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

Vol. 16, No. 2

Summer 2008

Quarterly Newsletter of the California Invasive Plant Council

Safe for landscaping, or
lurking in “lag phase”?

The popular street tree Chinese tallow (Sapium sebiferum or Triadica sebifera), is
naturalized in only a few locations in California but may have potential to spread in
riparian areas. Shown above left naturalized
along Putah Creek near Davis. Story page 4.
Photos: Michael Bower, UC Davis

Inside:
Chinese tallow: The next invader?………………… 4
Symposium returns to Chico……………………….. 6
Australian weed expert visits California ……….. 8
Assessing aquatic pathways……………………….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
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

Summer 2008 – Volume 16, Number 2
Editors: Doug Johnson, Elizabeth Brusati, Heather Brady
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.

From the Director’s Desk

Controversy over aerial spraying
Even if you are not from the San Francisco Bay Area, chances are you have heard about
the public outcry over plans by the state to spray pheromones in an effort to contain the
light brown apple moth (LBAM), a pest that officials fear could cause major agricultural and
environmental damage in California. Email campaigns and public protests have galvanized
public concerns over potential human health risks of the treatment plans. At this point it
appears the state will be pursuing alternate approaches to controlling LBAM.
State officials charged with controlling agricultural and environmental pests are
disappointed that their efforts to organize a safe and effective program have been so poorly
received. Though nobody knows just how bad a full-blown LBAM infestation might be
for the state, stopping the control program at this critical stage could cause us to miss an
opportunity for containing, perhaps even eradicating, the pest. Though officials feel like
they were successful at “early detection”, they are being stymied on “rapid response.”
On the public side, citizens are wary of new synthetic chemicals in their environment,
especially when it comes to long-term health impacts that are difficult to predict. Assurances
from government agencies charged with assessing health risk are not seen as completely
reliable. As weed workers know, it can be vitally important to build community support for
projects up front. Such a process is especially difficult when attempting to respond quickly
to a new invader.
This dramatic situation reveals much about Californian perspectives on invasive species,
and holds information that we can all learn from. Though LBAM can damage native plant
communities as well as crops, agencies and the public have focused their attention almost
exclusively on agricultural impacts. According to state entomologist Kenneth Brown, LBAM
could impact many native insect and plant species, some of which are already endangered.
Such environmental impacts should be a major concern for the state’s conservation groups.
By ignoring the environmental impacts, officials risk reinforcing a mindset that pits
agriculture against the environment. Although wildland weed workers know partnerships
between agricultural and environmental stakeholders can be extremely productive when
facing invasive species, much the public does not fully understand the linkages between
land managers on all sides of the fence. It is important that we continue education on these
relationships, and that we remind agencies that much of the public cares deeply about
environmental impacts, even if they are not easily translated into dollars.
This situation points out the need—and opportunity—for organizations concerned
with preserving California’s wildlands to work together on sound policy and to inform
the public about the complexities involved in addressing invasive species. Citizens need to
understand that invasive species will impact us all in ways that may not be obvious, and
that we will face tough decisions about how to manage them. How much are we willing
to curtail international trade to avoid such introductions? How can we make sure agencies
charged with testing the safety of substances formulated for controlling pests are trusted by
the public?
Cal-IPC is working with partners on one key element of setting California on a path
to effectively address invasives at the landscape scale—establishment of a state interagency
council on invasive species, such as those that have been established in other states,
including Oregon, Washington, Arizona and Hawaii. Over twenty federal and state agencies
in California have jurisdictions that touch on invasive species, and clear leadership and
coordination among these agencies is essential. (As Abe Doherty reports on page 10, the
state is beginning just such an effort on aquatic invasive species, a welcome sign.) Look for
more on this major advocacy effort in future issues of Cal-IPC News. In the meantime, take
note of the lessons to be learned from this recent invasive species controversy.

Cal-IPC News Summer 2008

Wildland Weed NewsNewsNewsNewsNews
As of press time, the Weed Management
Area program is maintaining its $1.5
million in annual state funding for fiscal
year 2008-09. We hope the funding is
still there once the governor signs the
final budget. www.cdfa.ca.gov/phpps/ipc/
weedmgtareas/wma_index_hp.htm
California native plants may face greatly
reduced ranges as global climate change
continues, according to a study by UC
Berkeley researchers. They predict that
up to 66% of native plant taxa found
only in California will experience an
80% reduction in range within a century.
California’s varied terrain may break up
present-day plant associations as species
move in different directions. The research also identified regions where species may persist despite range reductions.
PLoS One, June 2008, www.plosone.org
The Climate Security Act (S. 3036)
recently failed a vote in the U.S. Senate
and will now have to wait until 2009.
The bill, supported by environmental
and sportsmens’ groups, would provide
$288 billion to address wildlife adaptation to global warming. Federal and
state resources agencies would gain an
average $7.2 billion in extra funding
each year for the program’s first 19 years.
The money would come from auctioning
greenhouse gas credits among industry
sectors and go to the Interior Department, Forest Service, National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration, U.S.
EPA, state Fish and Wildlife Agencies
and the federal and state Land and Water
Conservation Fund. http://thomas.loc.gov
With the dramatic increase in oil prices,
biofuels continue to receive extensive
press coverage. Scientists from several
groups including The Nature Conservancy and the Global Invasive Species
Program released a report during a
United Nations meeting in May warning
about risks posed if biofuel crops spread
and become invasive. Researchers found
a large overlap between species proposed
as biofuels and known invasive plants.
New York Times, May 21, www.nytimes.
com/2008/05/21/science/earth/21biofuels.
html

Are you missing Cal-IPC email
announcements? We occasionally send
announcements and reminders for
field courses, Day at the Capitol, the
Symposium, and important advocacy
opportunities. We are missing accurate
email addresses for some members. If you
are not receiving announcements and
would like to, or if you would prefer to
receive the newsletter electronically rather
than by mail, please contact info@cal-ipc.
org.

$

Help us estimate how much weeds
cost California! Learn more on p. 8.

Proving that you don’t need large budgets
or academic degrees to make an impact
on invasive plants, a married couple from
Alaska used grassroots organizing to convince Governor Sarah Palin to sign a bill
starting a statewide Alaska weed program
with funding for a statewide coordinator.
Lori and Troy Zaumseil are the founders of
CANWIN, Citizens Against Noxious Weeds
Invading the North. Anchorage Daily News
An amateur botanist discovered two unrecorded plant species on Mount Diablo in
the San Francisco Bay Area. Dave Godwin,
a retired carpenter who took up botany as
a hobby when hang gliding became too
physically demanding, found the first plant
on a hike ten years ago and searched experts
to find out what it was. He eventually found
a second new species. Both are annual wildflowers and are named Lime Ridge navarettia (Navarretia gowenii) and Lime Ridge
woollystar (Eriastrum sp. nov.).
www.savemountdiablo.org
A new report estimates the global economic
losses caused by ecosystem degradation to
be between $2.1 and 4.8 trillion annually.
“The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity,” commissioned by the European
Union and the government of Germany,
estimates a dollar value for clean water,
healthy soil, protection from floods and soil
erosion, natural medicines and natural sinks
that store greenhouse gases such as carbon
dioxide (CO2) and methane. United Nations Environment Programme

Cal-IPC Updates
17th Annual Symposium and
Revegetation Field Course –
Registration is open! See pages 6-7.
Vote for Board of Directors – All
Cal-IPC members will receive the
annual Board of Directors ballot in
August. Board Members serve twoyear terms; Officers serve one-year
terms. Current board members’
profiles are at www.cal-ipc.org/about/
staff.php.
Cal-IPC on TV! KPIX (CBS) in
San Francisco featured Executive
Director Doug Johnson and several
Cal-IPC members in a segment on
June 24 describing how invasive
plants increase fire danger and
contribute to the decline of native
plants. Search on “native California
plants” at http://cbs5.com/video.
Mapping Field Course – Registration will open in August for this
year’s final field course. Mapping
Techniques will be held on November 6 at the Trudeau Center, Redwood Regional Park, Oakland. This
is a repeat of the sold-out mapping
course at the 2007 Symposium in
San Diego. Volunteers and interns
may register for just $35.
www.cal-ipc.org/fieldcourses
WMA Webpages – We have nearly
completed online profiles for all
California Weed Management
Areas, with links to WMA websites
and summary pages describing
their projects, partners, meeting
schedule, and contact information.
Thanks to all WMA coordinators
for providing information. Help
us keep these pages up-to-date by
sending any corrections!
www.cal-ipc.org/WMAs

Cal-IPC News Summer 2008

Feature Article

Scenic streets and tainted tributaries

Invasion potential of Chinese tallow in California

Michael J. Bower and Clare E. Aslan,
University of California-Davis, Section of Evolution and Ecology

C

hinese tallow (Sapium sebiferum or
Triadica sebifera) has been regularly
planted as an ornamental tree in California’s
Central Valley for at least 30 years, with
the earliest plantings probably occurring
around 1888 (Butterfield 1964). It is possible to count thousands of mature trees
throughout Sacramento, Davis, Woodland,
and surrounding cities. The tree has been
documented naturalizing along the American River Parkway (Hrusa et al. 2002), at
North Davis Pond (Cal-IPC 2006), and in
riparian areas in Folsom and Roseville (R.
Robison, pers. comm.). This is particularly worrisome given the invasion history
of Chinese tallow in the southeast United
States where, since an initial 1785 introduction and deliberate widespread planting, the
tree has not only naturalized along most of
the Gulf Coast but has behaved aggressively,
transforming plant communities by forming
monocultures and displacing native plants
even in undisturbed environments.
Were Chinese tallow to behave similarly
in California, we would expect to see some
of the same self-promoting mechanisms that
have been documented in the Southeast,
such as enrichment of soil with nitrogen
from fast-decomposing litter or shading of
neighboring plants (Siemann and Rogers
2006), both of which help to explain why
even a small number of reproductive adults
can lead to a monoculture in as little as 10
years (Barrilleaux and Grace 2000). We
might also expect to see invasion first in riparian areas, where the earliest invasions occurred in the Southeast (Davis et al. 1946).
California’s Mediterranean climate may
serve an important role here, since the long
dry summer can be extremely stressful and
can lead to significant seedling mortality
among maladapted species. This could

potentially preclude invasion or restrict
invasion of Chinese tallow to milder subclimates (such as the coast or the delta and
its tributaries). Chinese tallow is drought
tolerant (cited in Barrilleaux and Grace
2000), and numerous gardening websites
praise Chinese tallow as drought resistant
(e.g., www.burkesbackyard.com.au; www.
virtualplanttags.com), so the degree to which
Mediterranean summers prohibit Chinese
tallow is unclear and the extent to which
Chinese tallow is likely to become invasive
in California remains uncertain. The few
known naturalized populations may indicate
a low invasiveness of this species in California, or they may represent the beginning
of an invasion similar to that which has
occurred in the southeastern U.S. Many invasive plants undergo a “lag phase” between
time of introduction and when they begin
to spread into wildlands.
If large numbers of suitable sites remain
for Chinese tallow to colonize, then it may
only be a matter of time before rapid invasion occurs, especially in light of the increasing amount of propagule pressure accruing
as young horticultural and naturalized individuals achieve reproductive maturity (often
exceeding 100,000 seeds per tree in a year).
Under ideal conditions, Chinese tallow can
reach maturity and begin producing viable
seed at three years of age.
Studies of climate matching between
native or known invaded regions and other
areas where a species does not yet occur
often help inform land managers about the
relative threat of invasion by a species. In
their climate model, Pattison and Mack
(2008) found potential for Chinese tallow
growth in California only in riparian areas.
This proposed potential range, however,
is large and full of sensitive habitat. The

Cal-IPC News Summer 2008

potential for ecological impact is enormous.
Empirical exploration of the extent of
potential colonization is therefore important
while the extent of Chinese tallow’s naturalization is still relatively limited.

Evaluation of Invasion Potential
We set out to determine experimentally
Chinese tallow’s capacity for establishment
and seedling survival along riparian systems
and adjacent elevated habitats that drain
into the Bay-Delta system. To accomplish
this, we looked systematically at Chinese
tallow lifestages that are frequently limiting and readily assessed. We focused on
germination and initial seedling growth and
survival, combining both experimental and
observational approaches.

Current extent of Chinese tallow in
California, based on data provided to
Cal-IPC by Weed Management Areas,
2007. Abundance is low in all areas.

80

Percent germination

Because we know that different dispersal
vectors can influence subsequent germination (Baskin and Baskin 1998), we selected
two common natural dispersal scenarios
(by birds and water, both of which we have
observed in California) along with two controls (seeds that remained on tree and seeds
that had fallen to the ground underneath
parent trees) as seed pretreatments for an
experimental out-planting at Putah Creek
Reserve. We marked all plant material and
retrieved it at the experiment’s conclusion.
We applied pretreatments to Chinese
tallow seeds acquired from more than 20
trees throughout Davis, CA, and planted
these seeds and controls across an elevational
gradient at Putah Creek Reserve in midMarch, 2007. We applied pretreatments to
seeds as follows: 500 seeds were soaked in
concentrated sulfuric acid (after Baskin and
Baskin) to simulate bird gut passage; 500
seeds were soaked in water for 30 days to
simulate flood transport; 500 seeds were collected directly from the ground and stored
without further treatment until planting;
500 seeds were collected directly from the
trees and stored without further treatment
until planting. Seeds were then divided
into lots of 20 and one lot per treatment
was buried at each of five elevations along
five replicate transects so that final calculations included seed treatment and elevation.
Seeds recovered one month later showed
high germination (well within the range of
germination success observed in the invaded
Southeast) across all elevations, treatments,
and controls (Fig. 1).
Finding no barriers to germination,
we then investigated initial (first summer)
seedling growth and survivorship, hypothesizing that this life-stage would be most
vulnerable to California’s dry summers. Five

Germination across elevations
and treatments

70

acid
soak

60

ground
tree

50
40
30
20
10
0
1

2

3

4

5

Elevations

(1= immediately adjacent to water, 5= most distant from stream)

Figure 1: Germination, as percent of all seeds at each elevation-pretreatment
combination, was substantial and well within the range reported from invaded
regions in the southeastern U.S. Germination decreased with increasing elevation.
Germination of seeds taken directly from trees was lower than germination after both
acid treatment (simulation of bird gut passage) and direct retrieval from the ground
beneath parent trees.
months after transplanting 200 seedlings
over the same elevational gradient as the
seeds, we recorded only 31 survivors. These
survivors were at the lowest elevation (next
to the creek) and were visibly thriving by the
time the autumn rains began in October,
ending the most drought-stressful period of
the year. In all, nine seedlings died at this
lowest elevation, and we suspect that these
deaths were caused by high temperatures
due to local topography and lack of canopy
cover. At higher elevations, we observed
symptoms of drought stress (including wilting and sometimes senescence) for almost
all seedlings prior to death. We therefore
felt confident in naming drought as the
primary cause of death in all but a small
percentage of cases (in which a gopher
graciously, but probably inadvertently, put a few wilted plants out of
their misery).
These results support the idea
that California’s harsh summers

The nutrient-rich seeds of Chinese
tallow make them attractive to many
birds, such as this robin, which then disperse the seeds. Michael Bower

act as an environmental filter by restricting
Chinese tallow to areas where adequate perennial moisture is available. We note that
while our experiment was quite decisive in
revealing this for Putah Creek (in five separate transects along the creek), it represents
only one potentially invaded habitat during
one year. Other tributaries on different soils
with different hydrology and vegetation may
give different results.

Natural Observations Agree
To complement our experiment and
observations at Putah Creek, and to further
investigate the factors that might limit
invasion of Chinese tallow in California, we
conducted surveys of a naturalized population in the North Davis Pond, a man-made
wetland fenced off to the public. We encountered 629 volunteer Chinese tallow individuals in a thorough search of the 1125m
pond perimeter. The vast majority (570)
were seedlings, and all individuals encountered were within 7m of the water’s edge.
These findings add support to the hypothesis that areas adjacent to perennial water are
Continued pg. 11…

Cal-IPC News Summer 2008

Join us in Chico for the
2008 Cal-IPC Symposium!
Revegetation Field Course: Wednesday, October 1
Symposium: Thursday, October 2 – Saturday, October 4

For our 17th Annual Symposium we return to Chico State University, where the Sierra Nevada meets the Cascade
Range… The Symposium brings together over 300 wildland weed workers to discuss the latest in invasive plant
research and management. This year’s special invited sessions address the future of wildland weed management: How
will climate change impact weed spread? What new initiatives will help us do our work? How can we apply lessons
learned from the past? How will career opportunities in weed work evolve?

Important Dates
August 30 – Some Symposium hotels release room
blocks (reserve your room before this date)
September 1 – Photo contest entries due
September 5 – Deadline for Early Registration
discount

Student Activities
We have added new activities especially for students and
those early in their careers! See fellow students’ work
in the Student Paper and Poster Contest. Learn about
career options in weed management and ecological
restoration from our Career Panel. Ask more questions
and share ideas in the career discussion group. Search
the job board for employment and graduate school
opportunities. And of course, the Symposium is an
excellent place to network with leaders in the field.
(Employers: Send position announcements to Elizabeth
Brusati, edbrusati@cal-ipc.org)

Saturday Field Trips
Stay on Saturday and visit Lassen Volcanic National
Park, restoration projects at Big Chico Creek Ecological
Reserve, or Peace Valley in the Sutter Buttes, the world’s
smallest distinct mountain range. We will also have an
opportunity to lend a hand in a local weed removal
project.
Left: Discussion groups allow attendees share information
on the latest management techniques from the experts: their
fellow Cal-IPC members!

Registration includes Thursday banquet
and 2009 membership…

Cal-IPC News Summer 2008

Registration
Go to www.cal-ipc.org/symposia for online registration
and a printable form. Choose online registration for
faster processing. Discounted registration is available to
students and volunteers.
Qualified herbicide applicators may receive Continuing
Education Units from the California Department of
Pesticide Regulation for attending Symposium sessions,
field trips, and the field course. The Symposium
includes a 2-unit Laws & Regulations session.

Calling all photographers!

We’re looking for raffle items!

Show off your talents in the Symposium Photo
Exhibit! Symposium attendees will vote for Best in Show.
Submit photos by September 1. Categories include:
Landscape, Specimen, Weed Workers, WMA Projects,
Impacts, Before & After, and Humor. Instructions are
posted on the Symposium webpage. You do not need to
attend the Symposium to enter the Photo Exhibit.
(2007 First Place Photo by Greg Archbald)

The Thursday evening social hour features
our raffle followed by a live auction during the
banquet, both benefiting Cal-IPC programs. We
need tools, books, clothing, recreational gear, gift
certificates, artwork, wine, and more! Items may
be brought to the Symposium or sent to the CalIPC office. Have something to donate? Please
contact Raffle & Auction Chair Tanya Meyer,
meyer@yolorcd.org.

Wildland Weed Field Course:
Revegetation Techniques
When: October 1, 2008
Where: Chico Grange & TNC’s Sunset Ranch
Info: www.cal-ipc.org/fieldcourses
Learn about the importance of integrating active revegetation
into your wildland weed management program, including:
• Project planning and design
• Species selection
• Plant propagation
• Site evaluation and preparation
• Maintenance and monitoring
You may register for this course without attending the Symposium.
Symposium attendees receive a $20 discount and restoration
volunteers may attend for only $35!

Field courses combine classroom and
outdoor presentations.

Full information at:

www.cal-ipc.org/symposia
Cal-IPC News Summer 2008

Australian weed eradicator visits California
Gina Darin, UC Davis and CDFA

D

r. F. Dane Panetta is a noted authority on weed eradication
with the Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries and
leader of the Incursion Response subprogram in the Weeds Cooperative Research Centre (CRC), in Queensland, Australia. I was lucky
enough to meet him while attending the 9th annual Ecology and
Management of Alien Plant Invasions conference in Perth, Australia
in September 2007.
The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA)
invited Dr. Panetta to showcase Australia’s weed eradication research, visit weed eradication sites, and collaborate on cutting-edge
prioritization research. Dr. Panetta said weed eradication science was
still in its infancy in Australia and collaboration with CDFA would
provide an opportunity to share and gain knowledge in this area.
This past May, Dr. Panetta made the trek across the big blue to
Sacramento. During his visit he delivered a seminar on Australian
weed eradication research at the Plant Sciences Department, UC
Davis. He attended a CDFA workshop on weed eradication where
he presented Oscar Cacho’s and Paul Pheloung’s WeedSearchTM
model*, which helps predict eradication project success. He visited
noxious weed sites in Yolo and Napa counties where weeds are
currently under eradication, and he assisted in the development of
CDFA’s population-based prioritization method for eradication of
California’s A-rated noxious weeds.
According to Dr. Panetta: “The most striking observation that
I made regarding incursion management in California is that the
response to the current incursion of light brown apple moth has
absorbed most of the budget. Pest organisms with faster rates of
population increase and spread clearly require much more rapid and
intensive responses than do weeds, a reflection of the longer timeframes over which weed incursions play out. How to balance the
overall investment between responses to incursions of these radically
different groups of organisms remains problematic both in California and Queensland.”

Dane Panetta observes as Robin Breckinridge, CDFA, dissects
flowerheads to determine if a weed is purple starthistle or the
A-rated Iberian starthistle on a ranch near Lake Berryessa, Napa
County. This was purple starthistle…false alarm! However, the
two species readily hybridize. Photo: Gina Darin
For the past four years the Australian Weeds CRC and the
Queensland Government have worked together to gather critical
data targeting the control of Siam weed, Mikania vine, Limnocharis,
Koster’s curse and Miconia species. For more information on weed
management in Australia, visit www.dpi.qld.gov.au.
*WeedSearchTM is a user-friendly, Microsoft Excel model available
free by permission of the authors. Please contact gdarin@cdfa.ca.gov
for a copy.

How much do weeds cost California?
“A lot!”
Somehow that answer does not always impress legislators
when we are trying to secure additional funding for WMAs, or
the media when we are describing the severity of the invasive plant
problem. It is extremely difficult to calculate a dollar figure for the
actual ecological damage caused by invasive plants.
One alternative way to address the question is totalling the
amount spent on managing invasive plants. This has its own
difficulties, in that management activities are spread out among
numerous entities who often fold weed work within budgets for
maintenance, operations, or environmental projects.
Researchers at Cornell University (Pimentel, Zuniga and Morrison 2004, Ecological Economics) estimated the economic costs for
all invasive species in the United States at $120 billion annually,

Cal-IPC News Summer 2008

Help us estimate funds spent on wildland weed
work in California by filling out our survey at
www.cal-ipc.org!
based on a wide range of extrapolations. However, for our purposes, it would be ideal to have a cost just for California, and just
for plants.
Cal-IPC is working to obtain just such a figure. We are collecting budgeted amounts for federal and state agency programs
in California. For park districts, land trusts, and other regional
and local programs, we need your help! Go to www.cal-ipc.org to
fill out our brief survey for your organization. Watch our website
and future issues of Cal-IPC News for the results.

Field courses training hundreds!
Heather Brady, Cal-IPC Project Coordinator

T

his year Cal-IPC ambitiously expanded our Wildland Weed
Field Course program by offering eight courses during the
spring and summer, including new courses on Invasive Weed
Biology and Identification as well as our original course on Control
Methods. Our membership and the larger community of wildland
managers has responded by joining us for courses so far in San
Diego, Santa Barbara, South Lake Tahoe, and (by the time you
receive this newsletter) Berkeley. Still to come—courses in Oakland,
and Chico.
To date this year we have trained more than 200 wildland
weed workers, with most attending courses on both topics. Thanks
to all of our attendees for helping to make this program a success.
For those who are professionals in the field, we also thank your
supervisors for recognizing the value of ongoing professional
education.
This year we have been able to include many more restoration
volunteers than in the past, because we obtained a private
foundation grant that allows Cal-IPC to offer subsidized registration
rates for this audience. These volunteer weed workers are out there
doing hard work throughout the state, and the grant provides
a great way to honor their efforts and to enhance their skills by
training them alongside professional weed workers. So far over 50 of
our attendees have been volunteers who work on wildland weeds at
parks, conservancies, and other sites.
Each year we have introduced a new course topic for a field
course held the day before our annual Symposium. Last year in San
Diego, we premiered our Wildland Weed Mapping course. This
course will be given again in Oakland on November 6. It will cover
low, medium and high tech solutions to collecting spatial data in the
field and processing it in the office. This is a great opportunity to
learn about weed mapping strategy, mapping devices, data collection

and processing, map making and analysis from leading experts in
the field.
At this year’s Symposium in Chico, we are featuring a new
course on Revegetation Techniques. We all know that removing
weeds alone is often not enough to accomplish our restoration
goals. We are assembling an all-star group of instructors and a
comprehensive curriculum on this critical topic. Our course site
at The Nature Conservancy’s Sunset Ranch boasts over a million
native plants installed in a massive revegetation effort.
Lastly, if you have attended a field course in the past, keep an
eye on your email inbox for our followup survey to learn how the
course has impacted your work. This will help Cal-IPC track the
impact of our Wildland Weed Field Courses, and to improve them
based on your input. Maybe you now use a control technique on
a population that you never thought you would be able to treat,
or you have been working to create an early detection network to
prevent new invasions. Maybe you wish the course had covered
something else. Either way, we want to hear about it. Please take a
minute to respond to our survey. The results will help us refine our
curriculum, plan new courses, and continue to fund this important
training.

Left: At the Santa Barbara field course, held on
the University of California’s Sedgwick Reserve,
instructor Ken Moore demonstrates his arsenal of
hand tools. Top: Attendees at the Santa Barbara
course study their weeds for botanic characteristics.
Eight courses were held this spring and summer
in Santa Barbara, South Lake Tahoe, San Diego,
and Berkeley on two topics—Weed Biology and
Identification, and Control Techniques.

Cal-IPC News Summer 2008

Vector risk assessment for aquatic invasive species
Abe Doherty, California Coastal Conservancy and California Ocean Protection Council

F

reshwater and estuarine habitats are
among the most infested ecosystems in
California. Aquatic invasive species (AIS),
including invasive plants as well as other
aquatic invasive organisms, are numerous in
our waterways. San Francisco Bay is one of
the most heavily infested water bodies in the
country, with prolific species like Chinese
mitten crab having serious impacts on
aquatic food webs.
Prevention is always the most effective
policy when dealing with invasive species,
but it is especially critical with AIS, because
it is often impossible or extremely expensive
to eradicate them after they have become
established in marine and estuarine waters.
For California, one of the biggest vectors for AIS introductions is commercial
shipping. The State Lands Commission
has a commercial shipping management
program for preventing introductions from
ballast water discharge, and is developing a
management program for hull fouling for
these vessels. Unfortunately, for many of the
other vectors for introduction of AIS, there
is very limited management to prevent introductions from these vectors. There is also
very limited information on the significance
of these vectors, or what could be done to
manage them.
On May 15, 2008, the California Ocean
Protection Council authorized a grant of
$1 million to the California Ocean Science
Trust to administer a competitive process
to select teams of invasive species experts to
perform risk assessments for six critical vectors. The vectors are:
1. commercial fishing,
2. recreational boating,
3. aquaculture,
4. live bait,
5. live imported seafood, and
6. aquariums and aquascaping
These vectors are all thought to be
responsible for significantly contributing to
introductions of AIS to the state, but they
have not been investigated in a systematic
manner and there are very limited management programs to address them. For each
of these vectors, experts will collect and
synthesize data and information on the

10

significance of these vectors for introducing
species to the state and to different regions
of the state. Each study will also identify
control points and make recommendations
for management actions that could prevent
future introductions of invasive species
from that vector. These studies are on a
timetable that aims for having results in fall
2009.
The Ocean Science Trust will also administer a competitive selection process for
a study that will compare the results of the
different vector studies in order to identify
which vectors are most harmful to the state.
This larger study will recommend how to
most effectively develop management programs to target the most risky vectors.
One potential outcome for the risk assessments is that they may lead to consideration of new legislation to establish programs aimed at preventing introductions of
aquatic invasive species and to create new
funding sources for these programs.
Completion of the vector risk assessments will achieve one of the top five

Quagga mussels are moving
into California water bodies on
recreational boats. State agencies
are implementing tighter border
inspections and educational efforts. For updated information on
impacts and spread, visit www.dfg.
ca.gov/invasives/quaggamussel.
As with weeds, early detection is
extremely important for aquatic
invasive species. Photos: CA Dept.
of Fish & Game.

Cal-IPC News Summer 2008

priorities of the California Aquatic Invasive
Species Plan (AIS Plan), which was signed
by Governor Schwarzenegger in January of
2008. Another priority of the AIS Plan is to
create an AIS Working Group, comprised of
agency staff, researchers, non-profit groups,
tribes, industry representatives and other
interested stakeholders. It is expected that
the first meeting of the AIS Working Group
will be held this summer.
Together these steps begin the important
process of determining the most effective
way to move forward strategically to prevent
introduction of damaging AIS.
Abe Doherty can be reached at adoherty@scc.
ca.gov.

For more information:
California Ocean Protection Council
resources.ca.gov/copc
California Ocean Science Trust
www.calost.org
California Aquatic Invasive Species Plan
www.dfg.ca.gov/invasives/plan

Algae-harboring hydrilla
causing bald eagle deaths
in the Southeast
[From the Weed Science Society of America.
Hydrilla is under eradication in CA.]

H

ydrilla (Hydrilla verticillata) not
only is a costly nuisance impeding waterways and recreational lakes, it
also may have deadly impacts on eagles
and waterfowl. Hydrilla, which is under
statewide eradication in California,
forms a dense mat in lakes, ponds and
reservoirs. It is a safe haven for the fastgrowing epiphytic cyanobacterial algae,
a blue-green algae, which grows on top
of the hydrilla and is potentially toxic to
birds. It is suspected that when waterfowl, namely coots, eat the algae-harboring hydrilla, they become poisoned by
the algae’s neurotoxins and subsequently
suffer from a neurological disease known
as avian vacuolar myelinopathy. The
eagles, in turn, eat the infected coots and
succumb to the disease as well.
“According to the research, avian
vacuolar myelinopathy was first documented in 1994 at DeGray Lake in
Arkansas,” says Susan B. Wilde, Ph.D.,
research professor at the University of
South Carolina and member of the
Weed Science Society of America. “Since
then, more than one hundred bald eagle
deaths are believed to be associated with
the disease. And it is estimated that the
numbers of deaths are much higher, but
because of scavenging animals, it often
is difficult to recover the carcasses of
dead eagles soon enough to test for the
disease. But in places where dead eagles
are found, invasive aquatic vegetation—
primarily hydrilla—and the blue-green
algae are always present.”
Hydrilla was first introduced into the
United States as an aquarium plant in
the 1950s. Improper disposal of hydrilla
from aquariums, distribution through
animal contact and the plant’s ability to
“hitchhike” on boats that have been in
multiple bodies of water and not cleaned
underneath after each use, has lead to its
voracious spread over the years. “Hydrilla is most prevalent in the southeast but
can be found in fresh water lakes and
rivers in most coastal states,” says Wilde.

Chinese tallow, continued from page …
the most susceptible to invasion. We were
uncertain whether plants were restricted
to the seven-meter band next to the water
because of inappropriate growing conditions
elsewhere or because patterns of dispersal
favored this area (as would be expected by
predominantly water-dispersed seeds) but
we do know that successful recruitment was
extensive here without human assistance.
Due to their small size, we suspected
that the majority of the Chinese tallow
individuals we encountered were first- or
second-year seedlings. To explore how the
hot, dry summer might limit a naturalizing
population, we marked 50 seedlings distributed at regular intervals around the pond
in July, noted their position and height,
and returned just before the first substantial
rain (Oct 26, 2007) to see how many had
survived. Of the 50 marked seedlings, 35
survived, suggesting again that a perennial
(or near-perennial) water source is important for Chinese tallow seedling survival in
California. The fact that the majority of our
marked seedlings survived the height of the
summer drought demonstrates the potential
suitability of North Davis Pond and similar
sites to colonization.

Some Sobering Conclusions
Based on our research and the behavior
of this species in its currently recognized
invasive range, we believe that there is significant reason to be concerned about Chinese tallow invading at least riparian areas
of the Central Valley. Mounting propagule
pressure from maturing and newly planted
horticultural trees and increasing numbers
of naturalized individuals (which may
serve as remote centers for further invasion) can only mean increasing probability
of invasion. Though recognition that this
species may be a potential problem plant in
California has been increasing, it remains an
extremely common introduced tree in our
urban and suburban landscapes. We found
through our field study that initial seedling survival and drought stress will likely
restrict Chinese tallow to perennial water
sources, despite high amounts of germination across all of our experimental plots. In
the larger context of California, however, a
potential distribution restricted to perennial water bodies is still alarming given the
high conservation value of our wetlands and
riparian forests. The maturing source of

Chinese tallow propagules upstream of the
Bay-Delta raises the question of how long it
will take for more naturalized populations
to appear throughout the Bay-Delta region.
Land stewards, nature lovers, and landscapers: take heed!
Literature Cited
Barrilleaux, T. C., and J. B. Grace. 2000.
Growth and invasive potential of Sapium
sebiferum (Euphorbiaceae) within the coastal
prairie region: The effects of soil and moisture
regime. American Journal of Botany 87:10991106.
Baskin, C. C., and J. M. Baskin. 1998. Seeds:
Ecology, Biogeography, and Evolution of Dormancy and Germination. Academic Press, San
Diego.
Butterfield, H. M. 1964. Dates of Introduction
of Trees and Shrubs to California. Landscape
Horticulture, Davis, CA.
Cal-IPC. 2006. California Invasive Plant Inventory. Cal-IPC Publication 2006-02. California
Invasive Plant Council, Berkeley, CA.
Davis, W. S., R. Stanger, W. L. Nash, J. Kucera,
and A. Surface. 1946. District Program: Brazoria-Galveston Soil Conservation District No.
318, Texas. U.S. Department of Agriculture,
Soil Conservation Service, Washington, D.C.
Hrusa, F., B. Ertter, A. Sanders, G. Leppig,
and E. Dean. 2002. Catalogue of non-native vascular plants occurring spontaneously
in California beyond those addressed in The
Jepson Manual—Part I. Madroño 49:61–98.
Pattison, R. R., and R. N. Mack. 2008. Potential
distribution of the invasive tree Triadica
sebifera (Euphorbiaceae) in the United States:
evaluating CLIMEX predictions with field trials. Global Change Biology 14:813-826.
Siemann, E., and W. E. Rogers. 2006. Recruitment limitation, seedling performance and
persistence of exotic tree monocultures.
Biological Invasions 8:979-991.

Michael J. Bower and Clare E. Aslan are
graduate students in Ecology in Dr. Marcel
Rejmánek’s lab at UC Davis. A formal, peerreviewed publication describing their work is
expected in 2008. Contact them at mjbower@
ucdavis.edu and ceaslan@ucdavis.edu.

Cal-IPC News Summer 2008

11

Events

Reports from recent conferences
Cal Fish & Game Climate
Change Workshop
Natural resource professionals gathered
June 6 at the California Energy Commission in Sacramento for presentations on
how climate change will impact ecological
resources in California. Topics included
impacts on wildlife, water, vegetation and
wildfire. Cal-IPC Executive Director Doug
Johnson presented on the impacts of climate
change on invasive plants in the state. Increased temperatures, carbon dioxide levels,
and wildfire will impact the vigor and range
of each invasive plant in particular ways.
Cal-IPC’s current modeling work aimed
at predicting spread of 36 wildland weeds
in the state indicates that California will
be more hospitable to some invasive plants
(eg. Ricinus communis, castorbean) and less
hospitable for others (eg. Hedera spp., ivy).
In general, as with native plant populations,
ranges tend to shift north. More detailed
information will emerge from ongoing
research, and invasives will be an important
component of adaptation planning.

National Cooperative Weed
Management Area
Conference
Thirty-seven states were represented at the
first ever national WMA conference, held
April 15-17 in Reno. Attendees represented
local, state, and federal agencies (51%),
non-profit organizations (23%), universities
and other educational institutions (12%),
business interests (2%), and other people
concerned about invasive plants (12%). The
event was organized by the Center for Invasive Plant Management, located at Montana
State University in Bozeman, and co-hosted
by eight other entities, including Cal-IPC.
Executive Director Doug Johnson chaired a
session on how WMAs can participate in invasive plant advocacy. Other topics included
funding, volunteers, mapping, early detection/rapid response, and outreach.
Audio and slides from all presentations are
available online at www.weedcenter.org/
CWMAconf/CWMA_conf_home.html

Audio and slides from all presentations are
available at www.climatechange.ca.gov/events/
research.html.

Help Cal-IPC every
time you search the
web!
Cal-IPC is on GoodSearch – GoodSearch is an internet search engine
that provides a penny per search to
the charity you select. The affiliated
GoodShop gives a percentage of
money spent on purchases through
their shopping portal. Help raise
money for Cal-IPC while looking
up baseball scores, movie times, or
control techniques for that nasty
new weed. Go to www.goodsearch.
com and enter “California Invasive
Plant Council” under “Who do you
search for?”

Arundo/Phragmites
Symposium
The Arundo/Phragmites Symposium, held
in conjunction with the Western Society of
Weed Science conference, addressed biology
and growth dynamics of these two problematic species, their impacts on native flora
and fauna, and management techniques.
www.wsweedscience.org

California Native
Grasslands Association
Annual Conference
Collaboration is necessary to protect native
habitats. These is especially true for grasslands, as many grassland-dependent species
live in working rangelands. CNGA’s 2008
conference in Santa Rosa featured speakers who described partnerships that have
brought disparate groups together to protect
grasslands. Topics included, “Ranchers and
conservationists preserving California’s
grasslands together”, “Managing public
open space grasslands with proper livestock
grazing programs”, and “Restoration takes a
village: Successful collaboration to burn and
restore a vernal pool grassland”. Conference
program and abstracts are available at www.
cnga.org.

12

Field trip to Swan Lake Restoration project in Stead, Nevada, during the National
Cooperative Weed Management Area Conference. Photo: Bob Case.

Cal-IPC News Summer 2008

Thank You for Supporting our Work!
Recent Donors
Doug Gibson (San Elijo Lagoon Conservancy, Encinitas), Sharon Farrell (El
Cerrito), Norman Frank (Berkeley),

Donations to Cape Ivy
Biocontrols
Patricia Howard (Littleriver),
Michael Swimmer (Swimmer Family
Foundation, Los Angeles)

New Members
William Abbott (Carpinteria), Shannon
Allen (HDR Engineering, Inc., San Diego), Manuel Almendarez (Caltrans, San
Jose), John Anderson (City of San Diego
Park & Rec. Dept, San Diego), Shawna
Anderson (San Dieguito River Park Joint
Powers Authority, Escondido), George
Armstrong (Irvine Ranch Conservancy,
Seal Beach), Shelly Austin (Irvine), Dan
Benedetti (US Army, Corps of Engineers,
Valley Springs), Neil Bertrando (Great
Basin Institute, Reno, NV), Kathleen
Blyleven (Lake County Ag Comm,
Lakeport), Valerie Borel (UC Cooperative Extension, Los Angeles), Robin Brady
(Hollister Ranch, Gaviota), Rory Brooks
(Santa Clara Balley Water District, San
Jose), Dennis Brown (City of San Diego
Water Dept, La Mesa), Jutta Burger (Irvine Ranch Conservancy, Irvine), Edward
Burns (Dixon), Erick Burres (SWRCBSwamp/Clean Water Team, Long Beach),
Terry Butcher (Mason Smith Valley Conservation District, Yerington, NV), Bree
Candiloro (Oakland), Doug Cantwell
(East Bay Regional Park District, Martinez), Alan Castner (Emeryville), Mariah
Casto (CA Tahoe Conservancy, South
Lake Tahoe), Amy Cecchettini (CA Tahoe
Conservancy, South Lake Tahoe), Kristina
Clark (TreePeople, Beverly Hills), Don
Collie (Irvine Ranch Conservancy, Irvine),
Madelyn Comer (Nichols Consulting
Engineers, Reno, NV), Jared Considine
(Irvine Ranch Conservancy, Irvine), Jennifer Cressy (Tahoe RCD, South Lake
Tahoe), Robert Cummings (California
Tahoe Conservancy, South Lake Tahoe),
Paul Deal (Imperial County Agricultural

Commissioner’s Office, El Centro), Dan
Deegan (Tahoe RCD, South Lake Tahoe),
Adolpho Dejesus (Ecosystems Restoration
Associates, San Diego), Susan Durham
(Eldorado National Forest, Placerville),
Christian Elder (NV County Dept of
Agriculture, Grass Valley), Jesse Ellinger
(Alameda), Jose Encalada (Imperial County
Agricultural Commissioner’s Office, El
Centro), Julie Finzel (Meridian, ID), Sarah
Ford (Tahoe RCD, South Lake Tahoe),
Lori Gerbac (City Of San Diego Park &
Rec. Dept., San Diego), Matthew Gibbons
(Davis), Dave Goodell (NV Tahoe Conservation District, Stateline, NV), Molly
Graber (GANDA, Auburn), Johnny Grady
(Southern CA Gas Company, Chatsworth),
Josh Grill (California Tahoe Conservancy,
South Lake Tahoe), Steve Hajik (Lake
County Ag Comm, Lakeport), Nicole
Hardiman (Burlington, KY), Holly Harper
(North East Trees, Los Angeles), Sue Harris
(Irvine Ranch Conservancy, Irvine), Lesley
Higgins (Tahoe RCD, South Lake Tahoe),
Kelly Hildner (Storke Ranch, Goleta),
Bryan Hill (San Diego), Mel Hinton (San
Diego Audubon Society, La Jolla), Gretchen
Huie (Nevada Tahoe Conservation District,
Stateline, NV), Francis Jorgenson (Nevada
City), Laura Kadlecik (Arcata), David Kimball (San Diego Audubon & Friends of Famosa Slough, San Diego), Ed King (Nevada
County Dept of Agriculture, Grass Valley),
John Kleinfelter (CA Tahoe Conservancy,
South Lake Tahoe), Lisa Krumwide (San
Luis Obispo), Nancy Lesa (Circuit Rider
Productions, Windsor), Susan Linn (NV
Department of Transportation, Sparks,
NV), Jason Lopez (Escondido), Steve Lucas
(City Of San Diego, San Diego), Dana
Luterick (NV Department of Transportation, Sparks, NV), Callie Mack (City of San
Diego Parks, Dev. Reg. Parks Div., Famosa
Slough, San Diego), Scott Marsh (NV
Department of Agriculture, Reno, NV),
Scot Martin (CA Dept of Parks & Rec,
Borrego, Borrego Springs), Amy Mattson
(HELIX Environmental Planning Inc, La
Mesa), Greg Matuzak (Ecosystems Restoration Associates, Lincoln), Joan Maynard
(Caltrans, Santa Barbara), Brenda McCants,
(USDA Forest Service, South Lake Tahoe),
Tara McCarthy (USDA Forest Service,

South Lake Tahoe), Patrick McDaniel
(CalFire, Camino), Scott McIntyre (Hollister Ranch, Gaviota), Emiliano McLane
(South Fork Band EPA, Spring Creek,
NV), Nick Meyer (CA Tahoe Conservancy, South Lake Tahoe), Don Millar (Irvine
Ranch Conservancy, Santa Ana), Mary
Moore (Lake Tahoe Basin Management
Unit, South Lake Tahoe), Isabel Morello
(California Tahoe Conservancy, South
Lake Tahoe), Juana Mueller (Shipley Nature Center, Huntington Beach), Robert
Murphy (Batiquitos Lagoon Foundation,
Encinitas), Chet Nelson (Friends of Famosa Slough, San Diego), April Newlander (Irvine Ranch Conservancy, Irvine),
Deborah Noeller (USFS-USDA, South
Lake Tahoe), Kimberly O’Connor (NAVFAC Southwest, San Diego), John Oliva
(Caltrans, Santa Barbara), Jerry Owens
(USDA Natural Resources Conservation
Service, South Lake Tahoe), Hollister
Ranch Owners’ Association (Gaviota),
Alexia Pascua (Walnut Creek), James Pea
(Friends of Famosa Slough, San Diego),
Ellen Perryess (Los Osos), Lynnel Pollock
(Cache Creek Conservancy, Woodland),
Michael Pook (NV Tahoe RCD, Stateline,
NV), Bill Ralph (Raymond), Stephanie
Rick (Venice), Armando Riojas (CA
Tahoe Conservancy, South Lake Tahoe),
Dale Ritenour (La Mesa), Rose Roberts
(Farm Stewards, Healdsburg), Doria
Robinson (Richmond), Stuart Roll (CA
Tahoe Conservancy, South Lake Tahoe),
Theresa Rossoff (North East Trees, Los
Angeles), Diana Saucedo-Ortiz (RECON,
San Diego), Megan Scheeling (Nichols
Consulting Engineers, Zephyr Cove, NV),
Steve Schulz (UCSB Sedgewick Reserve,
Santa Ynez), Katelyn Schumacher (Irvine
Ranch Conservancy), Kevin Schwartz
(Yolo County Parks & Resources Dept,
Woodland), Mika Shimada (Mission
Trails Regional Park, San Diego), Dave
Shuman (Irvine Ranch Conservancy,
Anaheim Hills), Gloria Silva (Cleveland
National Forest, San Diego), Valter Silva
(Caltrans, San Jose), Deb Snyder (Lake
Tahoe Nevada State Park, Carson City,
NV), Andrew Sovilla (USDA, Forest
Continued on next page…

Cal-IPC News Summer 2008

13

Readings &
Resources
Help Transcribe Jepson’s Field Books
The University and Jepson Herbaria at UC
Berkeley want to increase the accessibility
of famed botanist Willis Linn Jepson’s field
books by linking them to online specimen
records. However, the books first need to
be transcribed so internet search engines
can find them. The Herbarium is seeking
volunteers to help – all you need is an
internet connection and a few minutes for
each page. Contact Richard Moe, rlmoe@
berkeley.edu. http://ucfeps.berkeley.edu/images/
fieldbooks/jepson_fieldbooks.html

Know of a resource your fellow
weed workers should hear about?
Please contact info@cal-ipc.org.
Beetles? Why we should care about pollinators”, provides an introduction to pollinators for refuges, nature centers, scouts, 4-H,
and other community groups.
www.fws.gov/pollinators
Cacti, Agave, and Yuccas
Cacti, Agaves, and Yuccas of California and
Nevada, a new book by Stephen Ingram
features 262 color photographs, 52 range
maps, and references for more than 60
species. www.cnps.org.

Resources in Spanish
Looking for Spanish-language resources
on weeds and other plants? The Center for
Invasive Plant Management in Montana has
added a new section to its website with links
to publications and websites in Spanish.
www.weedcenter.org/inv_plant_info/
Spanish_resources.htm Cal-IPC also has
two brochures in Spanish: The Don’t Plant
a Pest! brochure for Southern California,
and the Biological Pollution brochure (PDF
only) www.cal-ipc.org/resources/brochures.php
Online Learning Library
The Center for Invasive Plant Management
has a new Learning Library featuring online
textbooks and learning modules. Topics
range from management and prevention
to information on invasive plants for the
public. www.weedcenter.org/library.html

New Members, continued…

Willis Linn Jepson’s notes from the Point Reyes Peninsula, September 15, 1900.
Courtesy Jepson Herbarium.
Complete Works of Darwin
Scanning historical field books is suddenly
popular. The complete works of Charles
Darwin are now available online from
Cambridge University. http://darwinonline.org.uk/manuscriptsBrowse.html.
Pollinator Presentation
In celebration of National Pollinator Week,
June 22-28, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service offers a PowerPoint presentation at its
website. “The Birds and the Bees and… the

14

Funding
Western SARE (USDA’s Sustainable
Agriculture Research and Education) is
now accepting applications for 2009.
SARE functions through competitive
grants conducted cooperatively by farmers,
ranchers, researchers and agricultural
professionals to advance farm and ranch
systems that are profitable, environmentally
sound and good for communities. Deadlines
vary from now to Dec. 5, 2008. http://wsare.
usu.edu

Cal-IPC News Summer 2008

Service, South Lake Tahoe), Nancy
Stearns (UCSB Sedgwick Reserve, Santa
Ynez), Eric Sutera (Forester’s Co-Op,
Grass Valley), Chinda Teas (Caltrans,
San Jose), Thomas Thompson (La
Mesa), Morgan Trieger (WRA, Inc.,
San Rafael), Wendy Trowbridge (Great
Basin Institute, Reno, NV), Jacob
Tybo (South Fork Band Environmental, Spring Creek, NV), Cheryl Vann
(WRA, Inc., San Rafael), Jim Versteeg
(Buckeye Ranch, Porterville), Paula
Voigt (Caltrans, Santa Barbara), Daylin
Wade (CA Tahoe Conservancy, South
Lake Tahoe), Debbie Waldecker (CA
Department of Parks & Recreation,
San Diego), Steve Waldman (City of
San Diego Park & Rec. Dept.), Courtney Walker (Tahoe RCD, South Lake
Tahoe), John Warpeha (Washoe Tribes
Environmental Protection Dept.), Brian
Weller (Ecosystems Restoration Associates, San Diego), Marit Wilkerson (UC
Davis, Davis), Carol Williams (Shipley
Nature Center, Huntington Beach),
Eric Winford (NV Tahoe Conservation
District, Stateline, NV)

The WILDLAND WEED CALENDAR
Cal. Invasive Weeds Awareness Week

Statewide Master Gardeners’ Conference

Cal-IPC Mapping Field Course

July 21-27
Statewide
www.cal-ipc.org/policy/state/ciwaw.php

September 24-26
“Digging Deeper: Lessons in sustainability”
Asilomar
http://camastergardeners.ucdavis.edu

November 6
Oakland
www.cal-ipc.org/fieldcourses

SERCAL Annual Conference
August 13-16
Santa Rosa

Cal-IPC Symposium &
Revegetation Field Course

Restoration’s Bigger Picture: Linking local
restoration with regional and global issues
www.sercal.org/2008_conference.htm

October 1-4
Chico
www.cal-ipc.org/symposia

Lepidium Science & Management
Workshops
September 10 – Science
Rush Ranch Nature Center, Suisun City
October 29 – Management
Oakland
www.sfbaynerr.org

National Association of Exotic Pest Plant
Councils Conference
October 14-17
Nashville, TN
In association with the Natural Areas
Conference.
www.naeppc.org
Southern California Botanists Symposium
October
CSU Fullerton
www.socalbot.org/symposia.php

10th Annual Central California Invasive
Weed Symposium
November 14
Monterey
“Evolution/Revolution: What’s new in the
invasive weed world.” (Formerly War on
Weeds)
Contact Henry Gonzales, gonzalesh@
co.monterey.ca.us or Bruce Delgado,
bdelgado@mbay.net.

California Native Plant Society
Conservation Conference
January 17-19, 2009
Sacramento
“Strategies and Solutions for Plant
Conservation in the 21st Century”
www.cnps.org

Quotable

“Stopping the influx of new detrimental non-native species and containing their spread is

essential to Hawaii’s and the Nation’s future well-being. The present problem is severe and the
future is uncertain. Only legislation, such as this measure, will begin to address the continued
loss of our Nation’s natural resources.”
Domingo Cravalho, Jr., Inspection and Compliance Chief, Hawaii Department of Agriculture, testifying before
the House Subcommittee on Fisheries, Widlife, and Oceans regarding H.R. 6311, the Non-Native wildlife Invasion Prevention Act.

“We are trying to navigate uncharted and turbulent waters with an old and defective
economic compass.”

Pavan Sukhdev, head of Deutsche Bank’s global markets business in India, on ignoring the
economic value of ecosystem services (United Nations Environment Programme report, May 2008)

“I met with people in lots of cities about the light-brown apple moth spray program, and

I heard a lot of emotion from the public. We need to also get this level of passion about
preventing invasive species in California.”

California Secretary of Food & Agriculture A.G. Kawamura, radio interview on a KFOG’s Morning Show (June 25, 2008)

Cal-IPC News Summer 2008

15

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Cal-IPC News
Vol. 16, No. 2, Summer 2008

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