Fall 2015 Cal-IPC News Protecting California’S Natural Areas from Wildland Weeds
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Vol. 23, No. 3 Fall 2015 Cal-IPC News Protecting California’s Natural Areas from Wildland Weeds Newsletter of the California Invasive Plant Council Going to great lengths EDRR in Bay Area National Parks 4 Symposium photos 6 Does glyphosate cause cancer? 8 Do No Harm 9 Puncturevine attacks! 10 Scotch broom mite to the rescue 11 Treating fennel on San Clemente EMAPi in Hawai’i 13 Island. Winner of the 2015 Photo Habitat conservation planning 14 Contest, by Aaron Echols, Channel Islands Restoration From the Director’s Desk It’s the little things… By Executive Director Doug Johnson Cal-IPC 1442-A Walnut Street, #462 Berkeley, CA 94709 ometimes small changes can result in significant progress. A new sentence in a ph (510) 843-3902 fax (510) 217-3500 www.cal-ipc.org [email protected] Splanning document may provide a stronger foundation for programmatic policies. Protecting California’s lands and waters Here are a few small improvements made recently that hold promise for helping our from invasive plants work in the future. STAFF The California Dept. of Water Resources recently updated its model ordinance for Doug Johnson, Executive Director Elizabeth Brusati, Senior Scientist Water Efficient Landscaping. This serves as a template for local jurisdictions to use Agustín Luna, Director of Finance & Administration in setting local policy. Now included under landscape design: “The use of invasive Bertha McKinley, Program Assistant plant species, such as those listed by the California Invasive Plant Council, is strongly Dana Morawitz, Program Manager for GIS and Regional Conservation discouraged.” We have received calls from municipalities wanting guidance on using BOARD OF DIRECTORS our list, and we are working with Alameda County StopWaste on developing guidelines Jason Casanova, President for using our list in making appropriate site-specific landscaping decisions. Council for Watershed Health Jennifer Funk, Vice-President Along the same lines, California is updating its General Plan Guidelines for com- Chapman University munities. Cal-IPC Member Paul Minault is following the process and providing formal Steve Schoenig, Treasurer Independent Consultant comment on ways to include invasive plant management, for instance in the section on Jutta Burger, Secretary protecting open space for habitat and conservation. Irvine Ranch Conservancy Morgan Ball The National Green Building Standard is in revision, including a brief section Wildlands Conservation Science on non-invasive landscaping. A project loses significant points if it cannot claim to Tim Buonaccorsi RECON Environmental, Inc. be using non-invasive vegetation (and a project can earn extra points for removing Gina Darin invasives found on site). New draft language clarifies that invasive plant lists are not California Department of Water Resources Jason Giessow limited to those from a government agency. Dendra, Inc. This elevates the potential for using other Elise Gornish science-based lists from organizations like UC Davis, Dept. of Plant Sciences Shawn Kelly Cal-IPC. Southern California Wetlands Recovery Project Drew Kerr California recently completed the 2015 Invasive Spartina Project Update to its Wildlife Action Plan. Tabular Ed King Placer Co. Ag. Commissioner’s Office presentation of 29 ecological pressures Annabelle Kleist considered in the statewide stakeholder pro- Capitol Impact cess show that invasive species are the top Dan Knapp American Conservation Experience ecological pressure on wildlife by far, with John Knapp 50% more strategic actions proposed than The Nature Conservancy the next runner up (“livestock, farming, and ranching”). Though the plan does not call STUDENT LIAISONS this out explicitly in the text, the evidence Marina LaForgia is there, and groups dedicated to protecting UC Davis wildlife can’t miss the significance. Justin Valliere UC Riverside Only time will tell, but with luck these Affiliations for identification purposes only. small bits of progress will add up to big progress in the future. Cal-IPC News California Water Efficient Landscaping model ordinance: Fall 2015 - Vol. 23, No. 3 www.water.ca.gov/wateruseefficiency/landscapeordinance Editors: Doug Johnson & Elizabeth Brusati Published by the California Invasive Plant Council. Articles may California General Plan Guidelines: www.opr.ca.gov/s_generalplanguidelines.php be reprinted with permission. Previous issues are archived at www.cal-ipc.org. Mention of commercial products does not imply endorsement by Cal-IPC. Submissions are welcome. We National Green Building Standard: www.homeinnovation.com/ngbs reserve the right to edit content. California Wildlife Action Plan: www.wildlife.ca.gov/SWAP 2 Cal-IPC News Fall 2015 Cal-IPC Updates SF Bay Upland Habitat Goals. The regional goals document has been Desktop WHIPPET. The WHIPPET WildlandWildland updated. Cal-IPC contributed to chapters tool helps land managers prioritize popu- on “Connections to the Watersheds” lations of invasive plants for eradication. Weed News and Wildlife. baylandsgoals.org/ Last year an online version was released Weed News science-update-2015/ by Cal-IPC. Gina Darin of the CA Dept. of Water Resources has completed a EMAPi conference in Hawai’i (see p. 13). Weeds hurt sage grouse. The Westsern new-and-improved version of the desktop Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies Upcoming project. We received a two- version that you can use with your own produced a report on Invasive Plant year grant from the National Fish and ArcGIS for greater ability to customize the Management and Greater Sage-Grouse Wildlife Foundation to remove Algerian analysis Download from whippet.cal-ipc. Conservation as part of the run-up to the sea lavender from marshes around San org. recent decision to not list the Great Basin Francisco Bay and Herbicide BMPs. Our manual of “Best to develop an index Management Practices for Wildland for ranking the Stewardship: Protecting Wildlife When level of invasive Using Herbicides for Invasive Plant plant threat to each Management” includes practices to reduce salt marsh. risks to wildlife. Toxicology charts show risks of commonly used herbicides to Other News different type of wildlife. Download from Using livestock www.cal-ipc.org. to control weeds. Regional proposals. We worked with University partners in three more regions—South of Nevada Central Coast (Santa Barbara and San Cooperative Luis Obispo counties), North Central Extension has de- (Shasta, Siskiyou, and Trinity counties), signed a handbook and San Mateo County (for Canary Island for using livestock St. Johnswort)—to submit proposals to for noxious weed the California Wildlife Conservation control in nine Wall of Arundo. Second place in 2015 Photo Contest, by Sloane Board to eradicate high-priority invasive Western states. Seferyn, UltaSystems Environmental, Inc. plant species. The guide includes detailed information species as endangered. www.doi.gov Getting around. Cal-IPC has pre- on 26 weed species and is available as a sented on our work at the State of the free download. www.webpages.uidaho.edu/ CISM closes. After 15 years as a suc- San Francisco Estuary conference in rx-grazing/Guidelines.htm cessful western regional hub for invasive Oakland, the Southwest Climate Summit species expertise and interagency project in Sacramento, and at the international Educational books. Teaching About collaboration, the Center for Invasive Invasive Species is designed for youth Species Management closed its doors June educators, with 11 units and 20 ready-to- 30 due to loss of funding. Their website use activities on invasive species (www. serves as an archive of CISM’s projects greenteacher.com). Outlaw Weeds of the and resources. www.weedcenter.org West has descriptions of invasive plants in western states, plus cartoons, photos, and botanical drawings to capture children’s interest, ages 8-12. www.mountain-press. Keep current! com. Remember to check your Cal-IPC State Wildlife Action Plan released. The membership status on the mailing 2015 revision of California’s Plan is now label of this newsletter. Keep your available. The SWAP describes challenges membership current so you don’t miss faced by wildlife and proposes actions for out on any of the new happenings in each eco-region of California. Invasive the field. You can renew online or with species are listed more often than any the enclosed envelope. Thank you for other threat. Cal-IPC wrote the appendix your membership and the support it on Invasive Species. www.wildlife.ca.gov/ provides for our work! SWAP Cal-IPC News Fall 2015 3 Early Detection in Bay Area National Parks By Eric Wrubel, San Francisco Bay Area National Parks he Invasive Plant Species Early uncommon in SFAN parks, or are A prioritization matrix was developed TDetection (ISED) program of the located in adjacent lands, that would to rank species for early detection, based San Francisco Bay Area National Parks cause ecological or economic impacts on current knowledge. Species ranked Network (SFAN) was high if any of the developed to locate following were true: new infestations of - they are invasive in invasive plants before California they become widely established in network - they are ecosystem parks. Prevention is alterers (effecting major the first line of defense changes to chemical or against biological inva- physical processes in sions. However, when ecosystems) preventative measures - they endanger rare are not successful, early plants detection and rapid response (EDRR) is - their known acreage the most efficient and in