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