TNC Invasive Species Listserve Digest #093


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Global Invasive Species Team listserve digest #093
Fri Sep 07 2001 - 16:02:16 PDT

--CONTENTS--
1. Eastern Invasive Species Management Network (Global)

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1. Eastern Invasive Species Management Network (Global)
From: John Randall/ISI (jarandall(at)ucdavis.edu)

First Workshop Announcement and Invitation

TNC staff and partners from sites in humid, eastern North America and the
Caribbean are invited to participate in the newly formed Eastern Invasives
Management Network. The Network's first workshop will be held December
11-13 on St. Simon's Island, Georgia. During the 3 or 4 workshop life of
the Network we will work through one cycle of an adaptive management
process for invasive plants on landscape-scale sites (tens of thousand of
acres and up). We will do so in a manner that follows the 5-S's of TNC's
site conservation planning process.

This Network will promote the exchange of information, advice and
assistance among all involved sites. The December 11-13 workshop will
focus on how to identify, assess and prioritize invasive plant threats to
conservation targets at the landscape scale. Particular attention will be
directed towards invasive threats at four "Focal Sites": Berkshire Taconic
(MA-CT-NY), Sideling Hill Creek (MD-PA), Altamaha River (GA), and
Kissimmee River (FL). Time will also be set aside, however, to address
specific questions and problems from all of the other "Participating
sites." In addition, a representative from each Participating Site will be
asked to give a brief (5-10 minute), focused presentation on their
conservation targets, major threats and current and planned efforts to
assess, prioritize and control invasive weeds threats. Guest speakers
will give presentations on assessing invasive species threats within the
5-S framework and on the use of remote sensing, GIS, and other high-tech
methods to map and assess weed infestations.

There will be at least two subsequent workshops for the Network in the
following 12-18 months; one on developing and implementing strategies to
prevent and abate invasive weed threats and another on measuring the
success of those efforts. Each Focal and Participating Site will be
assigned some 'homework' on invasive weed threats relevant to their
ongoing conservation efforts between workshops.

Attendance at the workshops will be capped at 50. Please contact John
Randall (jarandall(at)ucdavis.edu; 530 754 8890), Barry Rice
(bamrice(at)ucdavis.edu); 530 754 8891) or Wendy Fulks (wfulks(at)botany.ufl.edu;
352 392 7006) if you would like to attend.

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TNC staff and partners at hundreds of sites have been managing invasive
weeds for decades and we know a great deal about what works and what does
not. To date, however, most of this work has been at the scale of single
preserves or sections of preserves (hundreds to thousands of acres). Now
that we are devoting more resources and thought to conserving
landscape-scale sites (tens of thousands of acres and up) it is imperative
that we develop and implement comprehensive strategies for adaptive
management of invasive species at this larger scale. This will require
identifying and accurately assessing invasive species threats to
conservation targets, setting priorities, planning and taking action
cooperatively over large areas with our partners. In many cases we may
need to use techniques with which we are relatively inexperienced, such as
remote sensing and GIS, to efficiently inventory and map weed occurrences
at the landscape scale. There will likely be large and important benefits
to working this larger scale, however, including increased focus on
preventing the establishment and spread of pest species within sites or
large portions of sites and thereby avoiding the build-up of huge
populations of invasive weeds and "management debts."

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Eastern Invasive Species Management Network
Workshop #1 Draft Agenda
(details subject to change)

DAY 1 (December 11)
7:00 Breakfast
8:00 Opening comments, Logistics--John Randall
8:15 Conservation Learning Networks, their purpose and goals--Wendy Fulks
8:30 Introduction to the Eastern Invasives Network--John Randall
8:45 Participating site brief descriptions I (5-10 minutes each)
9:45 Break
10:15 The Site Conservation Planning Threat Assessment
      When do invasive species truly threaten TARGETS, and the
      importance of catching invasives before they get out of control.
                                               --Doria Gordon
                                                 (tentative)
11:45 Lunch
1:00 Focal Site #1 presentation
      Disney/Kissimee Valley, FL
      Identifying targets, how this influences what will be regarded as
      threats and what will not.
1:45 Breakout groups convene
2:45 Reconvene for discussion
3:15 Break
3:45 Participating site brief descriptions II (5-10 minutes each)
5:00 Break
6:00 Dinner
7:30 Informal (optional) - breakout groups on biology and control of
      common invasive species

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DAY 2 (December 12)
7:00 Breakfast
8:00 Review Best Practices/Lessons Learned
8:30 Focal Site #2 Presentation
      Altamaha River, GA       Assessing invasive threats; will some decrease/increase with time without management?
9:15 Breakout groups
10:15 Break
10:30 Reconvene for discussion
11:00 Plenary speaker - using remote sensing & GIS to map invasives
                                               --Susan Ustin
12:00 Breakout groups or group discussion- the use of remote sensing and GIS to map invasive species
12:30 Pick up lunch
1:00 Field trip Altamaha (host Nate Thomas)
5:30 Return from field trip
6:00 Dinner
7:30 Informal (optional) - breakout groups on using remote sensing & GIS, priority setting.

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DAY 3
7:00 Breakfast
8:00 Review Best Practices/Lessons Learned
8:15 Focal Site #3 presentation
      Sideling Hill Creek, MD-PA
      Assessing invasive species threats
9:00 Breakout groups convene
10:00 Break
10:15 Reconvene for discussion
10:45 Focal Site #4 presentation
      Berkshire Taconic, MA-CT-NY
      Assessing invasive threats, setting priorities and strategies
11:30 Breakout groups convene
12:30 Lunch
1:30 Reconvene for discussion
2:00 Breakout groups - assessing invasive threats at participating sites
3:00 Break
3:15 Summary from focal sites - revisions to date.
3:45 Summary & Next Steps - using assessments to set invasive species action priorities and develop abatement strategies
                                               --John Randall
4:15 Homework Assignments
4:30 Summary and wrap-up
4:45 Goodbyes and departure