Cal-IPC News
Protecting California’s Natural Areas
from Wildland Weeds

Vol. 16, No. 1 Spring 2008

Quarterly Newsletter of the California Invasive Plant Council

Arundo Hook
More ways to slay the giant reed

Controlling Arundo donax, one of California’s worst weeds, is made difficult by its
density around native vegetation. A new tool
developed at Sonoma Ecology Center—the
Arundo hook—helps target herbicide applications more effectively. Story page 4.
Photo courtesy Mark Newhouser, Sonoma Ecology Center

Inside:
Bend-and-spray for arundo control …………….. 4
Funding for the future………………………………… 6
Evaluating herbicide treatment of wild fig …….. 8
Get ready for the 2008 Symposium! ……………. 9
How you can impact policy………………………..10

California
Invasive Plant
Council
1442-A Walnut Street, #462
Berkeley, CA 94709
(510) 843-3902
fax (510) 217-3500
www.cal-ipc.org
info@cal-ipc.org
A California 501(c)3 nonprofit organization

Protecting California’s natural areas
from wildland weeds through
research, restoration, and education.
STAFF
Doug Johnson, Executive Director
dwjohnson@cal-ipc.org
Elizabeth Brusati, Project Manager
edbrusati@cal-ipc.org
Heather Brady, Project Coordinator
hjbrady@cal-ipc.org
Bertha McKinley, Office Manager
bmckinley@cal-ipc.org
DIRECTORS
Jason Giessow, President (2009)
Santa Margarita/San Luis Rey Weed Management Area
Wendy West, Vice President (2009)
U.C. Cooperative Extension
Jennifer Erskine Ogden, Treasurer (2009)
UC Davis
John Knapp, Secretary (2009)
Native Range, Inc.
Dan Gluesenkamp, Past President (2009)
Audubon Canyon Ranch
Carolyn Cromer (2009)
The Land Trust of Napa County
Bob Case (2008)
California Native Plant Society
David Chang (2008)
Santa Barbara Agricultural Commissioner’s Office
Chris Christofferson (2009)
Plumas National Forest
Joanna Clines (2008)
Sierra National Forest
Jason Casanova (2008)
Los Angeles/San Gabriel Rivers Watershed Council
Sharon Farrell (2009)
Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy

From the Director’s Desk

Passion into action
The Cal-IPC board met recently at Dye Creek Lodge in the Lassen foothills for its
annual strategic retreat. Discussion focused on the many program directions Cal-IPC is
pursuing, as well as how to increase funding for these efforts. As they explored how to ask
fellow weed workers for donations, a motto emerged: donations turn “passion into action.”
For those who care deeply about the issue of protecting California from invasive species,
making a donation is one more way of expressing their passion. Each board member has
made a significant financial contribution. Several other individuals have made major
contributions recently to create steadier funding for our work in the future. With the help
of these individuals, the board recently established two financial tools—an endowment and
a reserve fund—to help us continue doing the work we do.
The endowment account was opened at the Marin Community Foundation with
generous gifts from two long-time weed workers, Greg Omori of Oceanside and Jake Sigg
of San Francisco. And the reserve fund has been kicked off with a special contribution from
past board member Steve Schoenig. (See page 6 for the whole story.)
As if to reward us for creating these accounts, we received a legacy donation from a
longtime weed worker, June Bilisoly of Portola Valley, who passed away recently (see profile
on page 7). The board has split this gift between the endowment and the reserve.
I have written before in this space that environmental foundations needed to make
invasive species a priority in their grant giving. I am pleased to say that another foundation
has taken on this priority. The Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund awarded a grant to
Cal-IPC for our state advocacy work to maintain funding for the Weed Management Area
program and to create an interagency Invasive Species Council. We greatly appreciate not
only the funding but the example being set for other foundations.
And the advocacy we do under this grant is resulting in (you guessed it) more and
steadier funding for on-the-ground weed management projects. Of course, with so many
important funding needs in the state, it is hard to press for expanded funding. But it is clear
that whatever we do not address today may cost a lot more tomorrow.
Steady funding is something all organizations dream about—being able to plan multiyear programs that build toward major accomplishments. Weed workers know that the
challenges we face today will need continued attention in the future. Setting up financial
structures like the endowment and reserve account build our capacity to address invasive
plants over time. Though we hope to work ourselves out of a job, that may take quite a
while.

Doug Gibson (2008)
San Elijo Lagoon Conservancy
Beth Keer (2009)
East Bay Regional Parks Botanic Garden
Cheryl McCormick (2008)
Santa Lucia Conservancy
Tanya Meyer (2009)
Yolo County Resource Conservation District
Mark Newhouser (2009)
Sonoma Ecology Center
Kate Symonds (2009)
US Fish & Wildlife Service
Affiliations for identification purposes only.
Last year of term noted.

Cal-IPC News

Spring 2008 – Volume 16, Number 1
Editors: Doug Johnson, Elizabeth Brusati, Cora Puliatch
Cal-IPC News is published quarterly by the California Invasive Plant Council.
Articles may be reprinted with permission from the editor. Submissions are
welcome. Mention of commercial products does not imply endoresement
by Cal-IPC. We reserve the right to edit all work.

Cal-IPC News Spring 2008

The Cal-IPC Board gathered recently for their annual strategic retreat, this year in
the Lassen Foothills. Photo Joanna Clines.

Wildland Weed NewsNewsNewsNewsNews
The California Aquatic Invasive Species
Management Plan was signed by the governor in January. The plan guides action by
state agencies, but it is relevant to everyone
working on this issue in California.
www.dfg.ca.gov/invasives/plan

Antarctica is vulnerable to invasion by a
wide range of organisms, including insects,
grasses and mosses. A new Australian program, “Aliens in Antarctica,” aims to address
the threat. http://uk.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUKL2431326620080128

California Ag Day, held March 25 on
the Capitol steps in Sacramento, featured
speehes by US Secretary of Agriculture
Ed Schafer and California Secretary of
Agriculture AG Kawamura. Both focused
on the threat of invasive species to the state’s
agriculture and environment.
www.cdfa.ca.gov/agday08/

US Geological Survey maps show that there
is suitable habitat for non-native pythons
in much of the southern US, as well as
California coastal areas.
www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=1875

Cal-IPC member Caroline Ridley won an
Emerging Public Policy Leader Award
from the American Institute of Biological
Sciences. She will take time off from her
doctoral studies at UC Riverside to travel
to Washington, DC for advocacy training.
She and fellow UC Riverside student Robin
Marushia participated in our Day at the
Capitol events on March 12 in Sacramento.
www.aibs.org
Alaska is creating a state Invasive Plant
Coordinator position to implement a statewide strategic plan. The position will serve
under the Dept. of Natural Resources. HB
330 at www.legis.state.ak.us/basis/
Florida scientists released a study that examines US import regulations for plants. They
conclude that implementing a system akin
to the weed risk assessment system used
by Australia would save the US billions
of dollars and reduce the time to process
applications for new imports.
www.nature.org/initiatives/invasivespecies/
press/press3378.html
Several California cities are developing local invasive plant bans, including
Oceanside and Encinitas in San Diego
County. Efforts are motivated in large part
by ongoing risks from wildfire and flooding.
North County Times, Feb. 16, 2008
Wildflowers are blooming in southern
California after fire and gentle rains, but
frequent human-caused fires are bad news
for native plant communities adapted to
longer fire cycles.
Orange County Register, Feb. 28, 2008

The California Dept. of Food & Agriculture border inspections reported recent
interceptions, including diffuse knapweed
with bee colonies from Washington, Scotch
thistle with bee colonies from Oregon, and
Russian thistle with oat hay from Utah.

Cal-IPC Updates
Membership rates increase
Regular membership dues have been
raised $5 to $40, with student membership costing $20 and institutional
membership for three individuals costing $150. New donor levels have been
structured as well. See the membership
form on the back cover for details.
Donate your tax rebate
Put your tax rebate to work protecting
wildlands by making a donation to CalIPC! See back panel for donor levels.
Call for nominations
The Cal-IPC Board of Directors is
accepting nominations until July 1 for
new board members. Know someone
that has a lot to offer? Or maybe you
want to nominate yourself? Elections
will be held this fall with new board
members announced at the Symposium
in October. Board terms are two
years, beginning in January 2009. The
board meets five times each year at
locations around the state, and requires
a commitment to fundraising and to
working on a program committee.
Please direct nominations and questions
to Board President Jason Giessow at
jgiessow@cox.net.

Researchers have initiated a first pass at assessing the global impact of invasive species on marine biodiversity. The authors
also present tools for strategically addressing
the challenge. www.frontiersinecology.org
(Select e-View for papers in the pipeline for
publishing.)
Even pear trees can be invasive, it appears.
In the last decade, the ornamental Callery
pear has begun spreading in the Midwest.
Researchers are using the situation to study
how tree populations become invasive.
www.csrees.usda.gov/newsroom/impact/2008/
nri/01153_peartree.html

2008 Cal-IPC Symposium
Oct. 2-4, Chico State University
See page 8 for details.

Wildland Weed
Field Courses
NEW! Discounted Rates for
Restoration Volunteers!
Register at www.cal-ipc.org,
or call us at 510/843-3902.
South Lake Tahoe:
Lake Tahoe Community College
May 28 – Biology & Identification
May 29 – Control Methods
San Diego:
Mission Trails Regional Park
June 6 – Biology & Identification
June 7 – Control Methods
Berkeley:
Brazil Room, Tilden Regional Park
July 23 – Biology & Identification
July 24 – Control Methods
Chico:
Location to be determined.
October 1 – Revegetation Techniques
Registration opens in June.

Berkeley:
East Bay Regional Parks District,
Trudeau Training Center*
November 6* – Mapping
*To be confirmed. Registration opens August.

Cal-IPC News Spring 2008

Feature Article

Using the Arundo hook to bend-and-spray
Mark Newhouser, Sonoma Ecology Center
Applicators worth their QAC know that
if you try to spray a 25-foot tall plant with
nothing but a backpack sprayer, you will
take a shower in overspray and probably
damage every other plant within 15 feet of
the target. Not exactly meeting your objective.
Arundo donax poses a particular problem
for those of us working on relatively small,
scattered, and remote infestations. The
challenge is multiplied when infestations are
surrounded by native vegetation, sensitive
species, and/or water. It is virtually impossible to make directed, strategic foliar spray
applications to Arundo without climbing up
a ladder or in some way moving or cutting
vegetation. You can use a ladder to spray
Arundo, but it is hard work, potentially
dangerous, not always feasible, and the
subject of another article.
Rather than climbing or reaching up to
the plant, you can bring the plant closer to
you. Some applicators have used a board or
a ladder to lean on Arundo to bend it over
so that it is closer to the ground and there-

fore easier to spray. These crude methods of
manipulating plants to facilitate spraying
them have evolved into a number of methods. This article addresses the “Bend and
Spray” method and the “Hook,” a tool used
to pull plants toward you or bend them over
for easier spraying.
Bend-and-spray on Arundo may have
started in Southern California when someone leaned a ladder on a clump of Arundo
and the canes could not support the weight,
fell down (along with the ladder and the occupant) and stayed on the ground. The cane
had snapped but remained intact with the
stems, allowing the applicator to spray the
plant and still get sufficient translocation of
the herbicide to the roots.
Later, practitioners under the tutelage
of Jason Giessow, with the Santa Margarita
and San Luis Rey Weed Management Area
and other pioneers in the San Diego region
began “prepping” cane for spraying by bending cane away from desirable vegetation and
onto itself. The cane bent away from a tree
would resemble a crater from a bomb blast
with the cane
splaying outward. The cane
bent onto itself
resembles a tall
haystack. One of
the most memorable moments of
a demonstration
of this method
was when
Jason’s team of
cane “preppers”
scrambled up a
ladder, proceeded
to bend over the
cane forming the
top of the stack
about 12 feet off
the ground and
then used the
top of the stack
as a scaffolding,
walking and
working from the
top of the stack
The bend-and-spray technique is useful for treating small and remote infestato complete the
tions of Arundo in sensitive habitat.

Cal-IPC News Spring 2008

Advantages of the bend-and-spray
technique
• Precise strategic spraying of target
species
• No overhead spraying, meaning less
work for applicator
• All spraying is directed down and can
be done with little or no drift even
when wind picks up, resulting in less
exposure for applicator and non-target species
• Safer spraying for applicator – no
climbing ladders
• High herbicide efficacy – equal to
foliar spray on unbent stems
• Most appropriate for small, scattered,
and remote infestations, especially
in mixed vegetation where directed
spraying is a challenge
Disadvantages
• Bending canes is laborious
• Slight risk of injury bending canes
• Bending labor can be costly
• Not appropriate for large infestations
Remember to…
1. Always pump the sprayer before
reaching with the hook. You cannot
pump once you reach!
2. Resist the temptation to reach for the
easy outside canes first. Always reach
for the inner canes since they will
spring back to the center, out of the
way and will not drip all over you.
3. Before hooking the canes and walking backwards, scope out a safe travel
path and look behind you just before
backing up. Tripping over a low
branch with a full backpack is not
fun!
bending process. It was amazing watching grown men walk across the top of an
Arundo clump!
In recent years, we have experimented
with the bend-and-spray method and found
that by imitating nature, we can more easily
treat Arundo. Often, Arundo is bent over by
floodwaters, allowing the bent-over but living canes to lay down and agrade sediment.

This area of layering is usually devoid of
desirable vegetation and forms a good foundation for bending over canes for spraying.
Also, it is easier to bend that direction since
the canes are already leaning that way.
The basic bend-and-spray technique
requires grasping the cane with two hands
between stem nodes and bending or snapping the cane so that it splits longitudinally
without breaking off. If done properly, over
90% of the bent canes will remain intact
for spraying. Some canes partially break off,
but still effectively translocate herbicide.
Bending at the nodes is not recommended
because they tend to break off completely. If
a cane breaks off, toss it aside so that it does
not interfere with spraying living canes.
The next step is to form a fan shape on
the ground with the bent canes. Once a
single layer is done, the bending crew, or
“preppers,” is sent on to the next clump,
allowing the applicator to spray the fan
of canes on the ground. Do not bend too
much at a time or you will not get adequate
spray coverage. Also, always plan a bending
route so that you can negotiate your way
through a clump without having to step
over bent canes.
With a crew of two or three preppers
and one applicator, the team can rotate
between three or four clumps at a time,
bending and spraying one layer before
moving to the next clump. Ideally, the
preppers are always one clump ahead of
the spray applicator and when the rotation is completed, the last sprayed layer
has dried.

The Hook
The Arundo hook is a tool that enables
the applicator to get complete foliar spray
coverage including the growing tips of
Arundo. The hook, a simple shepherd’s
hook-like device that resembles a swimming
pool rescue hook, was developed to reach up
and pull canes down or to maneuver it away
from desirable vegetation in order to spray
it. The latest model consists of an 8’ wooden
pole with a an 18” PVC hook with an additional side hook on top for pushing canes
or other vegetation to the side or down and
out of the way.
The hook is very useful on small patches
that you can circumnavigate and where
you can reach to the center of the clump.
The basic hook technique is to insert the
hook vertically into the upright canes and
then turn the hook horizontally to grab
approximately 10 canes. The next step is to
pull towards you while stepping back and
sliding the hook up the canes. As you slide
the hook up the stems, the cane will bend
toward you allowing you to spray the full

Advantages of the hook
• Allows applicator to manipulate vegetation for precise spraying
• Allows applicator to work solo, working the hook with left hand (between
pumping) and spraying with the right
hand
• Gathers about 10 canes and concentrates them for a quicker application
time
• Uses less herbicide spraying the gathered canes
• Less overspray and risk of non-target
damage
• Reduces cost from labor and herbicide savings
• Alternates use as walking stick to aid
hiking rough terrain and climbing
steep banks with a loaded backpack
• Narrow width allows for passage
through cane thickets
• Serves as a big stick when defending
against varmints and territorial creek
dwellers
Disadvantages
• Hook can be heavy for some folks
(a second person can help)
• When walking backwards with a
hook full of canes, there is a risk
that you can trip or step off a cliff
length of the cluster of canes in the
hook. Then, walk back toward the
clump, push and turn the hook vertically to release the canes and then grab
the next cluster.
Keep in mind that these tools were
developed most specifically for Arundo
and for spraying with glyphosate,
which requires good coverage for high efficacy. However, the bend and spray method
and hook can be used for other species. I
frequently use the hook for applications in
mixed vegetation, where I have to tease out
non-natives from natives to make strategic
applications. Whether holding a native out
of harms way, or pinning a bad weed to the
ground for a final shot, the hook is an extension of my arm and a helping hand.

Hook assembly instructions
on page 13…
The Arundo hook is designed specifically for use with the bend-and-spray technique, and can be
made from a few easily-found, inexpensive materials.

Cal-IPC News Spring 2008

Funding for the future!

The people behind Cal-IPC’s new endowment and reserve funds
The founders of every nonprofit organization envision a day when its caretakers
can look up for a moment from the tasks of
month-to-month fiscal survival and begin
planning toward a more secure future. Stable income supporting the core budget can
free resources for multi-year projects and
significant impacts—impacts that can better
manifest the magnitude of its vision. With
the support of dedicated members, Cal-IPC
has recently taken important steps towards
that security by creating an endowment and
an operating reserve.
In 2007, generous donations from Jake
Sigg and Greg Omori helped Cal-IPC realize the dream of opening an endowment
fund. The endowment is a place for legacy
gifts as part of individuals’ estate planning.
Cal-IPC permanently entrusts these gifts
to the Marin Community Foundation for
investment. Over time, as contributions and
interest accrue, income from this account
will provide an steady source for Cal-IPC’s
budget.
The operating reserve complements the
endowment by providing short-range security from cash-flow fluctuations.The reserve
was recently established through a gift by
Steve Schoenig in memory of his late father,
Ed Schoenig.
Nonprofit organizations try to maintain
a reserve equal to at least three months
worth of operating expenses to bridge temporary cash flow bottlenecks, which happen
because income patterns can be uneven.
Unlike the endowment, the reserve is kept
in an easily mobilized form, as its purpose is
be available when needed.
The people behind the creation of these
important accounts have long histories of
caring for native habitat. One is a volunteer,
one a businessman, and one a government
employee. They each have passions that they
turned to work to create change in a world
they care about long before they were in
a position to give financially. And finally,
when the fruits of their labors matured,
they directed some of that abundance in
the same direction as their passions, with
remarkable results. Here are their stories.

Cal-IPC News Spring 2008

Jake Sigg

San Francisco, CA

Jake takes a broad view of the invasive
species issue, explaining that “the free movement of vast numbers of nonnative organisms around the world is creating havoc, and
is likely to be one of the great mistakes that
human society will come to regret ignoring.”
He sees Cal-IPC as an organization
taking action on this mistake: “It is amazing
what Cal-IPC has accomplished in a short
15 years, and I am pleased to be able to help
the organization.”

Greg Omori
Oceanside, CA

“There is no sorrow above the loss
of native land.”
Euripides, from Medea
“Given my nature, I think I would have
been one of those people who would love
the land even if I had been raised in a city,”
says Jake Sigg, who was born and raised
on a Montana ranch in a large family who
grew all of their own food. Jake credits his
early life spent working with the land for
reinforcing an intimate relation to the land,
which fuels his passion today.
Jake worked as a gardener for Golden
Gate Park for 32 years, and acknowledges
the purchase of a house 41 years ago as “the
principal factor in [his] present situation of
having disposable income,” which allows
him to offer significant support not only
Cal-IPC but to other nonprofits, as well.
“A gardener being a major donor of several
nonprofit organizations? Only in this time
and in this place,” muses Jake.
After his 1990 retirement, he began volunteering seriously for the California Native
Plant Society, eventually serving as President
as well as Chair of the Invasives Exotics
Committee. Once he realized that invasive
plants were displacing as many native biological communities as development, removing invasive plants from native communities
became his focus. Jake’s history with CalIPC reflects this sustained focus: “When the
Cal-IPC was being formed in 1992, I joined
the effort, and have been strongly supporting the organization since.”

Twenty years ago, fresh out of college
at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, Greg Omori
began working for his family’s business,
Agri Chemical & Supply, Inc., just as it
started its first invasive plant control project:
a contract to remove thousands of acres
of artichoke thistle on Camp Pendleton
Marine Base. Of the project, Greg recalls,
“My brother Gary and I used to walk the
hills of Camp Pendleton navigating through
rattlesnakes—luckily we avoided being
bit!” Despite what may have been a rather
harrowing first encounter with invasive
plant removal, Greg stuck with it, working
to expand their business in invasive plant
control.
“We’re still treating small populations
of artichoke thistle on Camp Pendleton,
among other invasive species, which include
arundo, tamarisk, perennial pepperweed,
fennel, and yellow starthistle,” says the now
veteran supporter of invasive plant management. In more recent years, Agri Chem has

expanded services to include native restoration. Agri Chem’s approach to weed control,
Greg explains, is an aggressive treatment of
the invasive coupled with respect for the
sensitive habitat that they work to protect.
He emphasizes that native habitat restoration is critical to preventing new weed
introductions.
As part of his motivation to contribute to the endowment launch, Greg cited
the value of Cal-IPC to the success of his
family’s business. Cal-IPC, he says, “is
important to our industry for all the work
it does, including promoting invasive weed
awareness to the public and generating more
support for the invasive weed industry.” CalIPC also supports Agri Chem’s projects, he
says, with information and training through
its symposia, field courses, and newsletters.
“We believe that continued support of
Cal-IPC will help all of our industry to do
a better, more efficient job controlling invasive weeds,” says Greg. “We are very happy
and honored to support Cal-IPC.”

Steve Schoenig
Davis, CA

Steve Schoenig spent his early years in
eastern Los Angeles County near undeveloped areas which he witnessed being overrun by invasive plants. At the same time, his
childhood proximity to Rancho Santa Ana
botanic gardens fostered his appreciation of

June Bilisoly
Cal-IPC Legacy Donor
When June Bilisoly passed away recently, we
learned that she had included Cal-IPC in
her will. Her legacy gift will live on in the
Cal-IPC endowment, helping the organization carry on its work in the future.
On November 11 of last year, June
Bilisoly passed away in Portola Valley, a
small town at the oak-wooded foot of
the Santa Cruz Mountains on the San
Francisco Peninsula. The town hosts an
annual broom pulling event, and June
was a member of the crew that started
the tradition.
June was an only child who chose to

native plants.
Steve is currently a Sr. Environmental
Scientist at the Cal. Dept. of Fish & Game,
where his focus is promoting biodiversity.
His career path has taken him through undergraduate training in entomology, gradu-

ate work in invasive insects and biocontrols,
and jobs as a biomedical researcher and a
statistician for the state’s biocontrol program. Ten years ago, he was asked to launch
a GIS effort to support the Cal. Dept. of
Food & Agriculture’s weed programs, a
project that eventually morphed into a position as state weed coordinator. Steve served
on the Cal-IPC Board of Directors 1999
– 2007 and was President in 2006.
Steve is an advocate for early detection
and rapid response, explaining, “It’s all
about triage and addressing the most urgent
needs, which allows the somewhat small

not marry or have children. She graduated
from Mills College in 1952, and was a longtime supporter of groups including Committee for Green Foothills (protecting open
space on the peninsula), Jepson Herbarium,
and California Native Plant Society, as well
as Cal-IPC. She was an ardent proponent of
native plant preservation long before understanding of the issue was as widespread as it
is today.
Cal-IPC member Paul Heiple, a veteran
member of CNPS who worked alongside
June as a member of the Portola Valley
Conservation Committee, remembers her
as a private person who loved backpacking
and foreign travel and advocated passionately for invasive plant removal to preserve
the native plants she loved. Paul recalls an
encounter with June in 2000 when the

amount of resources we have to be used on
the high priority issues.” He praises Cal-IPC
for addressing the need for prioritization
through its weed mapping and risk assessment projects.
On why he finds it important to support
Cal-IPC’s financial longevity, Steve says,
“It’s like Cal-IPC used to be a little funky
airplane with a lawnmower engine, and now
we’ve got a jet plane, but as soon as we run
out of fuel, it still hits the ground, just harder and faster. The reserve fund is designed to
offer backup fuel for the Cal-IPC jet.”
Steve emphasizes the value of both the
“incredibly dedicated volunteers” who sustained and grew Cal-IPC in the early years
as well as the newer staff who have “taken
it to a completely new orbit.” Supporting
that staff, he believes, calls for the security
provided by a reserve fund.

A foundation for the future

It has been clear from the start of
Cal-IPC that the organization would not
exist, let alone thrive, without the passionate action of its supporters. Through their
generous contributions, Jake, Greg, and
Steve each found an important way—along
with their own daily work on invasive plant
issues—to turn their passion into real impacts. They recognized how the abundance
in their lives could be put to work on behalf
of protecting California’s biodiversity. The
accounts they have established form a foundation that will fortify Cal-IPC and allow its
work to continue for many years to come.

two of them were involved in activism
for the preservation of Portola Valley in
response to proposed new development.
Paul heard June ask a consultant in charge
of fuel reduction, “Why are you taking
out native shrubs and leaving French
broom? If the reason you are clearing is
to reduce the danger of fire, the broom
should be the first to go, not the last!”
But the consultant could not find the
plants, so June and Paul went themselves
to remove the broom, and leaving a large
pulled plant to mark the location for the
consultant. This year, the annual Portola
Valley Broom Pull was dedicated to June,
and her friends and neighbors worked in
her honor to pull the descendants of the
broom she and Paul removed eight years
ago.

Cal-IPC News Spring 2008

Techniques

Soil impact from basal bark treatment of wild fig trees
Soil residues, and off-target effects resulting from treatment with Garlon® 4
Katherine A. Holmes, Graduate Group in Ecology, UC Davis, and Alison M. Berry, UC Davis Road Ecology Center
Triclopyr is one of the most commonly
used herbicideds in natural areas. Basal bark
herbicide applications, which involve applying herbicide to the lower portion of trunks
or stems, are often used in restoration activities since this method allows treatment of
individual invasive plants within a community of natives. Basal bark treatments require

Figs create dense groves that can
dominate and supplant native trees
and shrubs. They are common in the
remnant riparian forests of California’s Central Valley and foothills and
can reproduce vegetatively from root
sprouts and broken branches as well
as from seeds dispersed by animals.

Inspecting fig tree rings to learn more about the
treatment’s success.

The high stem density found in invasive fig groves, like this one in Caswell Memorial State Park,
poses a challenge in controlling the trees.

the use of concentrated herbicide solutions
and, when applied to invasives with high
stem densities, may result in the application
of large quantities of herbicide for a given
area.
This study evaluated the use of basal
bark treatments for controlling Ficus carica
(edible fig), a densely-stemmed, problematic
invader of riparian forests in California.
California dried fig production has
averaged 28 million pounds over the last
five years. All dried figs harvested in the
United States are grown in California’s
Central Valley. californiafigs.com

Cal-IPC News Spring 2008

For these reasons, Ficus carica received a
“Moderate” rating in the 2006 Cal-IPC
Inventory.
We tested the effects of basal bark treatments of 25% triclopyr (trade name Garlon®
4) on research plots located in six different
groves of figs. These treatments resulted in
herbicide application rates that exceeded
the labeled maximum use rate. After five
months, soils near the fig trunks contained
high levels of triclopyr residues, suggesting
that the chemical made its way into soils
during this period and was not completely
degraded. Although the mortality of native
plants transplanted into treated fig groves

was low, it was significantly greater than the
mortality experienced by native plants transplanted into untreated control sites.
Although very effective in controlling invasive fig trees, the high herbicide
application rates resulting from basal bark
treatment preclude the use of this treatment
in large fig groves. These treatments may be
appropriate, however, when fig groves are
small or isolated enough to prevent over-application on a per area basis. Unfortunately,
neither limited basal bark applications
of 25% triclopyr (less than 40% stems
treated) nor foliar spray treatments of 2%
glyphosate and 1% triclopyr were effective
control measures. Further investigation is
needed on ways to control large invasive fig
groves, including basal bark treatments with
more dilute solutions of triclopyr and stem
injections with either triclopyr or another
systemic herbicide.
For more information:
Tu, M., C. Hurd, and J. M. Randall. 2001. Weed
Control Methods Handbook: Tools and Techniques
for Use in Natural Areas. The Nature Conservancy.
Available: tncweeds.ucdavis.edu/handbook.html
Bossard, C. C., J. M. Randall and M. C. Hoshovsky.
2002. Invasive Plants of California’s Wildlands. University of California Press, Berkeley, CA. Available:
www.cal-ipc.org

The 17th Annual Cal-IPC Symposium

The Future of Invasive Plant Prevention & Management
October 2-4, 2008, Chico State University

Join 350 weed workers at Chico State

University to share the latest information on
invasive plant biology and management. This
year’s special sessions will focus on the future
of invasive plant prevention and management
in California, addressing issues such as climate
change, future weed spread, future research
prioirities, and careers in the field.
The Revegetation Field Course
on October 1 will provide in-depth training
on revegetation as part of invasive plant
management.

Sutter Buttes near Chico, technically the world’s smallest mountain range

Cal-IPC members will receive the preliminary

Call for papers! Abstracts for papers and

posters are due July 1, 2008. See instructions
on our website.

program and additional information by mail in
May.

Registration will open in June. We encourage
you to register online. Register by August 29 for
the early discount. Students and Symposium
volunteers are eligible for discounts.

Exhibit space is available to Symposium

sponsors, with several levels of sponsorship. See
our website for information.

Donate items for the raffle and auction!
Be creative, be practical—artwork, books, tools,
weedy novelty items—anything a weed worker
could want. Contact Tanya (meyer@yolorcd.org) if
you have an item to donate.

2005 Symposium on campus at Chico State

Submit photos for the 5th Annual Photo
Exhibit. Symposium attendees will vote for
their favorites, which are featured in the fall
issue of Cal-IPC News.

New for students! Our first-ever student

paper and poster contest is open to graduate
and undergraduate students, as well as recent
graduates. First-place paper and poster
presenters receive $250. Featured also are a
career panel and job board.

It’s all online at
A favorite from the 2007 photo exhibit. Photo: Rich Atmore

www.cal-ipc.org!
Cal-IPC News Spring 2008

Policy

New opportunities in Sacramento and D.C.
It’s spring again, when weed workers turn
their attention to the weeds growing in the
field. Spring is also legislative season, when
weed workers try to impact the overall
policy environment in which we work.
There were new issues in Sacramento and

despite 10% cuts to many programs at the
Cal. Dept. of Food & Agriculture (CDFA),
and funding for the program remains in
the proposed budget for next year. This
is significant progress. In past years, weed
workers have not been able to maintain the
program through tough budget years.
Creating a state Interagency Invasive
Species Council is a renewed effort to
strengthen coordination for response to
weeds and other invasive organisms. Such
councils exist in Oregon, Washington,
Idaho, Hawaii and Arizona, enabling state
agencies, federal agencies, universities and
stakeholder organizations to work together
on invasive species issues. Weeds do not recognize fences at the local level, and the same
type of coordination facilitated by WMAs is
required at the state level.

Ed Duarte, Heather Brady, and Josh Huntsinger teamed up to advocate for WMA funding
in Sacramento this March.

Washington, D.C. this year, offering some
exciting opportunities.
Protecting funding for Weed Management
Areas (WMAs) was, as always, a central focus of Invasive Weeds Awareness Day at the
Capitol on March 12 in Sacramento. Given
the extensive cuts in the existing budget
year (2007-08) and the proposed budget
for next year (2008 -09), it is important
to consolidate the $1.5 million currently
allocated for the program. Though last year’s
bill to increase funding to $2.5 million as
originally passed by the legislature in 2006
(SB 311 from Sen. Dave Cogdill) is still “on
suspense” in the Appropriations Committee, the current budget climate makes any
increases in funding virtually impossible.
Teams of attendees at Weeds Day visited all
120 legislative offices—80 Assembly and
40 Senate—and found strong support for
continued program funding. At this point,
funding for the current budget year is intact

10

Cal-IPC News Spring 2008

In California, AB 2631 (Wolk) passed the
legislature in 2004, and proposed creation
of such a council. However, the development of the bill was flawed, and many
stakeholders and agencies did not support it.
Because Gov. Schwarzenegger was “blowing
up boxes” at the time, he saw the council
as additional bureaucracy and vetoed the
bill. In the veto he instructed CDFA and
the Resources Agency to come up with a
plan to improve coordination. A short-lived
effort by the Resource Agency’s Biodiversity
Council brought together representatives
from 22 state and federal agencies. A recent
Cal-IPC survey of these representatives
found that 86% support forming a council.
Weeds Day attendees encouraged legislators to support formation of such a council,
whether through legislation or by supporting the departments in forming the body on
their own.
S. 1949 (Reid), the 100th Meridian Revolving Loan Fund, was a central focus of
National Invasive Weeds Week (NIWAW)
advocacy in late February. The bill would
provide $80 million annually for high priority invasive species control work in western
states. Though the funds are technically
loans, they do not need to be fully repaid,
and repayments can begin up to ten years
later. Advocates at NIWAW worked to make
the bill national in scope.

Revising “Q-37” regulations was another
top federal issue. Through Quarantine
37, or Q-37, the US Dept. of Agriculture
regulates the import of horticultural stock,
one of the top pathways for introduction of
invasive plants. The regulations have been
widely recognized as too lax. Though USDA
has initiated revision, the process has been
slow. As demonstrated at Cal-IPC’s international workshop on risk assessment in
October 2006, countries like Australia have
already developed effective screening protocol, and these have been tested in the US by
researchers in Hawaii and Florida (see CalIPC News Winter 2006-07; proceedings at
cal-ipc.org). Advocates encouraged Congress
to make this important prevention policy a
top priority.
Funding for biocontrol development at
the USDA Albany lab was again a key position for our California team. Such funding
supports important biocontrol work on
brooms, Cape ivy, Russian thistle, and other
weeds. The team also asked our legislators to
restore research funding to the University
of California Integrated Pest Management
program, which has been key for supporting invasive plant studies in the state.
Finally, our team promoted the concept
of a National Network of Invasive Plant
Centers such as Cal-IPC, the Center for Invasive Plant Management in Montana, and
others across the country. Such a network
would serve to coordinate regional programs
on early detection, outreach, and information resources.

One letter from your
organization can help!
Help protect funding for the
Weed Management Area program
by sending a letter of support on
organizational letterhead. See
www.cal-ipc.org for a sample letter and instructions. Letters from
more than 100 organizations
helped secure WMA funding the
last two years – show Sacramento
it’s still important!

PlantRight goes public!
After years of developing a strong partnership between the horticultural industry
and stakeholders ranging from environmental groups to governmental agencies, the
California Horticulture Invasives Prevention (Cal-HIP) partnership has gone public
with the PlantRight campaign. The public
outreach campaign was initiated this spring
at the statewide level with three kick-off
events at the Huntington
Botanical Gardens
(San Marino), Tilden Botanic Garden
(Berkeley), and the
UC Davis Arboretum. Educational
events will continue
throughout the year
at the local level with
presentations to garden
clubs and other concerned
groups.
Kick-off events were
attended by home gardening
opinion leaders, the horticultural industry and the media.
These events led to multiple
news articles throughout the
state, including articles on the front pages of
the gardening sections of the San Francisco Chronicle (March 15, 2008) and Los
Angeles Times (April 10, 2008). The articles
help advance the PlantRight campaign by
increasing public and industry awareness of
invasive species in horticulture and empowering Californians to stop the new introductions of invasive plants.
During 2007 Cal-HIP provided a list
of invasive horticultural plants to nurseries, along with suggestions for possible
alternatives. The program aims to convince
businesses of all sizes, from local retailers to
national chains, to transition invasive plants
out of their nursery stock, and commit to
supplying non-invasive alternatives. As the
public education campaign grows, we expect
growing customer demand for environmentally-friendly plants, which will spur greater
participation from retail nurseries and their
suppliers.
Cal-IPC has been a core member of CalHIP since its inception in 2004. Executive
Director Doug Johnson says he is “excited

Is “sweet broom” invasive?
Each spring, concerned Cal-IPC
members call the office to report broom
for sale at their local garden center. But
which broom is it? The answer points out
the complications in addressing invasive
plants for sale.
Most broom plants
currently available for sale
in California are labeled
“sweet broom” (Cytisus
spachianus, Cytisus x
spachianus, or Genista
racemosa), purported
to be a sterile and
therefore non-invasive
cultivar. Though five
other broom species
are listed in the
Cal-IPC Inventory as invasive
in California,
sweet broom has
not been reported
growing outside cultivation, and we are not aware of it doing so
elsewhere in the world. Dr. Fred Hrusa
with the California Dept. of Food &
Agriculture Herbarium has seen this
plant for many years with no evidence of
spread. Broom biocontrols researcher Dr.

to be working directly with the nursery industry leaders on this problem because they
interact daily with all the plant lovers out
there, and these are the people most likely to
help address the invasive plant problem.”

You can help!

In order to reach more home gardeners,
Cal-IPC is working to bring the campaign
to the local level with the assistance of
you, our membership. Our goal is to have
Cal-IPC members give presentation to 100
local garden clubs and to attend 15 local
plant sales to educate plant enthusiasts and
home gardeners about their opportunities to
choose non-invasive plants.
Cal-HIP has created a PowerPoint pre-

Andy Sheppard from Australia says that
it is frequently planted there, but they
have not seen evidence of it “jumping
the fence” into natural areas. To add
to the confusion, hybridization and
horticultural cultivars within the broom
group make it difficult to tell species
apart, and plants on nursery shelves may
be mislabeled.
Cal-IPC and Cal-HIP are coordinating with researchers at UC Davis to
work towards answering some of the
questions about sweet broom: What is
actually being sold under this name in
nurseries? What is its relationship to
other brooms? Does it have potential to
hybridize with other brooms?
Bottom line—for now, Cal-IPC
does not actively discourage the use of
sweet broom. Science has not to date
indicated that it is invasive, and we are
supporting research to help clarify the
situation. The PlantRight campaign
provides a powerful opportunity to
influence the horticultural community
on the issue of invasive plants. Weed
workers throughout the state can make
the campaign a success, so that there
will be well-informed dialogue in the
future over plants like sweet broom.

sentation, brochures, and regional handouts geared for presenting to garden clubs.
Cal-IPC is working to locate and contact
interested garden clubs throughout California, and we welcome your suggestions of
local groups or upcoming plant sales.
This is your chance to help protect the
places you love, to educate your community
on the problems associated with invasive
plants, and to become a part of this historic
state-wide campaign!
To learn more, contact Outreach Coordinator Heather Brady at hjbrady@cal-ipc.
org or (510) 843-3902.
Visit www.plantright.org for additional information on the campaign.

Cal-IPC News Spring 2008

11

Inventory

2008 Update Adds a Plant and Revises Distribution Data
In January, the Cal-IPC Inventory committee met for its annual review. This year’s
revision focused on updating information
on the geographic distribution of plants
already on the list. Last July, participants in
a meeting at UC Riverside reviewed the Inventory and found several plants that should
have been listed in the south coastal region.
In addition, Weed Management Areas
provided data on 36 species last summer as
part of our Weed Risk Assessment project,
enabling us to confirm additional regions
invaded by 26 species. This information
has now been incorporated into our online
database.
WMAs are currently helping us with
data for the remaining 220 species on the
Inventory, and we will continue to update
distribution information after that data is
compiled.

The committee added one new plant to
the Inventory and revised information on
another. Genista linifolia (flax-leaf broom or
Canary Island broom), evaluated by John
Knapp, was tentatively added as a “Moderate” species based on its invasiveness on
Santa Catalina Island. So far, it is known to
occur only on the Channel Islands. Populations may have existed on the mainland
in the past, but we know of none persisting now. We are awaiting some additional
information before finalizing the listing of
this plant.
Thanks to additional information
provided by Cal-IPC members Chip Steers
and Cindy Burrascano, we revised the plant
assessment for Chrysanthemum coronarium
(crown daisy). The overall rating remains
Moderate. As always, the Cal-IPC Inventory

rates plants based on their statewide impacts
and potential for spread. In the future,
we hope that regional groups will develop
lists for specific areas of the state in order
to refine information to reflect the varied
climates and geography of California.
This year’s committee is Joe DiTomaso,
UC Davis (chair); Edie Allen, UC Riverside;
Joanna Clines, Sierra National Forest; Mike
Kelly, Kelly and Associates; John Randall,
The Nature Conservancy; Cynthia Roye,
California State Parks; Andy Sanders, UC
Riverside; and Peter Warner, California
State Parks.
Submit Inventory information to Project Manager Elizabeth Brusati, edbrusati@cal-ipc.org.

Thank You for Supporting our Work!
Recent Donors
John P. Anderson (Ft. Funston Green
Team, San Francisco), Margaret Berry,
Jason Casanova (Los Angeles), Bob Case
(Concord), David Chang (Santa Barbara
County Agricultural Commissioner’s
Office), Chris Christofferson (Plumas
National Forest, Chico), Joanna Clines
(Sierra National Forest, North Fork),
Catherine M. Davis (East Lansing,
MI), Conejo Valley Garden Club
(Thousand Oaks), El Cerrito Garden
Club, Jim Duncan (Ashland, OR),
Jennifer Erskine-Ogden (San Francisco),
Meryl A. Faulkner (Project Wildlife, La
Jolla), Doug Gibson (San Elijo Lagoon
Conservancy, Encinitas), Jason Giessow
(Encinitas), Dan Gluesenkamp (Audubon
Canyon Ranch, San Francisco), Bud
Hoekstra (Berry Blest Organic Farm,
San Andreas), Mike Kelly (San Diego),
David Loeb (Berkeley), Fritz Maytag
(San Francisco), Cheryl McMormick
(Santa Lucia Conservancy, Carmel),
Tanya Meyer (Davis), Mark Newhouser
(Sonoma Ecology Center, Eldridge),
Michael Peterson (Teichert Aggregates,
Sacramento), Kate Symonds (US Fish &

12

Cal-IPC News Spring 2008

Wildlife Service, Santa Rosa), Wendy West
(UC Cooperative Extension, Placerville),
Matt Zlatunich (San Francisco)

Cape Ivy Donations
CNPS Orange County Chapter, CNPS
Santa Cruz County Chapter, Steve
Hartman (CNPS Los Angeles Chapter,
Reseda), Halli Mason (CNPS Los Angeles
Chapter, Reseda), Bob Rutemoeller
(Gualala)

Welcome, New Members!
Jennifer Bridgewater (USDA, Forest
Service, S. Lake Tahoe), Allegra
Bukojemsky (Biohabitats, Inc., San
Francisco), A. Crawford Cooley (Novato),
Lee Delaney (Western Shasta RCD,
Anderson), Lori Dieter (Chico), Nancy
Dawaon Dollard (City of Walnut Creek),
Dan Efseaff (River Partners, Chico), Donna
Ellis (Studio City), Jesse Gomez (Newhall
Land, Piru), David Gorton (San Joaquin
Co. Public Works, Stockton), Marcy
Hachman (UC Cooperative Extension,
Stockton), Sarah Hoskinson (UC Davis),
Xiaohong Huang (CA Dept. of Water
Resources, Bakersfield), Valerie Kay

Hubbartt (Los Padres National Forest,
Santa Barbara), John Hulls (Sacramento),
Stan Kaufman (San Francisco), Allison
Kiehl (Marin Agricultural Trust Pt.
Reyes Station), Katherine Koehler (UC
McLaughlin Reserve, Lower Lake), Marcia
Kolb (Oakland), Richard Little (San Luis
Obispo Co. Ag. Dept., Paso Robles),
Melanie Lopes (Oakland), Michael
Murphy (Garden Valley), Stu Osbrack
(US Forest Service, S. Lake Tahoe), Julie
Osbrack (US Forest Service, S. Lake
Tahoe), Darwin Richardson (Solvang),
Holly Sanders (US Forest Service, S. Lake
Tahoe), Steve Schultz (UC Sedgwick
Reserve, Santa Ynez), Rick Skillin (UC
Sedgwick Reserve, Santa Ynez), Stacy
Small (River Partners, Chico), Nancy
Stearns (UC Sedgwick Reserve, Santa
Ynez), Eric Sutera (Forester’s Co-op,
Grass Valley), Helen Swagerty (River
Partners, Chico), C. Joy Timm (Joy’s Yard
& Ground Maintenance, Yreka), Betty
Warne (Sacramento), Sue Weis (Inyo
National Forest, Bishop), Kimberlyn
Williama (CSU, San Bernardino), John
Williams (American Civil Constructors,
Martinez), John Zanzi (EDAW,
Sacramento)

Making your own Arundo hook
Unlike a swimming pool hook,
which can cost $80 or more, this hook is
made with a wooden closet rod pole and
PVC fittings and costs approximately
$30. The pole is Douglas fir for minimal flexibility, and maximal strength,
lightness and absorption. Although
aluminum is lighter, it can be too flexible and the non-porous surface will drip
herbicide down the handle. Fabrication
time: approx. 30 minutes.
Hook parts list
2 – 3/4” PVC electrical sweeps
1 – 3/4” PVC T
1 – 3/4” PVC end cap
1 – 3/4” PVC 90
2 – 3/4”x 3” PVC pipe
1 – 5/16” x 2” bolt and locknut
2 – 5/16” washers, bent to curve around
PVC
1 – 1 1/4” x 8’ D. fir closet rod
PVC primer and glue
Tools needed
Razor knife
Sanding block, 80 grit
PVC cutter or saw
Drill, 5/16 bit
Ball peen hammer
Vise or clamp

the carved area, testing fit often, until
it fits snugly and rod inserts fully into
the PVC sweep
– Sand the end of the handle
to remove any splinters
– With the handle completely
inserted into the PVC and
laying flat, mark the PVC
3/4” from the end and drill a
5/16” hole through the PVC
and wooden rod.
– Bend the washers in the vice
with the ball peen hammer
until they wrap around the
PVC
– Insert bolt with curved washers and tighten lock nut just
until PVC begins to distort.
Note:
The bolted section is the most
vulnerable part of the tool, so it
is important that the wood and
PVC fit well and the stress of
the bolted area is dispersed by
the curved washers to prevent the PVC
from cracking. If it does fail, the hook
can be reversed and attached to the other
side.

Mark Newhouser is Restoration Director at
the Sonoma Ecology Center. Contact him at
mnewhouser@sonomaecologycenter.org.

Construction
Cut the 2-3” PVC pipe sections
Primer and glue PVC (at each step,
straighten on flat surface before glue
sets)
– Glue sweeps to T to form larger
hook
– Glue 3” sections to 90 and end cap
to form small hook
– Glue small hook to large hook
– Using the female end of the PVC
sweep, mark the amount of wood to
carve off the end of the closet rod.
– Roughly carve away wood starting 2”
from end of rod using razor knife.
– Test fit with end of PVC.
– When carved end is close, switch to
sanding block and evenly smooth

Cal-IPC News Spring 2008

13

Quotable

“Tiny quagga and zebra mussels are invasive species that represent an environmental nuclear bomb for
California’s reservoirs and waterways.”

Tom Stienstra, Outdoors Writer, San Francisco Chronicle, April 3, 2008

“The state has strategic plans in place, but implementation is impossible without a formal interagency
coordinating body given resources and responsibility to undertake the work. Oregon, Washington, Idaho,
Hawaii and Arizona have established such “Invasive Species Councils” in the last several years. It is high
time that California did so as well.”

Doug Johnson, guest commentary in Ag Alert, March 19, 2008

“In addition to everything else to worry about, now comes the Burmese python. The giant snakes are

slithering from Florida toward the Bay Area, very slowly to be sure, but inexorably. And they can strangle
and eat an entire alligator. The US Geological Survey released a map Wednesday showing that the Bay Area
has comfortable climatic conditions for the python. The snakes weigh up to 250 pounds and slither at a
rate of 20 miles per month.”
San Francisco Chronicle, February 21, 2008

“Seventeen percent of the rare, threatened, or endangered plants in California are in genera that are

recorded as hosts of the light brown apple moth, and 41 percent of the threatened or endangered insects in
California feed on plants in genera recorded as hosts”
Kevin Hoffman, State Entomologist, California Dept. of Food & Agriculture, “Need to Put Money Where Our Moth Is”,
Monterey Herald, April 5, 2008

“Invasive species issues are the most important issues in the universe. The known universe—there may

be something big going on in Alpha Centauri we haven’t figure out, but… It took 257 million years for
us to evolve five continents worth of diversity. It will take a few hundred years to lose that. If we fail to act,
we’re going to have one continent’s worth of diversity. Forever.”
Dan Gluesenkamp, “Non-Invasive Ways to do Holidays in Hawaii” on Youth Environmental Road Trip, http://blip.tv/file/781189

14

Cal-IPC News Spring 2008

The WILDLAND WEED CALENDAR
California Native Grasslands Association
Annual Conference – Conserving
California’s Grasslands: Policies and
Practices
May 1-3, 2008
Santa Rosa
www.cnga.org/action/conference.php
Southern California Wetlands Recovery
Project Symposium
May 6-8, 2008
San Diego Convention Center
www.lasgrwc.org/WRP/symposium2008
Fourth Annual Bringing Back the Natives
Garden Tour
Sunday, May 4, 2008
East Bay, San Francisco Bay Area
www.bringingbackthenatives.net

Weeds Across Borders Biennial
Conference
May 27-30, 2008
Banff, Alberta, Canada
www.nawma.org
Weed Day
July 17, 2008
UC Davis
http://wric.ucdavis.edu/
Cal. Invasive Weeds Awareness Week
July 21-27, 2008
A great time to meet with your legislators,
show off your weed management projects,
or conduct outreach campaigns.
www.cal-ipc.org/policy/state/ciwaw.php

Bay Area Open Space Council Annual
Conference

SERCAL Annual Conference Restoration’s Bigger Picture: Linking
Local Restoration with Regional and
Global Issues

May 21, 2008
San Francisco
http://openspacecouncil.org

August 13-16, 2008
Santa Rosa
www.sercal.org/2008_conference.htm

Readings &
Resources

Genetics Resources
As discussions continue about the potential
genetic risks of landscaping with native
plants, several resources provide useful
background on the topic, including “The
intersection of conservation and gardening:
An overview of the consequences of
growing California native plants” by Bart
O’Brien in Fremontia from the California
Native Plant Society. http://cnps.org/cnps/
publications/fremontia/Fremontia29-1.pdf.
“Genetic pollution and the use of native
plants in restoration and landscaping”
was presented by Deborah Rogers of the
Center for Natural Land Management
at a CNPS conservation meeting, and is
available at www.cnps.org/cnps/conservation/
conference/2007/index.php. This site includes
other useful links, such as fact sheets from
the University of California’s Genetic
Resources Conservation Program.

Know of a resource your fellow
weed workers should hear about?
Please contact info@cal-ipc.org.
New Journal
Invasive Plant Science & Management
debuted in January, with over a dozen
articles. Dr. Joe DiTomaso serves as editor.
All abstracts and some articles are available
online. www.wssa.net/WSSA/Pubs/IPSM.htm
Special Journal Issue
A recent issue of the journal Diversity and
Distributions (Vol. 14, No. 2) focused on
invasive species. “Fifty years of invasion
ecology: The legacy of Charles Elton”
is available at available online at www.
blackwell-synergy.com/toc/ddi/14/2

Workshop Materials
Presentations and handouts from the UC
cooperative Extension workshop “Yellow

Statewide Master Gardeners’ Conference
September 24-26, 2008
Asilomar
http://groups.ucanr.org/mg_conference/
Statewide WMA Meeting
Fall 2008
Woodland
www.cdfa.ca.gov/PHPPS/IPC/weedmgtareas
Cal-IPC Symposium
October 2-4, 2008
Chico State University
www.cal-ipc.org
Southern California Botanists’ Symposium
October 2008
CSU Fullerton
www.socalbot.org/symposia.php

starthistle control and preventing the spread
of invasive weeds in El Dorado County” are
available at http://ceeldorado.ucdavis.edu/
Field Guide
Selected Invasive Weeds of the Central Sierra
Nevada – A Field Guide is now available.
The guide includes color photos for
identifying each weed as well as details on
description, reproduction, origin, habitat,
and control. http://ceeldorado.ucdavis.edu/
files/40826.pdf
Book
American Chestnut: The Life, Death and
Rebirth of a Perfect Tree, by Susan Freinkel,
is the story of chestnut blight and the efforts
to thwart it, both historical and current
day, including hypervirulence, backcross
breeding, genetic engineering, and attempts
to breed for natural resistance. The author
places the blight in the broader context of
invasive species and forest pests.

Cal-IPC News Spring 2008

15

Cal-IPC Membership Form
We’re working to protect California’s wildlands from invasive plants—join us!
Cal-IPC’s effectiveness comes from a strong membership that includes scientists, land managers, policy makers, and concerned citizens.
Please complete this form and mail with check or credit card number. Additional donations support our projects. We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, and donations beyond regular membership rates are tax deductible. Join or donate online at www.cal-ipc.org.
Membership
Regular
$40
Student/Volunteer $20
Organization* $150
* Receives member benefits for three individuals.
Attach contact information for add’l individuals.

Joint Memberships
add SERCAL only
add CNGA only
add SERCAL & CNGA

+$25
+$35
+$65

Donation
Amount of gift
Friend ($1 – $99)
Contributor ($100 – $249)
Champion ($250 – $499)
Patron ($500 – $999)
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Cal-IPC News
Vol. 16, No. 1, Spring 2008

California
Invasive Plant
Council
1442-A Walnut Street, #462
Berkeley, CA 94709
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