Marion County Invasive Species Management Council

January 26, 2007 Update

MARION COUNTY INVASIVE SPECIES MANAGEMENT COUNCIL

The following status report is based on the programmatic report Marion County submitted to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to document progress made during MCISMC’s first year of Pulling Together Initiative funding.

INTRODUCTION

Cogongrass (Imperata cylindrica) is one of the world's ten worst weeds. (PCA lists it as an Alien Invader, USDA considers it a Noxious Weed, and FLEPPC lists it as a Category I Invasive Exotic Species.) This extremely aggressive Asian grass has been spreading explosively across central Florida over the past decade, dispersing along roadways and invading healthy natural communities and established pastures as well as disturbed sites. Because cogongrass has proven capable of converting vast acreages of ecologically diverse landscape into monospecific grasslands -- magnifying wildfire hazards as it alters fire regimes to favor its own perpetuation -- it is rapidly becoming a major threat to this region. Previous spotty cogongrass control efforts have failed to contain the problem. Now, with multiple clones spreading across the landscape and outcrossing enhancing seed production, cogongrass expansion is accelerating.

Marion County covers a 1,579-square-mile area of central Florida encompassing 640,000 acres of cogongrass-susceptible land, including most of Ocala National Forest and the Florida horse country.

Although Florida natural area managers are generally familiar with the most problematic invasives and attempt to remove them from their lands, they seldom use strategic IPM-based approaches and rarely coordinate their efforts with those of other landowners. The Marion County Invasive Species Management Council formed through this NFWF grant has been welcomed as Florida’s pioneer “weed management area”. Vegetation managers from around the state are enthusiastically working with us to adapt/apply advanced western-style weed management insight to Florida’s very different geographic, ecological, and sociopolitical environment.

Our program has generated tremendous enthusiasm because it addresses critical conservation needs at the right time and in the right place. We have recruited nearly fifty active partner organizations who have invested over $200,000 towards eradicating cogongrass from Marion County. Our program enjoys the cooperation and admiration of state and regional invasives professionals, outstanding press coverage, and virtually universal support from the local community.

The initial cycle of work funded by our NFWF Pulling Together Initiative grant was organized into the following four phases.

PHASE 1: ORGANIZATION OF WEED MANAGEMENT AREA STEERING COMMITTEE

The Marion County Invasive Species Management Council (MCISMC) was organized in February 2006. Since that time, the following organizations have become involved, along with numerous individual citizens:

Alachua Conservation Trust

BASF Corporation

Clay Electric Cooperative

Conway Conservation

City of Ocala

Florida Black Bear Scenic Byway Corridor Advocacy Group

Florida Bureau of Invasive Plant Management

Florida Chapter of the Society for Range Management

Florida Department of Transportation

Florida Division of Forestry

Florida Division of Plant Industry

Florida Division of State Lands

Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council

Florida Federation of Garden Clubs

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

Florida Native Plant Society

Florida Natural Areas Inventory

Florida Office of Greenways and Trails

Florida Park Service

Florida Uplands Network

Infrastructure Corporation of America

International Property Services

Lewis Environmental Services

Marion County Audubon

Marion County Cooperative Extension Service

Marion County Information Systems Department

Marion County Parks and Recreation Department

Marion County Soil and Water Conservation District

Marion County Transportation Department

Mockernut Hill Botanical Garden

On Top of the World

Plum Creek Timber

Progress Energy

Putnam County Environmental Coalition

Rayonier

Save Our Big Scrub

Southwest Florida Water Management District

St. Johns River Water Management District

Sumter Electric Cooperative

The Nature Conservancy

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

USDA Forest Service

USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service

University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences

University of Florida Levin College of Law

PHASE 2: MAPPING

As a pilot project for their invasives tracking system, the Florida Natural Areas Inventory has created GIS maps synthesizing location data for cogongrass infestations on/near almost all of our extensive public lands and overlaying these with aerial survey grid data. These maps are now online as an interactive database where users can view location data with plant photos and enter new sites and updates. We intend to incorporate features of TNCs Weed Information Management System (WIMS) so that this will work much like the Southwest Exotic Mapping Program (SWEMP)’s system.

Hundreds of cogongrass coordinates collected by county road crews have been entered into Marion County’s award-winning online interactive GIS. This system allows citizens to zoom in on any spot and relate it to aerial photography, topographic maps, property boundaries, roads, water bodies, etc., then link parcels to landowner names and addresses. Because of the aerial photo options and the inclusion of every county road and property line, it permits the user to find familiar locations easily. Our partners will be able to use these maps to identify cogongrass control territories, develop neighborhood strategies, plan landowner contact programs, and share/compare their successes as the little green grass-clump icons change to yellow, then brown.

PHASE 3: STRATEGIC PLAN DEVELOPMENT

APPROACH

We have developed a plan for eradicating cogongrass from Marion County within ten years using an approach that integrates geographic, biological, and social strategies.

Our geographic strategy is based on Robin Lewis’ “bull’s eye” approach to preventing exotic invasion of restoration sites (Randall et al. 1997) and Steven Dewey’s “Attack Your Weeds Like a Wildfire” guidelines (Carpenter and Murray 2000). Lewis speaks of treating critical vulnerable areas as a bull’s eye and maintaining concentric control buffers around them. Dewey explains that, in both fighting wildfires and controlling invasives, you must 1) build a fireline; 2) eliminate spotfires; 3) protect critical areas; and 4) control the main outbreak. We add two concepts to this analogy: 5) prevent blowups; and 6) conduct mopup operations.

Marion County is essentially uplands (cogongrass habitat) surrounded by wetlands (not cogongrass habitat) with relatively cogongrass-free areas along the county lines in most places. It is thus logical to establish control lines along our boundaries and work with adjoining counties to extend cogongrass-free zones back to the natural wetland buffers. We are also establishing an east-west line as a critical control line in the statewide war against cogongrass.

Our strategy calls for separating cogongrass concentrations with ever-widening cogongrass-free zones. We will encourage our partners to “divide and conquer” at all scales, from statewide down to the neighborhood level. This good generic weed control approach is especially well suited to our populations of this sexually reproducing species, since there is evidence that our cogongrass populations are not producing nearly as much viable seed as they could with increased cross-pollination (Schilling et al. 1997). We will define buffer zones around native upland groundcover resources, potential propagule export sources, and lands at risk for rapid invasion and eradicate cogongrass from the inner edges of these buffers, then expand them outward. Isolated stands will be treated as high priority “spotfires”.

Our biological strategy is based on understanding that cogongrass rhizomes are long, deep, tough, persistent, and resilient – and that relentlessly killing all of them is the key to control. Cogongrass seed viability declines rapidly after the first couple of months, so persistence in the seed bank does not appear to be a problem (Shilling et al. 1997). Imazypyr and/or glyphosate will kill cogongrass, especially when used in proper seasonal combination with burning, mowing, tilling, shading, and/or replanting. But, no matter how diligent applicators are, overlooked sprigs and deep-rooted rhizomes will inevitably cause cogongrass to reemerge in most places where it has been treated. We must therefore change the habit of just spraying herbicide once or twice every year or so, which permits regrowth and promotes herbicide resistance, to consistently monitoring and attacking stands every 2-3 months so that new top growth cannot supply nutrients to allow recovery of rhizomes between stresses. We will carefully monitor cogongrass-free zones for at least the first three years after “eradication” and treat new outbreaks before they develop massive rhizome networks.

Our social strategy is based on grassroots community involvement. Working in geographic priority zones, we are encouraging community groups to adopt neighborhood cogongrass management areas like they adopt sections of highway for litter cleanup. Outreach visits and website resources provide instructions, information, and problem-solving support. Our interactive online GIS systems will permit participants to enter occurrence records and track treatments, allowing them to compare progress in healthy competition. We hope to have maps set up so that anyone can click on any place in the county and get the contact information for the individual acting as the cogongrass control coordinator for that neighborhood.

OBJECTIVES

We have defined the following priority objectives for the initial implementation cycle of our program. The specific tasks to be accomplished in order to achieve each of these objectives are outlined in the logic framework for the proposal for continued Pulling Together Initiative funding we submitted to NFWF December 15, 2006:

Establish cogongrass-free zones across the county; around boundaries and containment areas; and where outliers are.

Assure that all cogongrass on public forest/conservation lands has been treated (and is being appropriately monitored/retreated) and establish control programs on inholdings/buffers.

Assess cogongrass management needs on private timberlands and address them through community efforts and a countywide program.

See that cogongrass eradication programs are established on road, railroad, and utility ROWs.

Develop procedures for cost-effectively coordinating treatments across property lines.

Develop mechanisms to assure that cogongrass is not spread via movement of equipment or materials.

Use websites to facilitate information exchange regarding cogongrass distribution, control techniques/strategies, and eradication programs/progress and provide basic ID and control information for other Marion County invasive plants, then promote these resources via articles and flyers.

Our strategic plan has been set up as a very detailed “living document” designed to be constantly revised and expanded online as our program evolves. It will be integrated into our website at early in 2007.

PHASE 4: STRATEGY IMPLEMENTATION

ON-THE-GROUND CONTROL WORK

Newspaper coverage of our program has led to a visible decrease in cogongrass. We have noticed many places where stands on private lands and ROWs have been herbicided or mowed short since our efforts began receiving publicity.

We have found peer pressure to be a valuable tool in prompting land managers to monitor and treat cogongrass infestations. Knowing that we would be asking about their efforts and sharing reports of progress across agency lines has prompted a flurry of control activity.

In 2006, a grant from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission enabled the U.S. Forest Service to treat all infestations on Ocala National Forest during the late fall period when the herbicide is most effectively translocated into the rhizomes. The Florida Bureau of Invasive Plant Management put around $80,000 into a similar Florida Department of Environmental Protection effort on the heavily infested Cross Florida Greenway. International Properties retreated all cogongrass stands on their lands during the summer and again in the fall. Numerous other landowners have also participated.

We have received a $5,000 BASF grant to assist private landowners adjacent to public lands to conduct coordinated treatments in 2007-2008.

EDUCATION

The Florida Division of Forestry is supporting development of a MCISMC website which will link to our online GIS databases, facilitate communication re cogongrass control strategies, and provide information about other invasive plants. This website will be central to our future communication/coordination efforts and education programs.

One of the most important lessons we have learned is that a good website is a vital prerequisite to a cost-effective county weed management program. As soon as we began getting press attention, we were deluged with questions we were not prepared to answer efficiently without a website to refer to. Dealing with these inquiries individually ate up an inordinate amount of time we had not planned for. We therefore changed our original plan, postponing distributing flyers and seeking publicity and instead prioritized planning a website. From now on, we will post answers to the expected FAQs before initiating an outreach/education effort.