar and Russian Olive Control
Demonstration Act, was passed/agreed to in the Senate without amendment, and by
unanimous consent. The main purpose of H.R. 2720 is to further the
purposes of the Reclamation Projects Authorization and Adjustment Act of 1992
by directing the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Commissioner of
Reclamation, to carry out an assessment and demonstration program to control
salt cedar and Russian olive.
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Grant
Opportunities
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CREF Accepting applications
The Coastal Resource Enhancement Fund
(CREF). Santa Barbara County is seeking proposals that enhance:
Environmentally sensitive coastal resources; Coastal aesthetics (visual),
Coastal tourism, and; Coastal recreation. Successful proposals must
demonstrate a coastal relationship. Proposals must be submitted to the
Santa Barbara County Planning and Development, Energy Division by 5:00 P.M.,
Wednesday, October 11, 2006. For more
information, visit: http://www.countyofsb.org/energy/CREF/CREF.asp
The National Fish Habitat Action Plan
The 47-state B.A.S.S. Federation Nation ( http://www.bassmaster.com/federation/
) and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation ( http://www.nfwf.org/ ) have announced a new
partnership to reach out and build the capacity of the B.A.S.S. Federation
Nation in on-the-ground implementation of the National Fish Habitat Action
Plan. The Foundation and B.A.S.S., through its State Federation Nation
Program, are launching a grant program called the More Fish Partnership Fund
that will provide funding for community-based aquatic restoration projects
involving volunteers, youth, and other anglers. The goal is to improve
awareness about aquatic resources by supporting both grassroots capacity
building and habitat conservation projects.
Under this program, small grants of between $10,000 and $30,000 each, and
leadership grants of up to $100,000 each will be awarded competitively by NFWF.
Proposed activities eligible for funding will include aquatic habitat
restoration and protection, water quality improvement, aquatic vegetation
management, landowner outreach and steward-ship training, and watershed
planning and management. The program will provide a significant opportunity to
demonstrate on-the-ground commitment to improving conditions for fisheries
nationwide. Priority will be given to projects that directly implement
the recommendations of the National Fish Habitat Action Plan and/or state
wildlife action plans.
Matching funds will be required on a 1:1 basis or better. Applicants
representing B.A.S.S. Clubs, local nonprofits, educational institutions,
tribes, conservation districts, or local governments are eligible to apply.
Community groups without nonprofit status are encouraged to seek an
eligible sponsor/fiscal agent.
Visit the NFWF Web site for complete program information and application
procedures. RFP Link: http://fconline.foundationcenter.org/pnd/10004468/nfwf
For more information on the Foundation Center, visit: http://foundationcenter.org
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Educational
Opportunities
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Regional Workshops on Prop 84
CalCoast is joining The Nature Conservancy, the
California State Parks Foundation and other groups in co-hosting two Prop 84
workshops in Southern California. Details for both workshops (one in San Diego
and one in Los Angeles) are below.
REGIONAL
WORKSHOPS ON PROP 84
The
Clean Water, Parks & Coastal Protection Bond of 2006
Wednesday
October 11th, 2006
1:30
pm - 4:00 p.m.
San
Diego County Administration Center
7th
Floor 1600 Pacific Highway
San
Diego CA 92101
Thursday
October 12th
9:30
am - 12:00 noon
The
Los Angeles River Center and Gardens
570
West Ave 26
Los
Angeles 90065
Proposition 84 will provide critically needed funds to ensure the availability
of safe drinking water, improve local water supply reliability and preserve California’s
natural landscapes, including beaches, bays, coastlines, forests, and parks.
The workshops will provide attendees with a better understanding of the
measure, its potential impacts in the region and offer participants an
opportunity to ask technical questions. Most importantly, the workshop will
offer valuable insights on accessing natural resource funding post passage.
Confirmed speakers in San Diego include:
California State Senator Denise Moreno-Ducheny;
California State Senator Christine Kehoe; Conservation Strategies Group; San
Diego County Department of Parks and Recreation; The Wetlands Recovery Project;
CalCoast
Confirmed speakers in Los Angeles include: Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez; Assemblymember Karen Bass; ;Los
Angeles City Councilmember Ed Reyes;
Belinda Faustinos,
Executive Officer, San Gabriel and Lower Los Angeles Rivers & Mountains
Conservancy; Leslie Friedman-Johnson, Conservation Strategies Group; Tsilah Burman, Executive
Director, Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust; David McNeill, Executive
Officer, Baldwin Hills Conservancy
If you would like to join them for one the workshops, please RSVP to Alfredo Gonzalez at agonzalez@tnc.org Jayme Mechur at jayme@calparks.org at
your earliest convenience. Light refreshments will be served.
SERCAL Conference in Santa Barbara
The 2006 California Society for Ecological Restoration (SERCAL) Conference is
being held in Santa Barbara on October 26 – 28
at UCSB! Visit
http://www.sercal.org/2006_conference.htm.
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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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