Plants out of Place The newsletter of the INVASIVE PLANTS ASSOCIATION OF WISCONSIN Issue 18, May 2007 IPAW Board of Directors June is Invasive Species Awareness Month 2007 Jerry Doll, President UW-Extension, Weed Scientist, Emeritus by Rachel Orwan, ISAM Coordinator 7386 Clover Hill Dr., Waunakee, WI 53597 (608) 836-8809; [email protected] Invasive Species Awareness Month (ISAM) 2007 will offer a wonderful Tom Hunt, Vice-President UW – Platteville, Reclamation Program mix of events, with something that should be of interest to a wide variety 207 Pioneer Tower, Platteville, WI 53818 of people and groups. Scheduled events include canoe floats, television (608) 342-1898; [email protected] programs, tours of State Natural Areas, workdays, radio interviews, lec- Amy Staffen, Secretary The Prairie Enthusiasts, Restoration Manager tures, training sessions, and even an art show opening! And these only 3813 Euclid Avenue, Madison, WI 53711 include the events that have been posted to the on-line event calendar (608) 238-0450; [email protected] before the beginning of May! Thomas Boos, Treasurer Department of Natural Resources P.O. Box 7921, Madison, WI 53707-7921 A myriad of groups and concerned individuals have really come out of (608) 266-9276; [email protected] the woodwork to plan activities throughout the state that will help fur- Doug Bastian Forage First Product Manager ther the spread of knowledge and awareness regarding invasive species. 2901 Packers Ave., Madison, WI 53707 However we can still use a little bit of your help to ensure that ISAM is a (800) 356-7333; [email protected] success. Willis Brown Michler and Brown, LLC 2601 Gregory St., Madison, WI 53711 Visit the ISAM on-line events calendar at the following website: (608) 278-9308; [email protected] (http://invasivespecies.wi.gov). Check out events that may interest fam- John Exo UW – Extension, Lower Wisconsin River Basin ily, friends, neighbors and colleagues and encourage them to attend! Go 505 Broadway St., Baraboo, WI 53913 to some events yourself – you may just learn something, and you will (608) 355-3554; [email protected] probably have some fun! Remember this is a worthy cause. If we are Mark Feider Milwaukee Audubon Society successful, we will be increasing awareness, changing behavior, engag- 2125 W. Brantwood Ave., Glendale, WI 53209 (414) 228-7425; [email protected] ing future volunteers and leveraging future funding of invasive species work. Robert J. Frank Fish & Wildlife, Stockbridge-Munsee Community P.O. Box 70, Bowler, WI 54416 One last reminder, it isn’t too late to plan a community weed pull, hike, (715) 793-4044; [email protected] or some other event. Please submit your last minute activities to the on- Jim Reinartz UW - Milwaukee Field Station line calendar so they can be included in the event count. Thanks and 3095 Blue Goose Road, Saukville, WI 53080 (262) 675-6844; [email protected] congratulations to you all for another successful ISAM. Gene Roark 16 Grand Ave., Madison, WI 53705 (608) 238-5349 Calendar of Events Matthew Schmitz for the June 2007 The Bruce Co., 2830 Parmenter St PO Box 620330, Middleton, WI 53562-0330 Invasive Species Awareness Month (608) 836-7041; [email protected] Rolf Utegaard Please see pages 4-7 of this issue. Also, Eau Claire County Exposition Center P.O.Box 1092, Eau Claire, WI 54702 be sure to check the ISAM website: (715) 834-0065; [email protected] http://invasivespecies.wi.gov. Click on Anne Walker Home Land Garden, LLC “Complete Event Listing” on the right- 1704 Winnebago St., Madison, WI 53704 hand side bar. Additional events are (608) 241-4211 being added daily. Layout of Newsletter by: Susan Slapnick - [email protected] Plants out of Place INVASIVE PLANTS ASSOCIATION OF WISCONSIN 2 Comments from the President Your association’s Board has been busy. Time to give you an update. We gathered for an all-day planning meeting in early March. Our facilitator, Melinda Habecker from UW-Extension in Dane County, guided us in reviewing three main areas: maximizing the impact of IPAW’s Board, maximizing the impact of our Committees, and increasing the involvement and activity of IPAW’s membership. Several ways to enhance the organization were identified; the Board is already implementing some of these and considering others. The board is meeting monthly (normally we convene every two months) to keep the momentum as we strive to help IPAW grow and evolve. IPAW membership will have ample opportunity to help us invigorate our committees and revitalize member participation in IPAW activities. We have a new Vice President! Dr. Tom Hunt of UW-Platteville willingly accepted the nomination and was elected in March. IPAW’s outgoing Vice President, Rolf Utegaard, is a founding member of IPAW and the only vice president the organization has ever had. As a member of the “inner circle” since the be- ginning, he is a walking history of IPAW and has done much to promote and foster our growth. While stepping down as VP, Rolf continues to chair our Communication Committee and will still attend meetings related to invasive plants to staff our display, to educate and to recruit. Thanks for your dedicated and ex- cellent service to IPAW, Rolf! We have two new board members to represent the interests of the “green industry” within IPAW. Join me in welcoming and congratulating Anne Walker and Matt Schmitz on their election and in thanking them for their willingness to serve. You will find information on each of them in this newsletter. I wish you a fruitful summer, and I hope our paths will cross at one or more of the events planned for Inva- sive Species Awareness Month. Jerry Doll Clarissa Hammond, IPAW’s New Program Assistant Clarissa Hammond is originally from Dowling, Michi- gan, and came to Madison in 2003 to enter the graduate program in weed ecology at the UW Department of Agronomy. She graduated in the fall of 2005 and began working as a Plant Pest and Disease Specialist in the Pest Survey section of the Plant Industry Bureau of the Wis- consin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP). In her position she surveys for in- sect, weed and disease pests, writes articles for the Wis- consin Pest Bulletin, and is becoming involved with DATCP’s biocontrol program. Clarissa’s first introduction to IPAW was through the website. She used the IPAW survey forms as a model for developing data sheets for some of her work at DATCP. She became interested in working with IPAW after read- ing the IPAW mission statement and attending the annual meeting in Milwaukee. Clarissa says, “I like the way IPAW is taking action to educate and collaborate with others to increase awareness of invasive plants.” She is pleased to be involved with IPAW and looks forward to Clarissa Hammond is IPAW’s new her work with the organization in the coming year. Program Assistant. Plants out of Place INVASIVE PLANTS ASSOCIATION OF WISCONSIN 3 Meet Tom Hunt, IPAW’s New Vice President Thomas C. Hunt, Ph.D., Director of Pioneer Farm Research and Director of the Reclamation, Environment and Conserva- tion program at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, teaches courses in restoration ecology, project management, landscape design and soil and water conservation. Dr. Hunt formerly served as senior staff ecologist with Applied Ecologi- cal Services, where he managed major projects for the com- pany such as The Nature Conservancy’s 7,200-acre restoration project at Kankakee Sands in northern Indiana, and Kennecott Mineral’s Flambeau Mine Reclamation project in northern Wisconsin. Before that he was manager of land resources and stewardship for the Wisconsin Power & Light Company. He has spent the past 30 years working primarily as a restoration ecologist in the land resources area, and has experience in GIS project management, environmental affairs, real estate, and Dr. Tom Hunt is IPAW’s new Vice President. water quality. Dr. Hunt's experience in private consulting, federal and state agencies, the energy utility industry, and now acade- mia ranges from legislative policy development to infield restoration and management activities. His work includes restoration of endangered communities and species, mine land restoration, and classification and mapping soils for the National Cooperative Soil Survey. A native of Ashland, Wisconsin, Tom has degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in soil science, a Masters in landscape architecture, and a Doctorate in land resources from the Gaylord Nelson Institute of Environmental Studies. He is a board member of the Center for American Places and the Invasive Plants Association of Wisconsin. Dr. Hunt is a life member of The Prairie Enthusiasts and American Society for Mining & Reclamation, and is active in Trout Unlimited and The Nature Conservancy. New IPAW Board Member, Anne New IPAW Board Member, Matthew T. Schmitz Walker, Home Land Garden, LLC Manager, Golf Course Maintenance, The Bruce Company of Wisconsin, Inc. Anne has been a professional organic landscape gardener for over 20 years. Matt is a graduate of Penn State University’s turfgrass mainte- She designs, installs, and maintains nance program and is currently the Manager of golf course gardens, and also consults in these maintenance with The Bruce Company in Middleton. He over- areas. Anne has also done several sees maintenance of four golf courses in the Madison area. Matt pieces for Wisconsin Public Televi- has been working in the green industry in some form or another sion’s “Wisconsin Gardener.” She all his life, but more specifically the last 16 years, have been in loves teaching, which she has done for golf course maintenance. He was the Assistant Superintendent the last ten years, and is passionate at Milwaukee Country Club, then a Superintendent with The about plants and the concept of sus- Bruce Company at Bishops Bay Country Club in Middleton, tainability.