Control Privet in Mature Hardwood Stands

"Chinese Privet (Ligustrum sinense) is one of the most widespread non-native invasive plants within hardwood and pine forests throughout all ecoregions of Georgia (Harper 2009). It aggressively invades, spreads and eventually dominates many forested understories, completely displacing native flora. This field trial by the Georgia Forestry Commission evaluated one technique (previously untested) for removing a privet-choked understory in a hardwood bottom within the piedmont region."Click here to read the paper.

Chinese privet taking over Forest understory
Photo by David J. Moorhead, University of Georgia, Bugwood.org

Spreading the Right Messages About Invasives

Excerpt from article in Diversity and Distributions invasive bush "honeysuckle disproportionately impacts birds of conservation concern and acts as an ecological trap even for generalist species. Although there is a real need to fully consider both positive and negative consequences of invasive species, if such research is not placed within the proper ecological context, we risk sending distorted or mixed messages to managers." Read the entire article by Amanda D. Rodewald, School of Environment & Natural Resources, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH.
Link to article: Spreading messages about invasives
Spreading messages about invasives, Diversity and Distributions, (Diversity Distrib.) (2011) 1–3

Lonicera maackii, photo by Leslie J. Mehrhoff, University of Connecticut, Bugwood.org

What Is in Your Backyard?

What is in your backyard?

Do you know how many different kinds

 of invasive plants are lurking in your yard? 

Here is a way to find out:

1. First find the list of invasive plants for your state or region. Click on this link to the National Exotic Pest Plant Council, then choose the EPPC in your region to find your list. It could also be called an Invasive Pest Council or something similar.

2. Next click on this link to EDDMapS and choose your county to get a list of the non-native plants which have been reported in your county. Please note that all of the species listed may not be a problem in your county, but are exotic to the U.S. and are listed as a problem somewhere in the U.S.

3. Take the two lists and a highlighter and walk around your yard. Highlight every plant on the lists that you find in your yard.

4. Let's see what everyone finds. Show us your results on the Bugwood Facebook page.

If you need help to check that a plant on the list is what are you seeing in your yard...go to www.Invasive.org. Click on the Plants tab then find the plant you want to check out from the 1576 plants listed there. Click on the plant name and you can see basic information, management information and pictures of the plant which you can compare to the plant you have in your yard.

6th Annual Southeastern Bioenergy Conference

The 6th Annual Southeastern Bioenergy Conference will be held in Tifton on August 9-11. This is a great opportunity to meet the key players and learn what is going on.  

This Conference is really hard to beat for content and impossible to beat for value. This year, NASCAR driver Kenny Wallace will help kick the Conference off, followed by a group of Bioenergy experts from Europe, China, Brazil and the U. S. Innovative research, financial support, regulatory oversight, and long-term renewable fuels contracts will be the subject of our speakers from DOE, USDA, EPA and the Air Force.   

As with last year, Dr. Craig Kvien, the conference organizer, we will cover the registration for County Extension personnel. But please register so they will have a good count for meals.
Please visit http://www.sebioenergy.org for more.

Texas Invasive Plant and Pest Conference

Announcing the 2011 Texas Invasive Plant and Pest Conference

November 8-10, 2011

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

Austin, Texas 

This November, the Texas Invasive Plant & Pest Council will be hosting the fourth statewide conference on invasive species at Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin, Texas. Building off the 2005, 2007 and 2009 conferences, the 2011 conference will be a professional level meeting including keynotes, concurrent sessions, posters, field trips and symposia. 

This conference is designed to serve scientists, land managers, state and federal agencies, local governments, the green industry and other stakeholders interested in invasive species issues in the state of Texas.

To learn more about the Conference Program, Call for Papers, Abstract Submission, or Sponsors and Exhibitors, visit the 2011 Conference Website at http://texasinvasives.org/professionals/conference11.php. 

Register: http://www.texasinvasives.org/professionals/register.php

Submit an Abstract: http://www.texasinvasives.org/professionals/abstract_insert.php

Nonnative Invasive Plants of Pacific Coast Forests

A recent press release: The Pacific Northwest Research Station/U.S. Forest Service recently released, Nonnative Invasive Plants of Pacific Coast Forests: A Field Guide for Identification.  It is a concise and well-illustrated field guide for novice botanists and managers alike.
“Nonnative plants affect the composition and function of natural and managed landscapes. They can have a large economic effect on landowners and local governments through eradication costs and lost or degraded land use,” according to lead author and Forest Service research ecologist Andrew Gray.
The 91-page color guide provides detail on each plant in nontechnical language and photos of different stages of plant development are included to allow reliable identification in the field at different times of the year. Information was synthesized from various national, regional, and state lists, assessments, and botanical guides.
“Our final list was designed to capture species believed to be most prevalent or problematic for use in strategic forest inventories like the Forest Service’s Forest Inventory and Analysis Program,” adds Gray.
Little comprehensive information exists on the abundance, distribution, and impact of nonnative plants. The lack of identification guides with sufficiently specific descriptions and detailed images makes collecting information on the impact of invasives difficult. Gray and his colleagues, Katie Barndt, an instructor at North Seattle Community College, and Sarah Reichard, professor at the University of Washington’s School of Forest Resources, designed a study to prioritize a list of nonnative invasive plants affecting forest lands in the Pacific coastal states. This field guide is the result of their study and covers California, Oregon, and Washington.
To download the guide visit http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/pubs/pnw_gtr817.pdf or order a hard copy by sending an e-mail to pnw_pnwpubs@fs.fed.us. Ask for PNW-GTR-817.

Tree-of-heave, Ailanthus altissima winged seeds
photo by Karan A. Rawlins, University of Georgia, Bugwood.org

Mid-Atlantic Invasive Plant Conference

Invasive Plant Conference: Tools and Techniques
for Mapping, Managing and Mending Invaded Lands
Wednesday and Thursday, August 3 and 4

National Conservation Training Center, Shepherdstown, West Virginia

The eighth Mid-Atlantic conference will provide you with the tools you need to accomplish your invasive plant management objectives. You will learn how to map the invasive species on your site, develop a site plan, select appropriate control methods, and ultimately, achieve restoration to a site dominated by suitable native plant species.

Learn more or register online...

POTENTIAL RANGE OF INVASIVE BURMESE PYTHONS

Go Gator! American alligator with a Burmese python
photo by Lori Oberhofer, National Park Service, Bugwood.org

During a recent period of cold weather, seven of nine captive Burmese Pythons held in outdoor pens at a facility in north central Florida died, or would have died without intervention from the researchers. The snakes died in spite of having heat sources available to them. This indicates that colder weather may deter the pythons from expanding their range any further north. This information is from COLD WEATHER AND THE POTENTIAL RANGE OF INVASIVE BURMESE PYTHONS, an article in the research journal, Biological Invasions. The authors are Michael L. Avery, Richard M. Engeman, Kandy L. Keacher, John S. Humphrey, William E. Bruce, Tom C. Mathies & Richard E. Mauldin. You can find the complete article in: 2010. Biological Invasions 12: 3649-3652.

Planting Native Trees and Battling Invasives in Georgia

Attend Georgia Urban Forest Council's Third Quarterly Program: Planting Native Trees and Battling Invasives on August 10 from 10 am-2 pm at The Lyndon House Arts Center, 293 Hoyt Street, Athens 30601.

Speakers: 

• Jamie Blackburn, Curator of Woodland Garden, Atlanta Botanical Garden
• Brian Arnold, Georgia Exotic Pest Plant Council-President 
• Eric King, King Landscaping

Location: 

The program will focus on matching up lesser-known native species with cultural/site conditions common to the built environment. As species diversification of the urban forest is necessary to ensure a continuous canopy, properly using the excellent diversity of native tree species becomes key. Ornamental attributes of selected native trees, including cultivars, as well as design considerations, will also be discussed. Also, what invasive species are found in Georgia? How did they get here, and what destructive impacts do they bring? Finally, learning about “succeeding with succession: how to manage the wild landscape.”

Registration Fee: $35 members, $45 non-members  Lunch is included.

3 ISA Arborist CEUs. 3 SAF Forester Contact Hours. Certificates of Attendance for all.

To register or for more information.

Invasive Species Alert for Chattahoochee National Forest

Invasive Species Alert! There are recent reports of Fig buttercup (Ficaria verna prev. Ranunculus ficaria) in Sosebee Cove in the Chattahoochee National Forest. This invasive species could quickly overwhelm Sosebee Cove and invade other botanically rich areas nearby such as the Coosa Bald Research Natural Area.  Invasive.org has more information on fig buttercup.

Fig buttercup, Ficaria verna,
photo by John M. Randall, The Nature Conservancy, Bugwood.org

Plans to Tackle Giant Salvinia

Dr. Randy G. Westbrooks, Invasive Species Prevention Specialist with USGS National Wetlands Research Center in North Carolina offered a list of ideas and strategies for tackling this growing problem including the inspection of boats at weigh stations along major highways, the inspection of water garden and aquatic plant nurseries, and the inspection and cleaning of boats prior to leaving infested waters. Westbrooks added that tackling the problem successfully will take effort from all parties involved. Read the article Green invaders! by Amanda Crane in bossierpress.com.

Giant salvinia, photo by Leslie J. Mehrhoff, University of Connecticut, Bugwood.org

To Identify A Strange Vine

Mary H.J. Farrell's article in Consumer Reports.org recommends going checking at Invasive.org: Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health at the University of Georgia to identify a strange vine in your yard. You can also check with your local Cooperative Extension office. Read the article: Putting a speed limit on the mile-a-minute vine.

Help Newport State Park Pull Dame's Rocket

The Newport Wilderness Society is the nonprofit, educational organization serving Newport State Park as its official friends' group. Newport's weed pullers have almost finished their work with garlic mustard and are now turning their attention to dame's rocket at the north end of the park. Work days are Monday, Wednesday and Friday through July 15. We'll meet at 9:15 am at the town park at end of Europe Bay Road. Call Park Office for further information: 920-854-2500.
More information on The Newport Wilderness Society.

Dame's rocket, Hesperia matronalis,
photo by Tom Heutte, USDA Forest Service, Bugwood.org

More information on Newport State Park in Wisconsin.
More information on Damesrocket at Newport State Park.
More information on Damesrocket at Invasive Plant Atlas of the United States.



Reduce Available Microsites to Limit Invasion by Exotic Thistles

In research article, Effects of Interspecific Competition on Early Life History of the Invasive Thistles Carduus nutans and C. acanthoides, D.C. Ruggiero and K. Shea report that the emergence and survival of exotic thistle species, Carduus nutans and C. acanthoides seems to be significantly higher on bare ground than when there are other plants present to compete with them. They recommend conservation practices which will reduce the amount of bare ground in order to limit  invasion by these two exotic thistle species.
To read the complete article go to Northeastern Naturalist 18(2):197-206. 2011.

Musk thistle, Carduus nutans  photo by Steve Dewey, Utah State University, Bugwood.org

Musk thistle, Carduus nutans 
photo by Steve Dewey, Utah State University, Bugwood.org

Congressional Hearing Focuses on Giant Salvinia

At a Congressional hearing focusing on giant salvinia, Damon Waitt, the senior director and botanist at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at the University of Texas at Austin, said  "Bistineau helped define me and started me on a path that led to a Ph.D. in botany, the Wildflower Center and a passion to protect ecosystems from invasive species."

Waitt went on to say, “You have in this room all the ingredients to address the threat of giant salvinia – research, biocontrol, herbicide programs, volunteer support, a management plan. What seems to be lacking is the recipe that combines these ingredients into a coordinated effort that will solve the giant salvinia problem.”

Waitt's recommendation is to integrate management resources across jurisdictional boundaries.

Read the press release in Media-Newswire.

Time to Let Science Drive Great Lakes Policy on Asian carp

An article in Michigan State University News interviewed Dr. Bill Taylor, fisheries expert. "The threat Asian carp pose to the Great Lakes community may be politically controversial, but pales in comparison to the costs and danger of continuing to wring hands over established facts. It’s time to let science drive policy and put knowledge into action," says Dr. Taylor.
Article in Michigan State University News.
Article in Science Daily.