Volume 3 Issue 4 Winter 2010 Unwanted Invaders Inside this issue: Invasive Species Council of Manitoba c/o 5006 Roblin Blvd. Winnipeg, MB R3R 0G7 Protecting Manitoba from 1 Emerald Ash Borer Ph: (204) 232-6021 Fax: (204) 986-7236 Email: [email protected] Do Not Move Firewood 1 Protecting Manitoba’s Trees from Emerald Ash Borer Risk Analysis for Manitoba & 2 By Kyla Maslaniec, Forest Health Extension AGM Summary gives the province the ability to respond to detec- Technician, Manitoba Conservation tions of new invasive forest pests. Forest prod- ISCM Past Events 2 A tiny green invader from Asia is attacking ucts can be seized, trees removed or destroyed, ash trees in North America. Emerald ash areas quarantined, and “Forest Threat Response Weed Management Plans 3 borer is a beautiful iridescent green insect that Zones” established, where restrictions can be kills ash trees. It was first detected in North made on the movement and treatment of certain Manitoba Bio-Net 3 America in 2002, in Michigan and Ontario. tree species and forest products. Since then, it has been found in Quebec and Public education is one of the most important Tale of a Wandering Spider 4 12 more states in the U.S. ways to prevent the spread of invasive forest Upcoming Events 5 Millions of ash trees have been lost in Michi- pests. Manitoba, along with the federal govern- gan alone, and that state is at risk of losing all ment, is actively promoting a “Do Not Move Fire- NAWMA Conference 2011 5 of their ash trees. Manitoba would face a simi- wood” campaign, as firewood is known to be a lar threat if EAB was to become established pathway for the spread of EAB and other invasive Funding Sources & Partners 6 here. Ash trees are a major component of pests. The province will also be attending several river bottom forests and have been planted trade shows and public events to raise aware- FACT SHEET 7 extensively in our communities and rural ness about the threat of invasive pests. shelterbelts as a replacement for elms lost to Orange-coloured firewood collection bins have Dutch elm disease. been set up at the major points of entry into the Extra copies of the To prevent such devastating losses, the prov- province on the eastern and western borders. ince has introduced new legislation and pro- Signs have been erected at these locations as 2010 Prairie Inva- grams to stop the spread of invasive forest well, warning the public about moving firewood. pests into Manitoba. The Forest Health Pro- These bins are checked regularly, and any wood sive Species calen- tection Act (FHPA), was proclaimed in May of collected is inspected for the presence of invasive 2009, and will help the province to prevent pests. dar now available! accidental introductions of invasive pests like An ash inventory was completed in 2009, to de- the emerald ash borer. termine the potential impacts of EAB in this prov- Contact the ISCM for Under the Act, the movement of ash material ince. The province will also be monitoring for EAB is prohibited from federal EAB regulated ar- in 2010 by establishing trap trees in certain com- your free copy today! eas of Ontario and Quebec. The Act also munities and inspecting high risk areas. Call (204) 232-6021 or We can protect Mani- toba’s forests from info@invasivespecies harmful invasive forest manitoba.com pests, but it will take a coordinated effort be- tween governments, municipalities, non- government agencies and the public. To learn more, please visit: http:// www.gov.mb.ca/ conservation/ forestry/index.html Page 2 Unwanted Invaders will be used to determine priorities for the Risk Analysis for ISCM Early Detection and Rapid Re- sponse (EDRR) program. The priority Manitoba: ISCM’s species will be listed in an ISCM ’watch list’. This workshop was funded through 2nd Annual AGM the federal Invasive Alien Species Part- nership Program. & Workshop After lunch, a keynote presentation was Article & Photos By: Sandi Faber Routley, given by Patricia Rawlek and Greg ISCM Invasive Species Technician Hensel of the North American Weed Management Association (NAWMA). The Stakeholder’s Workshop was They outlined the organization and its kicked off with a welcome and introduc- mandate in North America, and gave an tion by ISCM Coordinator Cheryl Hem- update on the 2009 NAWMA conference ing. This was followed by the workshop recently held in Kearney, Nebraska. It ‘Risk Analysis for Manitoba’, facilitated was a very informative presentation, and by Cory Lindgren of Canadian Food judging by the amount of questions after- Inspection Agency and Doug Cattani of ward, it greatly peaked the interest of the Manitoba Agriculture and Rural Food stakeholders present. The AGM Initiatives. wrapped up Friday afternoon with the ISCM’s annual business meeting. Attendees of the Stakeholder ‘s Workshop. Topics discussed included an Introduction to Risk Analysis and the Federal Approach, Provincial considerations and Use, Intro- duction to the Canadian Weed Risk As- sessment, and Weed Risk Assessment Demonstration. Risk Analysis Workshop with Cory Lindgren. ISCM’s Display at the AGM & Workshop This model for Risk Analysis in Manitoba ISCM Past Events Dr. Westbrooks was very well received by lenges they are facing. For example, a By Kristin Pingatore, ISCM Mapping all in attendance, including a number of lawyer in the department addressed Technician new faces in the group, undergraduate questions pertaining to state laws and students from the University of Manitoba’s regulations that the weed board mem- Volunteer Monitoring session, Department of Environment and Geogra- bers had submitted before the event. Wednesday December 2, 2009 in Win- phy. ISCM is planning on going forward nipeg. with the first steps of establishing a volun- One of the hot topics of the day was the teer network, at the discretion of the Early spread of Emerald Ash Borer – which Dr. Randy Westbrooks spoke on the Detection and Rapid Response Commit- despite not being a weed, is a very seri- topic of creating a volunteer network to tee, including applying for grants to cover ous threat to the state now that the spe- aid in early detection, rapid response and staff salaries and logistics for the project. cies has been located in Minnesota. The monitoring of invasive species in Mani- Department of Agriculture used a ses- toba. He pointed out that there are many North Dakota Agriculture Commis- sion during the forum to promote aware- organizations already in place and with sioner's Weed Forum, January 12, 2010 ness among the weed supervisors, so basic training in invasive species ID, they in Mandan, North Dakota. that any warning signs they see while out could aid scientists in identifying new working don’t go unchecked. By the end invaders. Other organizations could pro- Staff from ISCM attended a weed forum of the day, ISCM had established a num- vide volunteers for events such as weed put on by the North Dakota Department of ber of contacts and even joined in their pulling. Building bridges to connect Agriculture directed at the State’s weed membership in order to keep abreast of these organizations to the Invasive Spe- supervisors. The event provided great news coming from North Dakota, which cies Council of Manitoba should be the insight into the methods of our neighbours could affect Manitoba. first step in establishing such a network. to the south, as well as a look at what chal- Page 3 Unwanted Invaders include a description of the region – geo- infestation. A baseline survey of weeds ISCM Weed Man- graphically and in terms of land use & in the district’s landscape is key to figur- economy. This information aids in deter- ing this out. What may also be impor- agement Plans mining what species are best focused on tant is the details surrounding the infes- and whether they need to be controlled or tation, such as how the species arrived, By: Kristin Pingatore, ISCM Mapping eradicated. and any special considerations that a Technician site requires (e.g. Cattle can’t be moved Weed Districts and Municipalities need to another pasture, which affects what a strategic plan of approach to identify- control agents can be used on the site). ing and combating weeds in their re- gions. Thanks to funding support from Finally, the plan should also incorporate the provincial Agricultural Sustainabil- provisions and documents regarding ity Initiative, ISCM has a Weed Man- health & safety, best management prac- agement Plan (WMP) Template to help tices or protocols, administration, con- get the ball rolling. tacts, and maps of the region. The WMP Template is a constantly What is included in a weed manage- evolving project that seeks to give our ment plan? Weed Supervisors collecting GPS data during partners the best outline possible for an ISCM Workshop. Photo by ISCM. It begins with developing and stating the creating their weed management plans. District or Municipality’s weed manage- Once the goals and objectives figured In April 2010, the template will be avail- ment policy, which then form the basis out, list the resources available for use. able for download at: of their goals and objectives for the This includes monies, staff, equipment, www.invasivespeciesmanitoba.com. For plan. Includes a review process, which and access to control agents. Before a further information about weed man- requires that the plan be reviewed and plan of attack on weeds can take place, it agement plans, please contact the changed on a regular basis as condi- is important to know what species are ISCM (204)232-6021 or tions change. It is also important to present, where they are and the size of [email protected].