New Invaders Watch Program Finds Giant Hogweed in Illinois
This summer, the Chicago area’s New Invaders Watch Program helped detect Giant Hogweed in Lake County, Illinois. Tallgrass Restoration, LLC, a local land management firm and a partner in the New Invaders Watch Program, found a county record for giant hogweed on private property in July. The project manager, Doug DeWitt, had completed the Program’s training and contacted program coordinators when the population was first recognized. After submitting a report to the Program’s database and receiving confirmation on the identification from APHIS botanists, Doug’s crew began control of the population.
The only known record of Lespedeza cuneata in northern Illinois was also reported to the New Invaders Watch Program in July by Deb Nelson, Illinois DNR Heritage Biologist. Control work was initiated by Deb in late July, where she found clopyralid (Transline is one trade name) to be very ineffective in control of this species. Deb will be testing alternative herbicides, such as Escort, to help develop an effective chemical control strategy
Invasive Plant Assessments in Indiana
For five years the Invasive Plant Species Assessment Working Group (IPSAWG), composed of state and federal agencies, botanic gardens, green industry, forage interests, and a wide variety of other partners in Indiana, has worked together to reduce the intentional introduction of invasive plants in the state. Their focus has been on assessing plant species in trade and developing recommendations for the species based on those findings. Thirty-one species have now been assessed and the results and recommendations of IPSAWG will be publicized in a brochure that is due to be published in early 2007. “All of us have learned a lot about these species and how they are used in trade. There’s been a great spirit of cooperation among all the partners, evident in the consensus on these species,” said Ellen Jacquart. Copies of the brochure will be available free to MIPN members once it is published. For details, contact Ellen at ejacquart@tnc.org.
Meet Our Board of Directors
Who are the people behind MIPN? In each newsletter we will profile two members of our board of directors. Kayri (Kay) Havens holds a B.S. and an M.A. in Botany from Southern Illinois University and a Ph.D. in Biology from Indiana University, where she studied reproductive success in a rare evening primrose (Oenothera organensis) from New Mexico. She spent three years as the Conservation Biologist at Missouri Botanical Garden before joining the Chicago Botanic Garden in April 1997. Kay is currently the Garden’s Director of the Institute for Plant Conservation. Her research interests include restoration genetics and the biology of plant rarity and invasiveness. Her work on invasive plants has included studying the growth and reproductive responses of a weedy annual (Abutilon theophrasti) to different nutrient regimes. Kay wrote the Chicago Botanic Garden’s invasive plant policy and is currently developing a predictive weed risk assessment system for the Garden to use when importing plants. She is on the adjunct faculty of Loyola University, Northwestern University and the University of Illinois-Chicago and collaborates with a variety of academic institutions and stewardship organizations to help improve conservation efforts for rare plants.
Kay loves to travel and has plans to visit China and South Africa in 2007. When she’s not on the road, she spends most of her free time tossing tennis balls for her dog, gardening (“with non-invasive species!”), or spending time with her 4 nieces and 1 nephew. Roger Becker has a B.S. in Agronomy, and a M.S. and Ph.D. in Plant Physiology from Iowa State University. His previous jobs include working for Iowa State University as an Extension Associate and a job with Monsanto in Product Development. He is currently a Professor at the University of Minnesota in an Extension and Research capacity, where he works to develop weed management strategies in annual and perennial systems in disturbed and undisturbed habitats. Roger’s current projects include management of purple loosestrife in wetlands, Canada thistle in native prairies, common buckthorn and garlic mustard in woodlands, weed management in commercial processing sweet corn and peas, weed management in pastures and forages, biological control of weeds, and detailing the environmental impacts of herbicide and nonherbicide weed management systems. He enjoys the applied aspects of his job most, codeveloping solutions to problems with land managers, policy makers, and regulatory groups.
Outside of work, Roger enjoys looking for plants on family hikes, with his wife Wendy Gertjejanssen, a historian, and their two small children. Roger and Wendy also enjoy and teach swing dance and lindy hop, “when not pursuing our two children or our professions.” They also escape the city whenever possible, often visiting grandparents on a diversified farming operation in Southwest Iowa or spending time at a lake in Northwest Minnesota.
Ohio Invasive Plants Council Sponsors Two Meetings
The Ohio Invasive Plants Council held a workshop for master gardeners, land managers, and the gardening public called “Good Plants Gone Bad: Invasive Plants in Ohio” in September. Hosted by the Columbus and Franklin County Metro Parks, the event presented practical identification and control methods. Land managers and other plant professionals from around the state discussed and demonstrated techniques that are available to homeowners as well as land managers. The event sold out quickly, and brought almost 70 new participants into the OIPC network.Early next year, the Ohio Invasive Plants Council is offering a follow-up to its successful 2004 conference with a January 18, 2007 conference, “Continuing Partnerships for Invasive Plant Management.” Ohio Wesleyan University, in Delaware, will host the conference, which features invited speakers, case study presentations, and two extended poster sessions. The purpose of the conference is tobring invasive plant researchers and land managers together to share ideas and opportunities, and forge new collaborations. Proceedings of the 2004 conference are available in PDF format at www.oipc.info. Information about the January 2007 conference is posted at http://www.oipc. info/conference_announcement.htm.
Update on the River to River Cooperative Weed Management Area
On September 19, the River to River Cooperative Weed Management Area (CWMA) in southern Illinois finalized its Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), officially creating the organization as a partnership among several agencies and organizations in the region. Signatories on the MOU, include the Shawnee National Forest (USDA), Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Cypress Creek National Wildlife Refuge (USFWS), Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge (USFWS), Natural Resource Conservation Service (USDA), Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA), Illinois Department of Transportation, Illinois Department of Agriculture, Southern Illinois University, University of Illinois Extension, The Nature Conservancy, and the Shawnee Resource Conservation and Development Area, Inc. The group has completed a weed guide for the River to River CWMA, including a map of the CWMA and fact sheets for 19 exotic plant species considered to be invasive in the CWMA. They have also received funding to hire a project coordinator for at least one year, and they have submitted a grant application for a second year of funding for the position. They will be advertising this position in November 2006.
Updates on MIPN Committees
Early Detection/Rapid Response & Data Management Committee
MIPN’s Early Detection and Data Management Committee is nearing completion of a project that will highlight 16 terrestrial plant species for early detection in the Midwest. The committee has compiled state and provincial (Ontario) distribution information for each of the 16 species and has developed distribution maps that indicate whether a species is not present, isolated, locally abundant, or widespread in each state. The finished product will be an 8.5 x 11 poster/handout, which will feature color photos, distribution maps, and information on species identification, habit, and habitat(s) threatened. The product will also allow for land managers to add site-specific contact information for a person to notify if one of these species is identified in a local natural area.
Research Committee
The MIPN Research Committee has created an on-line survey to gather information about research needs for invasive plants in the Midwest. The two major goals of this survey are (1) to gather information on current research needs that we can provide to researchers in the region; and (2) to compare and contrast the perceptions of researchers and land managers about which questions and species are in most urgent need of study. So far we have received about 200 responses to the survey, but we would like to hear from as many people as possible. You can help the research committee by completing the MIPN Research Needs Survey at http://www.surveymonkey.com/ s.asp?u=37222162906 (or visit http://www. mipn.org/research.html for a direct link to the survey).
Green Industry Committee
MIPN’s Green Industry Committee brings together members of the nursery and landscape industry with conservationists to discuss the issue of invasive plants. The committee’s first major project is the development of a brochure on planting alternatives for commonly-planted invasive species in the Midwest. The committee has had several meetings to develop a list of species to include and viable alternatives for each species that is highlighted. The brochure is expected to be completed by early next year.
Education Committee
The Education Committee is working on creating a field guide to invasive plants in the Midwest. This guide will consist of a series of laminated cards bound together that can be used as a field tool for identifying some of the most common invasive plants in our region. The guide will include color photos, identifying characteristics, and information about habitats threatened for each species included. If you would like to assist the committee with this project, please contact Kelly Kearns (Kelly.Kearns@Wisconsin.gov)or Wendy Smith (Wendy_W_Smith@nps.gov).
2007 Natural Areas Association Conference coming to Cleveland
The 34th annual NAA conference is returning to Ohio after a 22-year absence. Some Assembly Required: Restoring Nature in a Fragmented Landscape, will be held in downtown Cleveland from Tuesday, October 9 through Friday, October 12. Pre-conference and conference field trips will showcase the confluence of five ecoregions in Ohio. Session, symposium, and workshop planning is underway. Anyone wishing to develop an invasive plants workshop or session is invited to contact Jennifer Hillmer, Co-Chair of the NAA Conference Program Committee, at jhillmer@holdenarb. org or telephone 440.602.3824.
Purple Loosestrife Eradication in Indianapolis’s Old Northside Neighborhood
For people working on invasive plant issues, few things are as annoying as driving by invasive landscaping on the way to work each day. Kate Howe, MIPN Coordinator, and Ellen Jacquart, MIPN President, work near downtown Indianapolis in a neighborhood that has put purple loosestrife into the neighborhood’s corner plantings. After much discussion with the neighborhood association (Kate actually moving into the neighborhood helped), they agreed we could remove the purple loosestrife if we replaced it with something else. Ellen got blazing star bulbs from a friendly nursery, and Kate gathered a crew of people from our office to do battle. Eight purple loosestrife plantings were dug up and replaced with native blazing star in June, making our neighborhood a much nicer place to be!