AR00 Uplands Part Iia.Pmd

PART II Upland Invasive Exotic Plant Control This report was prepared to provide an annual assessment of the control achieved and funding necessary to manage nonindigenous upland plants on public conservation lands in Florida. The authority of the Department of Environmental Protection (department) as addressed in §369.251, Florida Statutes, extends to the management of all upland nonindigenous plants on all public conservation lands, including land owned by federal, state, and local government entities. The upland invasive exotic plant management program on Florida’s public lands involves complex operational and financial interactions between state, federal, and local governments, as well as private sector companies. Therefore, a summary of the entire management program on public conservation lands and associated funding contracted or monitored by the department during Fiscal Year 2000-2001 is included in this report. Contents Introduction ................................................................................................... 2 Florida’s “Least Wanted”............................................................................... 3 Invasive Plant Management Trust Fund ........................................................ 4 Upland Control Projects by Working Group Florida Keys Regional Working Group .............................................. 5 Mosquito Coast Regional Working Group .......................................... 12 Northeast Regional Working Group .................................................... 16 Panhandle Regional Working Group .................................................. 18 Southeast Regional Working Group .................................................... 28 Southwest Regional Working Group .................................................. 39 Sun Coast Regional Working Group ................................................... 46 Treasure Coast Regional Working Group ........................................... 53 West Central Regional Working Group............................................... 69 Withlacoochee Regional Working Group ........................................... 71 NPS Projects .................................................................................................. 76 SFWMD Melaleuca Project ........................................................................... 95 Research, Education, and Outreach ............................................................... 102 Contract Management Assistance Division of Recreation and Parks ........................................................ 105 Office of Coastal and Aquatic Managed Areas ................................... 108 Office of Greenways and Trails ........................................................... 110 Herbicide Bank .......................................................................................... 111 Summary of Uplands Operations (1997-2001) ............................................. 112 Volunteer Efforts in Weed Control ............................................................... 113 Introduction With its subtropical climate, an island-like topography, and the pressures of a rapidly expanding human population, Florida is especially vulnerable to invasion by foreign species. Coupled with this threat is a lack of awareness by citizens and tourists alike about the invasiveness ofnon-native or “exotic” plants introduced into the Florida environment. Invasive exotic plant species, lacking control by their native diseases and predators, spread explosively and may outcompete and replace vital native species on public and private land. An estimated 1.5 million acres of Florida’s remaining natural areas are infested with invasive exotic plant species that are rapidly degrading biological diversity. If not controlled, these infestations diminish wildlife habitat, decrease recreational resources, and negatively affect the natural health and economy of the state. Nearly one-third of the plants found growing naturally in Florida’s environment are introduced nonnative species; however, only about 10% are considered a threat to natural areas. These species comprise the 125 Category I and Category II invasive exotic plants on the Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council’s 2001 List of Invasive Species. The major direct effect of exotic plant invaders on Florida’s ecosystems is the adverse alteration of native habitats. Such invaders change the composition, structure, and/or processes of native plant and animal communities, often with significant ripple effects throughout the larger system. Most easily observed are the obvious examples of displacement: the invader forms a dense one-species stand where once there was a rich assembly of native species, resulting in a loss of biodiversity. A number of populations of Florida’s rarest plants have been lost in this fashion. Other invaders modify habitat processes, for example, by changing the natural flow or percolation of water or by increasing the chance of fires in habitats not adapted to fire. Some exotic species have both effects. Photo: Seminole pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata) on Lake Okeechobee. J.K. Small, 1925. Courtesy of the Florida State Archives. 2 The 1997 Legislature charged BIPM with the task of creating a program to bring invasive exotic upland plant species under maintenance control. A maintenance control program, as defined in §369.22, F.S., is “a method for the control of exotic plants in which control techniques are utilized in a coordinated manner on a continuous basis in order to maintain the plant population at the lowest feasible level.” The Upland Invasive exotic Plant Management Program is a statewide cooperative program that coordinates upland invasive exotic plant management activities in a coordinated effort to halt the introduction and spread of invasive exotic plants, remove existing populations of pest plants, and assist in restoring Florida’s native plant communities on public conservation lands to a pre-invasion condition. Approximately $12 million are now needed each year to adequately manage upland exotic plants on Florida public lands. This consists of $10 million for initial control treatment, $1 million to sustain maintenance control, and $1 million to manage melaleuca as mandated by §§206.606(1)(a), F.S. The $1 million dollars provided for this last function for FY 00-01 from the CARL Trust Fund represents the minimum funding level to provide a meaningful, statewide control effort for melaleuca. It is important to emphasize that management plans are developed and contracts are in place to provide upland weed control; thus, any increase in funding is applied directly to control activities, not to administrative costs. Greg Jubinsky Program Administrator January 31, 2002 Florida’s Top 101 “Least Wanted” Invasive Exotic Plants for 2000 Plant Acres Controlled % Total Acres Melaleuca2 5827.68 34.28% Brazilian pepper 3807.77 22.40% Lygodium spp 2167.73 12.75% Australian pine 1730.46 10.18% Chinese tallow 1260.45 7.41% Ardesia 824.59 4.85% Wisteria 514.96 3.03% Chinaberry 488.04 2.87% Cogon grass 399.94 2.35% Air potato 338.67 1.99% 1by estimated acres controlled and % of total project acres for all species 2does not include melaleuca acres controlled by SFWMD (see page 95) 3 Trust Fund Projects Funding for the Upland Invasive Exotic Plant Management Program is provided through the Invasive Plant Management Trust Fund as set forth in Section 369.252(4), Florida Statutes, which reads: “Use funds in the Invasive Plant Control Trust Fund as authorized by the Legislature for carrying out activities under this section on public lands. Twenty percent of the amount credited to the Invasive Plant Control Trust Fund pursuant to §201.15(6) shall be used for the purpose of controlling nonnative, upland, invasive plant species on public lands.” The trust fund provided $4 million to fund upland control projects for Fiscal Year 2000. The Cooperative Regional Invasive Plant Working Group (“working group”) brings together stakeholders in a geographic area for the purpose of combining expertise, energy, and resources to deal with common weed problems. It provides an open forum for expressing the concerns of citizens, landowners, and managers, and provides an effective mechanism to address those concerns. BIPM relies on the expertise within each working group to set regional control priorities based upon severity and potential threat to existing public conservation lands. This is accomplished by the working group reviewing and ranking control project proposals. BIPM has established 11 working groups, encompassing all 67 counties, which are made up of nearly 500 members representing federal, state, and local government public conservation land managers, non-governmental organizations, and private landowners across the state. Program liaisons have been designated for each working group to facilitate proposal review and coordination with the state program staff. The following projects, listed alphabetically by working group, were funded during FY00. Note: No projects were completed in the East Central Working Group during FY00. 4 Coupon Bight/Key Deer Refuge Invasive Exotic Plant Control Working Group: Florida Keys County: Monroe PCL: National Key Deer Refuge PCL Size: 8,844 acres Site Manager: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service National Key Deer Refuge P.O. Box 430510 Big Pine Key, Florida 33043 Phone: 305-872-2239, Fax: 305-872-3675 Project ID: FK-009 Project Size: 194.5 acres Fiscal Year 00/01 Project Cost: $130,769 The National Key

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