Spotted Knapweed, Centaurea stoebe, Early Detection and Rapid Response in Alaska Gino Graziano Division of Agriculture, Plant Materials Center
[email protected] 907-745-8127 Project Funded by the USFWS, American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Summary Spotted knapweed, Centaurea stoebe, is targeted for eradication in Alaska because it presents a serious threat to natural and agricultural resources, and is present in few locations in Alaska. The enclosed report resulted from a 2 year project funded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Through this project each infestation of spotted knapweed was visited to confirm its continued presence or absence. The project implemented outreach advertisements through radio, the Milepost, and fliers distributed to passengers of the Alaska ferry system to foster public participation in prevention and early detection. We suggest prevention activities for land managers which include ensuring clean equipment is used if brought from sources outside Alaska. Habitat suitability was modeled from the presence of existing locations with the assistance of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Finally, tasks to continue eradication and prevention efforts into the future are discussed. Introduction Spotted knapweed, Centaurea stoebe, is recorded as present or having occurred at 23 locations in Alaska. Of those original 23 locations only 5 infestations still persist. Infestations of such highly invasive plants are obvious high priorities for Early Detection and Rapid Response (EDRR) in Alaska. Spotted knapweed is a notorious invasive plant that has infested millions of acres in the Western United States, and parts of Canada. Knapweed ranks 86/100 according to the Invasive Plant Ranking System for Alaska (Carlson et al.