SBCWMA
News
March 2008
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News
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California Invasive Weed Awareness Day at the Capitol
– March 12
Consider joining your fellow weed workers and the California Invasive Weed
Awareness Coalition next week, March 12, in Sacramento for the 5th Annual
California Invasive Weeds Awareness Day. In the morning there will be
presentations about current policy topics, including the state's new Wildlife
Action Plan and Invasive Species Councils in other states. In the
afternoon, participants will walk to the Capitol to visit legislators on behalf
of Weed Management Area funding. To register for Day at the Capitol, or
for more info, go to http://www.cal-ipc.org/policy/state/ciwad.php.
Send letters in support of California Invasive Weed Awareness Day and California Senate Bill 311.
In 2006, more than 100 organizations sent letters of support for AB 2479 (Cogdill), in support of $2.5 million for Weed Management
Areas. The effort was successful in restoring partial funding of $1.5
million to WMAs, after two years with no funds.
In 2007, SB 311 (Cogdill) proposed to restore the
additional $1 million. Unfortunately, as of May 31, 2007, the bill is
"in suspense" in the Senate Appropriations Committee, meaning no
action is underway. Crank up your computers and write your letters
today. For more information http://www.cal-ipc.org/policy/state/letters.php
Ventura County Weed
Management Area Meeting
The next meeting of the Ventura County Weed Management Area stakeholders will
be held April 30, 9:30 AM to Noon, in Ventura (location TBD*). This is a
critical meeting regarding the future of the WMA! Please plan to make
this meeting a priority if you believe the WMA is important to Ventura County.
Contact Marty Melvin, marty.melvin@vcrcd.org,
805-386-4685, District Manager, Ventura County Resource Conservation District,
Lead Agency for the VC WMA for more information.
* Location To Be Determined – I will report the meeting location in my
next newsletter - dc
Comment Period on National Invasive Species Plan Extended
The period for public comment on the draft of the 2008-2012 National Invasive
Species Management Plan has been extended until 5 pm Eastern Time on March 12,
2008. The draft of the plan is at http://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/council/mpdraft07.pdf.
Comments can be emailed to invasivespecies@ios.doi.gov or mailed to Ms. Lori
Williams, Executive Director, U.S. Dept. of the Interior, Office of the
Secretary, National Invasive Species Council (OS/NISC), 1849 C Street NW,
Washington, DC 20240.
Forest Service Releases National Forest Resource
Management Manual
The Forest Service has released its forest resource management manual that
includes a directive on the use of native plant materials and also includes a
section on noxious weed management. With the exception of reforestation policy
there was no previous policy for the use of native plants. The manual can
be found at http://www.fs.fed.us/cgi-bin/Directives/get_dirs/fsm?2000!
Recognizing the need to maintain plant communities as fully functioning
ecosystems, Chief Abigail Kimbell directed natural
resource professionals from the National Forest System, State and Private
Forestry, and Research and Development to develop an invasive species policy.
This policy promotes the use of native plant materials within Forest Service
lands, and broad based cooperation with other government agencies,
non-governmental organizations and the public in the selection of native plant
materials, restoration of forest service lands, and noxious weed management.
New Scientific Journal on
Invasive Plants
The Weed Science Society of America (WSSA) announces the launch of Invasive
Plant Science and Management (IPSM). This peer-reviewed, quarterly
journal will focus on fundamental and applied research about invasive plant
biology, ecology, management and restoration of invaded non-crop areas, and
educational, sociopolitical, and technical aspects of invasive plant
management.
The initial concept of a journal devoted solely to invasive plants began more
than three years ago when WSSA established a committee to determine the
national interest in a peer-reviewed journal focused on all aspects of invasive
plants. The committee conducted a survey of several professional ecological and
plant-oriented societies, Exotic Pest Plant or Invasive Plant Councils, The
Nature Conservancy, and federal, state, and local agencies. Of the 793
responses to the survey, over 90 percent indicated an interest in the journal,
with 62 percent expressing a strong interest.
Invasive Plant Science and Management will
be available in print as well as online and is a benefit of membership in WSSA.
It will regularly feature research and education, case studies, reviews,
symposium papers, and notes and commentaries.
For
more information, go to: http://www.wssa.net
New Study: Implementing
Australian Weed Risk Assessment Program in the U.S. Would Save $Billions
Research conducted by The Nature Conversancy and University of Florida scientists, published in the journal Diversity and Distributions, examined, and concluded that the regulatory weed risk assessment system (WRA) of Australia and New Zealand is effectively and efficiently reducing the economic and environmental threats of importing invasive weeds. Nature Conservancy scientists are calling on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service to implement the WRA in the United States, and to do so now, as the agency is updating its plant quarantine law, known as “Q-37.” The news release on this research can be found at http://www.nature.org/initiatives/invasivespecies/press/press3378.html
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Grants
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Coastal Counties Restoration Initiative
The National Association of Counties (NACo), in
partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s
(NOAA) Community-Based Restoration Program (CRP), announces the second year of
funding for the Coastal Counties Restoration Initiative (CCRI). The
initiative provides financial assistance on a competitive basis to innovative,
high quality county-led or supported projects. In 2008, CCRI will provide
$500,000 in grants to improve stream, river, estuarine and other important
marine habitats. A priority area for CCRI is the removal of fish passage
barriers in coastal streams and rivers. Grants will range from
$50,000-$100,000, based upon need. The deadline for applications is March
24, 2008. For more information and to access the full RFP and
application instructions, visit www.naco.org/ccri.
For questions call 202-942-4246 or email ccri@naco.org.
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Educational
Events
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Cal-IPC Invasive Plant
Identification Field Course at Sedgwick Reserve
The California Invasive Plant Council is conducting an Invasive Plant
Identification field course at Sedgwick Reserve on April 21, 2008. The
field course will go over the biology, anatomy, identification, and
introduction to control methods of common invasive weeds of Santa Barbara
County. Participants will hike to observe the local flora. For more
information visit http://www.cal-ipc.org/fieldcourses/index.php#SB
Cal-IPC Invasive Plant
Control Field Course at Sedgwick Reserve
The California Invasive Plant Council is conducting an Invasive Plant Control
field course at Sedgwick Reserve on April 22, 2008. The field course will
go over the control methods of common invasive weeds of Santa Barbara
County. For more information visit http://www.cal-ipc.org/fieldcourses/index.php#SB
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Weed of the
Month
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Onionweed, Asphodelus fistolus
What is it? Can it be controlled?
. . . from an article by Carl E. Bell in the
California Weed Science Society Journal, Vol 4, No 1,
January 2008. Reprinted with permission. Carl E. Bell is Regional
Advisor for Invasive Plants, in the University of California Cooperative
Extension, San Diego, CA.
Onionweed is a short-lived perennial, herbaceous plant in the lily
family. It has pretty, six-petaled white and
pink flowers in tall open racemes and was likely introduced into California as
an ornamental. In coastal southern California it is not common, but where
it is present, it can be a very invasive and difficult to control weed.
[It is common on roadsides, especially on the South Coast of Hiway 101 and Hiway 154, in Santa
Barbara County.]
Jessica Vinge and Markus Spiegelberg
of the Center for Natural Lands Management in San Diego, Mark Girard of Habitat
Restoration Sciences in Carlsbad and [Carl Bell] collaborated on a series of
experiments to evaluate different herbicides for the control of onionweed.
Field test results from 2005 indicated that Telar®
(chlorsulfuron) provided effective control, but neither Habitat® (imazapyr)
nor Roundup® (glyphosate) worked very well.
Two field experiments were conducted in 2006. The first one tested three
rates of Telar – 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 ounces of
product per acre, applied in April on mature onionweed plants. The
results are shown in Table 1. Only the high rate of Telar killed onionweed; the lower rates were not effective
enough. [They] also collected seed from the treated plants in late June
and found that all of the Telar treatments reduced
seed production by about 90%, but still left 300 seed per square foot, which is
too many. Still [they] were optimistic that a Telar
application at an earlier timing would kill existing plants before they flowered.
Reducing seed production by onionweed is important in reducing the spread of
this weed because unlike many other members of the lily family, onionweed does
not produce tubers or corms, but reproduces by seed.
Another factor we investigated was the effect of the herbicide on native
plants. Since the field study was conducted on a restoration site, there
were also many species of natives growing among the onionweed. The data
is not shown, but in general we can say that the range of tolerance to Telar is very mixed. One species, buckwheat, (Eriogonum sp.) apperars
very tolerant to Telar, while others, such as
California poppy, were killed by the lowest dose of the herbicide. In
addition to the impact of Telar on several of the
native plants, [they] are also concerned about the longevity of residual Telar in the soil, which could be about two years when high
rates are applied.
Another field experiment evaluating several herbicides on onionweed was
conducted in 2007. This time the trial was started in February, a couple
of months earlier than the previous year. Telar
was compared to Sandea® (halosulfuron),
a herbicide in same family as Telar, but with a much
shorter soil life; to Yukon® (a combination of Sandea
and Banvel®); to Garlon®
(triclopyr); and to very high rates of Roundup®. Unfortunately, none
of these other herbicides killed onionweed adequately.
Experiments will continue in 2008 investigating Matrix® (rimsulfuron), another shorter soil residual relative of Telar. Onionweed has proven to be very hard to kill
and is slowly spreading along the southern coast of California.
Table 1. Telar treatments and visual evaluations for onionweed
control, San Diego CA.
|
Telar rate (oz/A) |
Percent weed control |
Seed production per square foot |
||
|
June 1, 2006 |
June 27, 2006 |
Weight (grams) |
Seed number |
|
|
0 |
0 |
0 |
5.1 |
3484 |
|
0.5 |
42 |
65 |
0.8 |
530 |
|
1.0 |
69 |
69 |
0.1 |
98 |
|
2.0 |
90 |
99 |
0.45 |
383 |
Table 2. Herbicide treatments and visual evaluations for
onionweed control, San Diego CA.
|
Herbicide |
Rate/Acre |
Percent Onionweed Control |
|
|
April 19, 2007 |
April 15, 2007 |
||
|
Telar |
2 oz. |
99 |
93 |
|
Roundup Pro |
4 qt. |
42 |
50 |
|
Roundup Pro |
8 qt. |
54 |
73 |
|
Garlon 4 |
1 qt. |
10 |
35 |
|
Garlon 4 |
2 qt. |
38 |
42 |
|
Sandea |
0.75 oz. |
50 |
27 |
|
Sandea |
1.5 oz. |
42 |
17 |
|
Yukon |
4.0 oz. |
38 |
12 |
|
Yukon |
8.0 oz. |
31 |
31 |
|
Untreated control |
|
0 |
0 |
The next paragraph, from the Telar XP label, was
added by David Chang.
TELAR® XP is recommended for control of many invasive and noxious broadleaf
weeds in pasture, range, Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) lands, and non-crop
industrial sites. These non-crop industrial sites include airports,
military installations, fence rows, roadsides and associated rights-of way,
lumberyards, petroleum tank farms, pipeline and utility rights-of-way, pumping
installations, railroads, storage areas, and plant sites, including
governmental and private lands. Always read and follow label
directions.
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State &
National News
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This
is an occasional section where I place other weedy news that is not always
directly related to the Santa Barbara County Weed Management Area. - dc
New Hampshire DOT Publishes BMPs for Roadside Invasive Plants
The New Hampshire Department of Transportation has just produced a control
manual for invasive plants. It contains information about best management
practices to reduce the likelihood of introducing invasive plants into new
areas via maintenance and construction activities. NH DOT is preparing
copies for its staff, and also planning training sessions. This fulfills
a recommendation of the new Water Resources chapter of the Connecticut River
Management Plan. The manual is available at http://www.nh.gov/dot/bureaus/environment/documents/BMPsforRoadsideInvasivePlants.pdf
Inaugural National Exotic
Pest Plant Council Meeting
The 35th annual Natural Areas Association Conference and the National
Association of Exotic Pest Plant Council’s inaugural national conference
will be held jointly on October 14 – 17, 2008 in Nashville, Tennessee.
The conference will focus on ecological management themes with an
emphasis on invasive exotic species issues and the effects of climate change.
The NAEPPC will bring its invasive species expertise to the conference
and the two organizations will provide synergy in organizing what is expected
to be an outstanding event. The plenary and concurrent sessions will
address the conference theme “Tuning Into a Changing Climate and
Biological Invasion.” Stay tuned to the NAEPPC website http://www.naeppc.org/ or the NAA website www.naturalarea.org for details, and join the
conference in Nashville for an informative and rewarding experience.
The National Arboretum Hosts Invasive
Plant Management Symposium
The National Arboretum in Washington D.C. is hosting an Invasive Plant
Management Symposium on March 18, 2008 from 9:00am-4:00pm. Experts share
their strategies to prevent invasive species from disrupting our native
ecosystems. Speakers draw from research and field experience to detail
effective control practices for private citizens and institutional land
managers. Lunch provided. Fee: $55 ($45 for FONA members) Registration is required. For the Sympoisum flier,
click here; and, for the agenda and speaker bios, click here.
Researchers Analyze Fire
Retardant Use*
By
JOHN CRAMER of the Missoulian
Fire retardant dropped from aircraft has been found to kill fish, and a new study
on Mount Jumbo suggests it also spreads some species of noxious weeds across
Montana's native grasslands.
The study raises the possibility that the red slurry, while helping to slow a
wildfire's advance, could ultimately worsen grassland fires by promoting the
growth of cheatgrass, one of the most flammable
invasive weeds in the West.
See http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2008/02/03/news/mtregional/news07.txt
for the full article text.
Florida EPPC Symposium April
212 – 24, 2008
The Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council is holding their Symposium in
Jacksonville, on April 21 – 24, 2008. Click
here for more information.
Utah State Weed Mapping Workshop
A workshop on wildland weed inventory and mapping techniques will be conducted
by Utah State University on May 19-22 in Boulder, CO. Practical field
methods suited to a wide range of mapping objectives, field conditions, and GPS
equipment types will be taught in both field and classroom settings. For
More Information, Contact: Steve Dewey, steved@ext.usu.edu, 435-797-2256 or Kim
Andersen, kandersen@cc.usu.edu,
435-797-2637
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Corrections
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Bladderflower, Araujia
sericifera, last month’s Weed of the Month
is found more than rarely and should perhaps instead be characterized as being
found infrequently in Santa Barbara County.
The Invasive Weed Awareness Day at the Capitol on March 12, 2008 is sponsored
by the California Invasive Weed Awareness Coalition (CALIWAC), not the
California Invasive Plant Council.
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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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