Month: May 2018

Appropriations Update – Give A Big Round of Applause to the House Appropriations Committee

 

In mid-May, the House Committee on Appropriations adopted two bills crucial to funding efforts to counter tree-killing non-native insects and diseases. Please let them know you are grateful.

 

APHIS funding

The Agriculture appropriations bill funds APHIS (and other USDA agencies) for Fiscal Year 2019 (which begins on October 1). The new bill provides a total of $998,353,000 to APHIS, an increase of $16.4 million above the FY18 level and $259 million above the Administration’s request. ( I blogged about the Administration’s alarming request here.) You can find the bill here; the more informative report is posted here.  Use search words to find specific APHIS programs.

The pest-related funding is apportioned among several areas:

Tree and Wood Pest Program. Unlike in previous years, the House bill does not cut funds for this program – which funds efforts to eradicate or contain the Asian longhorned beetle, emerald ash borer, and European gypsy moth. Instead, it maintains funding at the FY18 level of $54 million. Under the circumstances, this is good news. Thank you for your efforts to educate members of the House subcommittee on agricultural appropriations about this crucial program! (In past years, we relied on the Senate to restore funding for the Tree and Wood Pest Program.)

Specialty Crop Pests Program. The House increased funding by $10.8 million here, and specified that $15 million target the spotted lanternfly. This recently detected Asian leafhopper is spreading in southeastern Pennsylvania and was recently confirmed in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley.  It is a pest of native hardwood trees as well as of orchard and other crops.

Also, the Committee used its report to stress several concerns:

Access to emergency funding. In the report, the House Appropriations Committee reiterates its longstanding instruction that the USDA Secretary continue to use his authority to transfer funds from the Commodity Credit Corporation. They support using these funds  –  above and beyond appropriated funds –  for the arrest and eradication of animal and plant pests and diseases that threaten American agriculture.

 

Brown Apple Moth vs. Emerald Ash Borer. Interestingly, the House Appropriations Committee encourages APHIS to engage state and international regulatory bodies as it moves to deregulate the light brown apple moth. The Committee expresses concern that if APHIS simply withdraws federal regulation without the necessary work with other officials, it will shift, not reduce, the regulatory burden. Then growers would carry the burden of preventing spread of the pest. I wish the Committee had made the same statement vis a vis the emerald ash borer!  APHIS also plans to stop regulating this insect which continues to threaten still-uninvaded portions of the United States and Mexico.

 

Micornesia and Hawai’i. The Committee also instructs the Secretary of Agriculture to report to both the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations its progress implementing the Regional Biosecurity Plan for Micronesia and Hawai`i. This plan combines efforts by the U.S. Department of Defense, Department of the Navy, and the island governments to prevent transport of invasive species as a consequence of relocating military personnel from a base in Okinawa, Japan. More information is available here.

 

Forest Service funding

The Interior appropriations bill funds the US Forest Service (as well as Interior Department and Environmental Protection Agency).

 

Forest Health Management Program. The bill provides an increase of $19.5 million above FY18 levels for the forest health management program ($30 million above the Administration’s request). The Committee instructs the Forest Service to “work in concert with Federal agencies, States, and other entities to prioritize the allocation of these funds to address the greatest threats.” The emerald ash borer, “bark beetle” (which ones?) and cogon grass are expressly mentioned. The report is posted here.  (It is unclear what actions the Forest Service is expected to take on the EAB, since regulations intended to curtail people from moving infested wood will soon be dropped by APHIS. The Forest Service could support breeding of ash trees resistant to the beetle.)

 

Forest Service Research. The Interior appropriations bill also maintained funding for Forest Service research at the FY18 level of $297 million – rather than cutting it to $259 million as advocated by the Administration. The Committee has called for the USFS to act within one year to “strengthen” its research program. The Committee expressly avoids endorsing several priorities advocated by Members of Congress while waiting for the Forest Service to implement this instruction.

 

If your representative is a member of the House Appropriations Committee (members listed here), please thank them for supporting APHIS’ and USFS’ programs. These funding increases shift several years of decline and are a true win for protecting our forests from non-native insects and pathogens!

 

 

Posted by Faith Campbell

 

We welcome comments that supplement or correct factual information, suggest new approaches, or promote thoughtful consideration. We post comments that disagree with us — but not those we judge to be not civil or inflammatory.

 

The 2018 Farm Bill – It’s Complicated!

As you might remember, the Center for Invasive Species Prevention and the Vermont Woodland Owners Association last year proposed several amendments to the Farm Bill that we hoped would strengthen the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s programs on non-native insects, plant pathogens, and invasive plants. These proposed amendments are here and here.

Two of our amendments sought to strengthen funding for long-term strategies to counterpests and restore pest-depleted tree species to the forest. We intended these proposals to be implemented together.  They were put forward as two proposals only because they fell into different sections, called “titles”, of the Farm Bill.

Our first proposal would create a grant program managed by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) to fund research focused on biocontrol and genetic manipulation of the pests; enhancement of host-resistance mechanisms for tree species; and development of other strategies for restoration. U.S. government agencies, state cooperative institutions, academic institutions with a college of agriculture or wildlife and fisheries, and non-profit organizations would all be eligible for funding.

Our second proposal would provide long-term funding to a similar array of organizations to support research into and deployment of strategies for restoring pest-resistant genotypes of native tree species to the forest. We suggested funds be drawn from the McIntyre-Stennis program. Successful grant applicants would be required to integrate several components into a cohesive forest restoration strategy:

  • Collection and conservation of native tree genetic material;
  • Production of sufficient numbers of  propagules of pest-resistant native trees to support landscape scale restoration;
  • Site preparation in native trees’ former habitat;
  • Planting of native tree seedlings; and
  • Post-planting maintenance of the trees.

Furthermore, priorities for competitive grants issued by this second fund would be based on the level of risk to forests in the state where the activity would take place, as determined by the following criteria:

  • Level of risk posed to forests of that state by non-native pests, as measured by such factors as the number of such pests present there;
  • Proportion of the state’s forest composed of species vulnerable to non-native pests present in the United States; and
  • Pests’ rate of spread via natural or human-assisted means.

 

Several coalitions presented these two proposals – in various forms – to the House and Senate Agriculture committees earlier this year.

 

ACTION IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

The Stefanik Amendment

In the House, Representative Elise Stefanik (R-NY21) inserted a modified version of CISP’s proposed amendments into the Farm Bill (H.R. 2) . Ms. Stefanik’s speech on the House floor introducing her amendment, and support of that amendment by Rep. Glenn Thompson of Pennsylvania and Agriculture Committee Chairman K. Michael Conaway (R-TX) can be heard here; scroll to time 25.16

The Stefanik amendment includes some of the key provisions advocated by CISP but it also differs in significant ways. That is, it relies on an existing grant-making program, the Competitive Forestry, Natural Resources, and Environmental Grants program. This program funds proposals pursuing numerous purposes, including pest management and genetic tree improvement. Rep. Stefanik’s amendment adds a new purpose, restoring forest tree species native to American forests that have suffered severe levels of mortality caused by non-native pests. It is unclear whether this approach will significantly increase resources available for breeding trees resistant to non-native pests.

Another difference is that institutions receiving funds would have to demonstrate that their activity is part of a broader strategy that includes at least one of the following components:

1) Collection and conservation of genetic material;

2) Production of sufficient numbers of propagules to support the tree’s restoration to the landscape;

3) Site preparation of former native tree habitat;

4) Planting; and

5) Post planting maintenance

The original CISP proposal required any funded program to incorporate all of these components.

The Stefanik amendment would award grants based on the same three criteria proposed by CISP.

While we are disappointed that research underlying tree restoration has merely been added to an already-long list of purposes under the Competitive Forestry, Natural Resources, and Environmental Grants program, this approach might be the best we can hope for. There had been considerable opposition to our proposal because it would have changed the formula under which McIntire-Stennis funds are apportioned to the states. Adopted in 1962, the existing formula is based on each state’s

1) area of non-Federal commercial forest land;

2) volume of timber cut annually;

3) total expenditures for forestry research from non-Federal sources;

4) base amount distributed equally among the States.

 

The Faso Amendment

The House also accepted an amendment sponsored by Rep. John Faso (R-NY19) that would require APHIS and the US Forest Service to collaborate on surveillance to detect newly introduced tree-killing pests. The agencies would also report to Congress by 2021 on which pests are being detected on imports of wood packaging and living plants (APHIS’ so-called “plants for planting”) and the geographic origins of those pests. Rep. Faso’s speech introducing the amendment and supportive statements by Reps. Thompson and Conaway can be heard here; scroll to time 32 (immediately after the Stefanik amendment).

 

The Welch Bill

Meanwhile, as I blogged earlier, Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT) has introduced a separate bill (H.R. 5519) that contains modified versions of several CISP proposals.

Rep. Welch’s bill would do two things: strengthen APHIS’ access to “emergency” funds to respond to invasive pests, and create a competitive grant program to support research on biological control of plant pests or noxious weeds, enhancing host pest-resistance mechanisms, and other strategies for restoring tree species. These studies must be part of comprehensive forest restoration research. Eligible institutions would include federal and state agencies, academic institutions, and nonprofit organizations. Funding  would come from a USDA corporation, the Commodity Credit Corporation so they would not be subject to annual appropriations.

The House has taken no action on Rep. Welch’s bill.

 

THE CURRENT STATUS OF THE FARM BILL – AND CISP’s BOTTOM LINE

On 17 May,  the House of Representatives failed to pass the Farm Bill. No Democrats voted for the bill. About 30 Republicans also voted against the bill – not because they objected to its contents, but because they wanted to force a vote on an immigration bill. House leaders now promise a new vote on the Farm Bill on June 22nd.

Is this good news? As I said, it is complicated! The House bill contains several provisions to which there is significant opposition. The most controversial is a requirement that recipients of food stamps prove that they are working. Other provisions – which have not received much attention in the media, would:

  • Allow the U.S. Forest Service and the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management to decide for themselves whether an activity might “jeopardize” an endangered species (eliminating the need to consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or National Marine Fisheries Service) (Section 8303);
  • Allow the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management to avoid preparing an environmental assessment under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for a long list of actions which currently must be assessed. That is, they could claim a “categorical exclusion” when taking a wide variety of “critical” actions aimed at addressing several goals. These include countering insect and disease infestations, reducing hazardous fuel loads, protecting municipal water sources, improving or enhancing critical habitat, increasing water yield, expediting salvage of dead trees following a catastrophic event, or achieving goals to maintain early successional forest. These “categorical exclusions” would apply to projects on up to 6,000 acres. (Sections 8311 – 8320); and
  • Require the EPA Administrator to register a pesticide if the Administrator determines that the pesticide, when used in accordance with widespread and commonly recognized practices, is not likely to jeopardize the survival of a species listed under the Endangered Species Act or to alter critical habitat. Unlike under current law, the Administrator would not be required to consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or National Marine Fisheries Service when making such determinations (Section 9111).

The Endangered Species Act, adopted almost unanimously in 1973, requires such “consultations” because experience had shown that agencies proposing projects tended to underestimate the damage that they might cause to imperiled species.  NEPA is one of the foundational statutes of U.S. environment protection; it was adopted in 1970. Finally, the EPA Administrator is supposed to decide whether to allow pesticide use based on science, per a much weaker but still important environmental protection statute, the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (originally adopted in 1910; significantly amended in 1972).

Is getting an imperfect and partial program that might stimulate breeding of tree species resistant to invasive pests worth accepting this level of damage to fundamental environmental programs?

I don’t think so.

We don’t yet know what the Senate will do. We hope the Senate bill will support strong conservation programs – including strengthening APHIS and research into and application of long-term strategies such as resistance breeding – while not undermining the foundations of our Nation’s conservation and environmental programs.

Meanwhile, the House should rewrite the Farm Bill to remove the objectionable provisions.

 

Posted by Faith Campbell

We welcome comments that supplement or correct factual information, suggest new approaches, or promote thoughtful consideration. We post comments that disagree with us — but not those we judge to be not civil or inflammatory.

 

Update on Beech Leaf Disease – a Threat Lacking Adequate Funding and Official Action

last year’s leaves showing symptomatic striping (F.T. Campbell)

 

 

 

Back in December I blogged about beech leaf disease, a disease affecting American beech in northeastern Ohio and neighboring parts of Pennsylvania and New York, as well as across Lake Erie in Ontario.

[For more information and photos of symptoms, visit

http://forestry.ohiodnr.gov/portals/forestry/pdfs/BLDAlert.pdf    or

https://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2017/12/beech_leaf_disease_discovered.html]

Scientists do not know what is causing the disease. So far it’s only clear that it appears to have been  introduced to a single site and is spreading. At the beginning of May I participated in a workshop providing the most recent information on beech leaf disease.

workshop participants (budbreak was later than usual, so we could not observe deformed leaves) (F.T. Campbell)

 

 

Over the past three or four years, scientists have tried hard to understand the disease, its causes, and its likely prognosis. For example, scientists from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the State of Ohio have looked for insects, fungal pathogens, bacteria, viruses, nematodes, phytoplasmas – all  without finding a causative agent. Attention is currently focused on a previously undescribed nematode in the Litylenchus genus. The only other species in this genus is a foliar feeder found in New Zealand. Studies continue, with most scientists tackling the problem without special funding.

Beech is a very important component of the forests of northeastern Ohio. Beech ranks third in number of stems per acre; second for “shrubs”. Consequently, scientists working for Lake Metroparks and Cleveland Metroparks continue to monitor spread of the disease and its impacts. Symptoms – deformed leaves  – were first detected in 2012. In 2017, the results of a long-term vegetation monitoring project revealed that of 307 plots with beech present, 154 had symptomatic trees.  Of the symptomatic plots, 49% of beech stems were affected. While initially only small trees had been killed, more recently some larger ones have died and others bear only very few leaves. Leaves with light, medium, or heavy symptoms of infection – as well as asymptomatic leaves – can occur on the same branch of an individual tree.

The disease seems to spread faster between stems along the interlocking roots of beech clone clusters.

Weather does not appear to be a factor, as the disease has spread every year despite great variations in heat and cold as well as levels of moisture.

Preliminary versions of a mathematical model of the disease’ spread indicates that approximately 90% of monitoring plots deployed across the full 24,000 acres of Cleveland Metropark system will be infected within 10 years.

Cleveland Metroparks has initiated intensive monitoring of a subset of 13 plots in order to clarify the disease’s impact. Monitoring revealed a 4% mortality rate from 2015 to 2017. More than half of these plots now have dead beech that had previously been symptomatic.  Most are small trees less than 4.9 cm dbh.  Efforts to obtain funding from the USFS Forest Health program have so far failed.

The disease – whatever its cause! – appears to be moved by trade in nursery plants. An Ontario retailer received – and rejected – a shipment of diseased beech from an Ohio nursery. Lake County, Ohio, has many nurseries that grow and ship European beech (which can also be infected by beech leaf disease). These nurseries are reported to be cooperating with Ohio authorities. No official entity has imposed regulatory restrictions – not any of the states or provinces with the disease present or threatened by it; nor USDA APHIS or the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA).

Another threat to beech also not under regulation

CFIA has also not imposed a federal quarantine on another non-native pest killing beech, the European leaf-mining weevil, Orchestes fagi. First discovered in Halifax in 2012 – probably 5 years after its introduction – it has since spread throughout Nova Scotia. The weevil kills beech over 3 – 5 years.

New information added in June: according to Meurisse et al. (2018), the weevil overwinters under the bark of beech and trees that are not hosts, so it can be transported by movement of firewood and other forms of unprocessed logs and branches. [Meurisse, N. D. Rassaati, B.P. Hurley, E.G. Brockerhoff, R.A. Haack. 2018. Common Pathways by which NIS forest insects move internationally and domestically. Journal of Pest Science. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10340-018-0990-0]

The Importance of American Beech – and Protecting It

Beech is an extremely important tree in northern parts of the United States and Canada east of the Great Plains.  It is co-dominant (with sugar maple) in the Northern Hardwood Forest [see two maps].  A summary of the species’ ecological importance can be found in Lovett et al. 2006. Forest Ecosystem Responses to Exotic Pests and Pathogens in Eastern North America. BioScience Vol. 56 No. 5.

native range of American beech; USFS map

Consequently, I am most distressed by the lack of attention to these new threats to the species. It is true that regulating an unknown disease agent (as would be the case with beech leaf disease) stretches traditional policy practice and possibly legal authorities. Furthermore, it has not yet been demonstrated that the disease can kill mature beech. However, neither of these caveats applies to the weevil, which is an identified species that has been documented to kill mature trees.

 

U.S. phytosanitary officials (the National Plant Board) will meet in Cleveland (!!) in August. Will the several state officials and their APHIS colleagues discuss how to address this new threat? Will any funds be made available to expand efforts to understand the disease, its spread, and possible measures to curtail it?

 

healthy beech, northern Virgina (F.T. Campbell)

 

 

 

Posted by Faith Campbell

We welcome comments that supplement or correct factual information, suggest new approaches, or promote thoughtful consideration. We post comments that disagree with us — but not those we judge to be not civil or inflammatory.

 

National Park Service Experts Urge Improvements to Invasive Species Efforts

 

cats – reported to be the most widespread invasive animal in National parks

In two recent evaluations and resulting reports, National Park Service experts admit the agency has fallen short on managing the invasive species threat and suggest ways to improve. One report – that on invasive animals (see below) identifies the principal problem to be lack of support for invasive species programs from NPS leadership.

They’re not alone: I have previously criticized the NPS here and here

 

Invasive Animals

The bolder of the two reports addresses invasive animals – “Invasive Animals in U.S. National Parks – By a Science Panel” https://irma.nps.gov/DataStore/DownloadFile/594922 commissioned by the NPS Chief of Biological Resources Division. The report was released in December 2017.

The report is blunt – which I welcome.

 

Key Message

The NPS’ mission of preserving America’s natural and cultural resources unimpaired for future generations is “under a deep and immediate threat as a consequence of invasive animal species, yet the National Park Service does not have a comprehensive understanding of the costs and impacts of invasive animals or a coordinated strategy for their management.”  The result: “The consequence is a general record of failure to control invasive species across the system.”

The report says there are opportunities for the NPS to take a lead in addressing the threat – including to help counter invasive species denialism. It suggests ways to provide the needed capacity and to change the agency culture that hampers efforts to realize this ambition.

 

Current Picture

More than half of all National Park units reporting to the report’s authors (245 out of 326 parks) reported the presence of invasive animals – ranging from freshwater mussels to feral cats. In the process of compiling the report, the authors received reports of 1,409 invasive animal populations – comprising 331 species — probably an underestimate. Only a small percentage can be considered under some form of management. The most widely reported species:

Domestic cat                69 parks

Common starling         66 parks

Common pigeon          47 parks

House sparrow             40 parks

Red imported fire ant   40 parks

Feral hog                      39 parks

Rainbow trout              36 parks (often introduced deliberately)

 

The report mentions several tree-killing insects or pathogens among the damaging animal invaders in National parks: emerald ash borer, hemlock woolly adelgid, and rapid ohia death (a pathogen). (Background on all three is here.)

 

This new report acknowledges management efforts. They reviewed 80 NPS projects in the pipeline from 2000 through 2023. Most projects target a limited number of species: feral hogs, cats, and horses/burros; fire ants; hemlock woolly adelgid; and emerald ash borer.

EAB-killed ash tree in Shenandoah NP  (F.T. Campbell)

Eradication has reportedly been attempted for 21 invasive animal populations; 17 of those populations remained under some control efforts (e.g., monitoring to detect any re-invasion) in 2016. Nine of the eradicated populations were in the Pacific West region – especially Channel Islands National Park. Another eight were in the Southeast. Three other regions — Intermountain, Northeast, and National Capital regions — each reported one invasive animal population eradicated and under control. Another 150 invasive animal populations were reportedly “controlled”.

 

What’s the Problem?

The report’s authors note numerous (and well-known) difficulties in managing invasive animals. These include difficulty detecting invaders at early stages of invasion; paucity of effective management tools; and social constraints such as perceived benefits associated with some (e.g., trout and other sport fishes) and ethical and humane objections to killing vertebrates.

However, the report identifies the principal problem to be lack of support for invasive species programs from NPS leadership. Constraints that hamper park managers’ efforts within the agency include Service-wide coordination, lack of capacity, park culture, “social license” (i.e., public approval), and cross-boundary coordination.

The authors suggest that to correct these deficiencies, the Service should formally acknowledge that invasive animals represent a crisis on par with each of the three major crises that drove Service-wide change in the past:

1) over-abundance of ungulates due to predator control (leading to the “Leopold Report” in the 1960s);

2) Yellowstone fire crisis (which led to new wildfire awareness in the country); and

3) recognition of the importance of climate change (which resulted in the report “Leopold Revisited: Resource Stewardship in the National Parks”).

To achieve true success in such a major undertaking, all levels of NPS management must be engaged. Further NPS’ current culture and capacity must be changed. The report suggests providing incentives for (1) efforts to address long-term threats (not just “urgent” ones) and (2) putting time and effort into coordinating with potential partners, including other park units, agencies at all levels of government, non-governmental organizations, private landowners, and economic entities.

An additional step to realizing a comprehensive invasive animal program would be to integrate invasive animal threats and management into long-range planning goals for natural and cultural landscapes and day-to-day operations of parks and relevant technical programs (e.g., Biological Resources Division, Water Resources Division, and Inventory and Monitoring Division).

The report notes the need for increased funding. Such funding would need a flexible timeline (unlike existing Service-wide funding for more general purposes), allowing parks to be responsive to time-sensitive management issues. It would also have to be available consistently over the long term – since eradication can take a long time. Several approaches are proposed, including incorporating some invasive species control programs (e.g., weeds, wood borers) into infrastructure maintenance budgets; adopting invasive species as fundraising challenges for “Friends of Park” and the National Park Foundation; and adopting invasive species as a priority threat.

The authors would like NPS to become a leader on the invasive species issue – specifically by testing emerging best management practices and by better educating visitors on the ecological values of parks and the serious threat that invasive species pose to the their biodiversity. The authors suggest that the NPS also take the lead in countering invasive species denialism.

While officially-approved deliberate introductions of non-native species are probably unlikely to continue, the report expects that the numbers of invasive animals and species in national parks will increase due to continuing spread of invaders from neighboring areas. Therefore, NPS’ current piecemeal approach needs to be replaced with a much stronger, strategic approach in which parks engage in collaboration with conservation partners on adjacent lands or waters and across the greater landscape.

 

Invasive Plants

The NPS launched a coordinated effort targetting invasive plants years ago — in 2000. The most obvious component of which was the Exotic Plant Management Teams (EPMTs). The broader program was officially named the Invasive Plant Program (IPP) only in 2014. The IPP provides leadership to individual parks, regions, and the park system on invasive plant management, restoration, and landscape level protection. The IPP released its strategic plan in December 2016. (Ok! More than a year ago. I am tardy.)

Despite the large size of the program – 15 EMPTs across the country – and the clear and recognized threat that invasive plants pose to NPS values, I got the impression that the program struggles to gain  support from the Service. In that way, the situation is similar to the challenges to efforts on animal invasives described above.

   removing Miconia to protect Haleakala National Park

The Strategic Plan identifies goals and actions to optimize the program’s effectiveness, while increasing program and park capacity and leveraging human and fiscal resources with state, federal, and private entities.

The plan articulates a mission, a vision, five broad goals, and actions for the next 10 years. It’s intended to guide annual planning and major projects, as well as to identify and help prioritize funding needs and initiatives.

The overall vision is for the Invasive Plant Program to guide park service efforts to enhance landscape level stewardship of resources by applying “technically sound, holistic, collaborative, adaptive, and innovative approaches.” The hope is that other NPS units will increasingly rely on the IPP’s expertise in implementing their programs and building partnerships.

The strategic plan lays out five broad goals, each supplemented by a list of detailed activities. Priority actions have been identified for the first 5 years (2017-2021) with the expectation that actions will be re-prioritized during annual reviews. These five goals are:

  1. Develop program standards

Clarify and standardize administrative and operational roles and tasks. Improve data management and train colleagues in those standards. Incorporate science-informed procedures to support park management of invasive plants.

Interestingly, the Plan calls for IPP staff to quantify the invasive plant threat and effort needed to manage it and then to communicate the gap between effort needed and resources available to decision makers.

2. Promote the Invasive Plant Program by highlighting the services it provides and the significance of the invasive plant issue both internally and with stakeholders. Assure that IPP efforts parallel those in the Department of Interior Action Plan for invasive species.

  1. Build capacity of individual parks and the Service to prevent the arrival of invasive plants and manage infestations that are already present

Enhance resource and information sharing and field-based training. Find ways to encourage parks to continue managing the invaders after the EMPT completes the initial eradication. Also find ways to increase the EPMT Program’s efficiency. Possibly develop an NPS pesticide applicators’ certification course (the Bureau of Land Management and Department of Defense already have one).

Increase partnerships to deal with actions that are outside parks’ control. Specifically, participate in regional and state invasive plant councils, and collaborate with a full range of external partners to identify successful techniques, conduct control and restoration campaigns, improve and implement efficient plant management across park boundaries, and recruit and manage youth and volunteers.

  1. Promote holistic and integrated invasive plant management

Work with other NPS programs and parks (across all divisions) to establish resource stewardship and landscape preservation / restoration goals. Integrate integrated pest management strategies in management actions. Continue close collaboration with Climate Change Response Program (if it still exists!). Identify research needs and get the research done.

  1. Collaborate on invasive plant management

Foster and encourage internal and external collaboration and coordination to leverage available resources, expertise, and knowledge.

Identify parks, NPS programs, partner agencies, organizations, and related initiatives with similar objectives to increase efficiency and effectiveness. Coordinate with NPS monitoring programs (although the invasive animal study authors thought the monitoring program is not structured to serve invasive species needs). Partner with BLM and US Fish and Wildlife Service and non-federal partners to cooperatively manage invasive plants on the landscape. Coordinate compliance with National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and National Historic Preservation Act.

 

Each IPP unit is expected to develop an annual work plan that aligns with an annual financial plan. Priorities will be reviewed annually. Each IPP unit will also submit an annual accomplishment report. IPP might develop a tracking system to be applied to each assigned action.

Plus the IPP strategic plan will be reviewed annually and actions will be re-prioritized as needed. The annual status reports will be made available to stakeholders and partners on the Web.

 

Posted by Faith Campbell

We welcome comments that supplement or correct factual information, suggest new approaches, or promote thoughtful consideration. We post comments that disagree with us — but not those we judge to be not civil or inflammatory.