Fri Sep 02 2005 - 15:12:03 PDT

Contents
1. Positions with TNC's Invasive species Initiative (Planet Earth)
2. Ehrharta management document (ESA) now online (Global, Planet Earth)
3. Updating our ESAs (Global, Planet Earth)
4. Remote sensing of invasive species (Global, Planet Earth)
5. Toxicity in Ailanthus (Global, Planet Earth)
6. Festuca ovina information needed (Virginia, USA)
7. Bracharia ruziziensis x brizantha (Florida, USA)
8. Illinois Governor signs aquatic invasives law (Illinois, USA)
9. Knotweed program wins award! (Oregon, USA)
10. Ipomoea quamoclit (Eastern states, USA)
11. TNC Global Fire Initiative web site redesign (Global, Planet Earth)
12. Invasive plant data management tools available (Southwest, USA)

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1. Positions with TNC's Invasive species Initiative (Planet Earth)
From: John Randall (jrandall(at)tnc.org)

We have two new policy job openings with The Nature Conservancy's Invasive
Species Initiative. To learn more about these exciting positions, look at
the complete job postings at TNC's home page:

Sr. Global Policy Advisor, Invasive Species
http://www.nature.org/natureorg/20050830134601.html
Application deadline: 9/26/2005

Sr. North America Policy Advisor, Invasive Species
http://www.nature.org/natureorg/20050830134919.html
Application deadline: 9/26/2005

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2. Ehrharta management document (ESA) now online (Global, Planet Earth)
From: Mandy Tu (imtu(at)tnc.org)

Mark Frey, an ecologist with The Presidio Trust, has recently completed a
new species management summary (Element Stewardship Abstract) on the
Ehrharta species (Ehrharta erecta, E. calycina and E. longiflora), the
veldtgrasses, which are problematic in North American natural areas in
California, Hawaii and Texas.
See the new Ehrharta ESA: http://tncweeds.ucdavis.edu/esadocs/ehrherec.html

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3. Updating our ESAs (Global, Planet Earth)
From: Mandy Tu (imtu(at)tnc.org)

Related to the preceding note: do you want to contribute an ESA to our
website? If so, please consider helping us all by following the
instructions posted on how to contribute an ESA at:
http://tncweeds.ucdavis.edu/products/notes-to-authors.doc

Look at our lists of species resources
(http://tncweeds.ucdavis.edu/esadocs.html) and look up any species for which
you have expert knowledge. The 4-digit after the species name indicates the
year our ESA was written or last updated. If we have no ESA for the species,
it just says "NA". Help us reduce the number of "NA" entries, or update our
existing ESAs!!!

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4. Remote sensing of invasive species (Global, Planet Earth)
From: Barry Rice (bamrice(at)ucdavis.edu)

I'd be very interested in hearing from TNC folk who are using remote sensing
technologies in their work, especially if it relates to invasive species.

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5. Toxicity in Ailanthus (Global, Planet Earth)
From: David Fox (dfox(at)paconserve.org)

A recent letter in the Annals of Internal Medicine (July 19, 2005, vol
143:2, 159-160) details a clinical case in which a 24 year old man was
admitted to a hospital with myocarditis (swelling of the heart) resulting
from exposure to sap from Tree-of-heaven (Ailanthus altissima). He was
exposed through open blisters in his hands-symptoms included persistent
fever, chest pain, and shortness of breath. The article doesn't specifically
talk about what levels of exposure are dangerous, but this suggests that
caution should be used when removing Tree-of-heaven, or even undertaking
treatments that involve cutting the bark.

**In case you haven't seen the article, I have uploaded a pdf to
http://tncweeds.ucdavis.edu/news/21072005.pdf
--Barry Rice

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6. Festuca ovina information needed (Virginia, USA)
From: Terri Killeffer (terri_killeffer(at)natureserve.org)

I'm trying to find info on Festuca ovina in order to rank it using the
protocol. There is very little information available. If you have observed
it escaping, or have any information on it, please contact me.

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7. Bracharia ruziziensis x brizantha (Florida, USA)
From: Kristina Serbesoff-King (kserbesoffking(at)tnc.org)

Does anybody have any experience with this grass, also called mulato grass,
either here in Florida or in other regions? If so, please contact me!

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8. Illinois Governor signs aquatic invasives law (Illinois, USA)
From: Carl Becker (cbecker(at)tnc.org)

This law is a step in the right direction, and hopefully it will slow the
spead of exotic invasive fishes. The enrolled bill can be accessed at the
following address
http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/publicacts/fulltext.asp?Name=094-0592

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9. Knotweed program wins award! (Oregon, USA)
From: Mandy Tu (imtu(at)tnc.org)

Congratulations to TNC-Oregon's Jonathan Soll and the Portland Area
Preserves Stewardship Team (PAPST), who have just been awarded The Nature
Conservancy's Outstanding Partnership Award for 2005! This is a TNC-wide
award that recognizes staff and programs that have fostered strong,
productive partnerships that have contributed in exceptional ways to
achievement of the mission of the Conservancy. As part of their work, the
PAPST have reduced the abundance of the invasive Japanese and giant
knotweeds by over 80% from over 60 river miles of riparian habitat in the
Sandy River watershed. In the process, they have worked with many public
agencies and over 300 landowners, and have also developed best management
practices and a plethora of educational materials. Kudos to Jonathan and
PAPST!!

To read more about the PAPST and their great work, see a Success Story that
we wrote about them last year at
http://tncweeds.ucdavis.edu/success/or002.html

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10. Ipomoea quamoclit (Eastern states, USA)
From: Beth Bockoven (bbockoven(at)tnc.org)

Beth sent the ISI news that many landowners in eastern North Carolina are
having trouble with morningglory (Ipomoea quamoclit) in farm and tree
planting fields. It may be resistent to herbicides, although reports that
Arsenal is effective. This may be a plant to be on the lookout for.

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11. TNC Global Fire Initiative web site redesign (Global, Planet Earth)
From: Wendy Fulks (wfulks(at)tnc.org)

Check out The Nature Conservancy's redesigned web site for fire
practitioners at http://tncfire.org. The new site was launched on August 8
and includes pages for the U.S. Fire Learning Network, the Latin American
and Caribbean Fire Learning Network, Fire Training, and LANDFIRE as well as
a host of other resources.

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12. Invasive plant data management tools available (Southwest, USA)
From: John Hall (john_hall(at)tnc.org)

We are pleased to announce the availability of invasive plant data
management tools that will be of interest to Conservancy site-based programs
in the Southwest and to their partners. As a result, the tools described
below may be applied by individual programs for their own internal use or in
conjunction with their membership in Cooperative Weed Management Areas
throughout the Southwest. The U.S. Geographic Survey's Southwest Exotic
Plant Mapping Project (SWEMP) facilitates the development of a regional
database of invasive non-native plants in the Southwest. The SWEMP team, in
partnership with The Nature Conservancy and in part using funding supplied
by the Department of Defense's Legacy Resource Management Program, recently
completed development of computer tools that will help land managers better
share invasive plant occurrence and distribution data. In particular, this
project was undertaken to provide the Cooperative Weed Management Areas
(CWMA) in the Southwest better tools to share invasive plant data with all
member partners. New tools include a data entry tool where occasional
observations of invasive plant occurrences can be directly submitted to the
SWEMP team. A new interactive map allows clients to interactively view the
database and print out 'maplets' of areas of interest. The data query tool
allows clients to select portions of the regional database that are of
interest using several criteria. Individual members of CWMAs can use this
tool to download invasive plant information across the entirety of the CWMA.
In addition, a southwest modification (SW-WIMS) of a Conservancy developed
data management application is available for download. SW-WIMS can be used
for to organize and manage field collected invasive plant data including
treatment and monitoring information. The tools can be accessed through
the hosting Southwest Exotic Plant Information Clearinghouse home page
(http://www.usgs.nau.edu/SWEPIC/index.asp) under the Map and SWEMP links.
For more information contact: Kathryn_A_Thomas(at)usgs.gov, 928-556-7327 or
john_hall(at)tnc.org, 520-547-3439.