SER Southwest Chapter The SER Southwest (SW) Chapter was formed in 2011 to facilitate communication and encourage coordination among land managers, researchers, and restorationists working in the southwestern United States, where minimal and variable precipitation presents unique challenges for the restoration of degraded ecosystems. The SW Chapter’s mission is to foster a network of resource specialists with interest and expertise in restoring desert and other arid ecosystems and to promote the exchange of knowledge, awareness, and collaborative opportunities as a means of sustaining the diversity of life on Earth and reestablishing an ecologically healthy relationship between nature and culture. Are YOU a member yet? 1 Society for Ecological Restoration - Southwest Chapter 2015 Annual Conference Friday, November 20th, 2015 Featured Plenary Presentation: Don Falk is Associate Professor in the University of Arizona School of Natural Resources and the Environment, with joint appointments in the Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research and the Institute of the Environment. He holds degrees from Oberlin College, Tufts University, and the University of Arizona, where he received his PhD in 2004. Don’s research focuses on fire history, fire ecology, and restoration ecology in a changing world. Falk is an AAAS Fellow, and has received the Fulbright Short-Term Scholar award, the Ecological Society of America’s Deevey Award for outstanding graduate work in paleoecology, and awards from his School for both Outstanding Scholarly Contributions and Outstanding Teaching. He was awarded the Udall Fellowship in Public Policy during the academic year 2014-15 for studies in post-fire ecological resilience. Don Falk was co-founder and Executive Director of the Center for Plant Conservation at the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, now at Missouri Botanic Garden. He served subsequently as the first Executive Director of the Society for Ecological Restoration International (SER), of which he was also a founding Board member. He is the author of more than more than 70 peer reviewed technical publications and four books, including Genetics and Conservation of Rare Plants (1991, Oxford University Press, with Kent Holsinger,), Restoring Diversity: Strategies for Reintroduction of Endangered Plants (1996, Island Press, with Connie Millar and Peggy Olwell), Foundations of Restoration Ecology (2006, Island Press, with Margaret Palmer and Joy Zedler), and most recently The Landscape Ecology of Fire (2011, Springer, with Don McKenzie and Carol Miller). He is a member of the Editorial Board for the Island Press series in restoration ecology, the Executive Board of the Southwest Fire Science Consortium, and the science lead for the FireScape initiative in the Arizona Sky Islands. Don teaches regularly at the National Advanced Fire and Resource Institute (NAFRI) and at national and international conferences. He serves currently as Chair of the Global Change Ecology and Management degree option in the UA School of Natural Resources and the Environment. 2 Society for Ecological Restoration - Southwest Chapter 2015 Annual Conference From Restoration to Resilience Ecology: Do We Need a New Paradigm? Donald A. Falk University of Arizona, Associate Professor, School of Natural Resources and the Environment; Associate Professor of Dendrochronology, Laboratory of Tree Ring Research, Tucson, AZ Restoration ecology has always dealt with disturbed, non-equilibrial landscapes. However, current and emerging conditions of climate, land use, non-native species, and altered geochemical cycles may challenge traditional approaches. Some authors have argued that the original form of ecological restoration grounded in historical authenticity may become less viable in coming decades, because environments have changed so dramatically that literally restoring past configurations is no longer possible or relevant to the goals of conservation. These forces may make restoring key processes like species migration and natural fire regimes socially and economically difficult or unattainable. In the face of these challenges, a new paradigm is emerging that emphasizes ecological resilience rather than restoration sensu stricto. In this model, a degree of change from past (reference) conditions is accepted not only as pragmatically inevitable, but also potentially adaptive. The goal of a “resilience ecology” approach is to facilitate the adaptation of ecosystems to emerging conditions, even when the specific form (e.g., the species that comprise a community, or the local distribution of a population) is different from what may have existed in the past. A resilience approach emphasizes combined strategies of enhancing resistance (e.g. survival and persistence), recovery (re-establishing the prior community where possible), and reorganization (allowing new suites of species to colonize an area that may be more adaptive under new conditions). We explore the implications of potentially irreversible ecosystem responses for land management in the coming century, and the emergence of resilience ecology as a new paradigm in the evolution of restoration ecology. Contact Information: University of Arizona, School of Natural Resources and the Environment 1311 E 4th St., Tucson, AZ 85719; [email protected] 3 Society for Ecological Restoration - Southwest Chapter 2015 Annual Conference Friday Morning Sessions Invasives Session Moderator: Steve Plath, Signature Botanica Tamarisk Beetle Expert Panel Report Ben Bloodworth1, Pat Shafroth2, Anna Sher3, Rebecca Manners4, Dan Bean5, Matt Johnson6, and Osvel Hinojosa-Huerta7 1Tamarisk Coalition, Grand Junction, CO 2 U.S. Geological Survey, Fort Collins, CO 3 University of Denver, Denver, CO 4 University of Montana, Bozeman, MT 5 Colorado Department of Agriculture, Palisade, CO 6 Colorado Plateau Research Station at Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 7 Pronatura Noroeste, Ensenada, Baja California, México In 2001, the tamarisk beetle (Diorhabda spp.) was approved for limited release by USDA- APHIS as a biological control agent for the invasive shrub/tree Tamarix. Since that time, four separate beetle species have spread across much of the western U.S. and northern Mexico. As the beetles have dispersed throughout the Colorado and Rio Grande watersheds, increasing concern has arisen over potential impacts to wildlife. This concern focuses on the endangered southwestern willow flycatcher, whose critical habitat includes thousands of tamarisk-dominated riparian acres yet to be impacted by the arrival of the beetle. In an effort to provide land managers with up-to-date information on the potential impacts of the beetles’ presence in the Lower Colorado River Basin, as well as solutions for restoration and the mitigation of any possible negative effects, Tamarisk Coalition convened an Expert Panel to discuss the impending ecosystem changes. A report from this panel discussion was recently published and information presented within it will be the focus of this presentation. Contact Information: Tamarisk Coalition, 244 N 7th St. Grand Junction, CO 81501; [email protected] Case Study: Ravenna Grass Management on the Rio Grande Chad Mckenna and Todd Caplan GeoSystems Analysis, Inc., Albuquerque, NM Ravenna grass (Saccharum ravennae) is a large, perennial, rhizomatous grass native to western Asia and southern Europe that was first reported in New Mexico during the 1980’s. Since then, it has spread aggressively through riparian and wetland habitats along the Middle Rio Grande, including robust willow-dominated wetlands which support federally-listed species that are a focus of habitat restoration efforts. Millions of dollars have been invested in willow swale construction over the past decade and during that time, Ravenna grass has spread throughout the valley and invaded many of the restoration 4 Society for Ecological Restoration - Southwest Chapter 2015 Annual Conference projects. To some land managers it was a welcomed addition to the riparian forest as a large, exotic-looking, attractive grass while other agency staff was concerned that the species could compromise the performance of their restoration project. Its status as a management priority was unclear because little was known about Ravenna grass at that time and it was not formally listed as a noxious weed. In 2007, we coordinated with various agencies to build support for listing the species and in 2008, we successfully added the species to the New Mexico noxious weed list. Very little information was available for the species back in 2008 and since then we have documented the current extent through the Albuquerque Reach, monitored its expansion, educated agencies and land managers on identification and control, experimented with various treatment techniques, began formalizing a Cooperative Weed Management Area for the Rio Grande basin, and learned several important lessons. The lessons learned through this experience have broader adaptive management implications for other species and other regions. Contact Information: GeoSystems Analysis, Inc., 3150 Carlisle Blvd. NE #107, Albuquerque, NM 87110; [email protected] Implementation of a Multi-Benefit, Multi-Jurisdictional Salt Cedar Management Plan for the El Rio Reach of the Gila River, Maricopa County, AZ Jennifer Pokorski and Pat Ellison Flood Control District of Maricopa County, Phoenix, AZ Over 60% of the Gila River as it runs through the cities of Avondale, Buckeye and Goodyear in southwestern Maricopa County is covered