Newsletter Vol 21 Issue 2, 2013 – California Invasive Plant Council

Vol. 21, No. 2

Spring 2013

Cal-IPC News
Protecting California’s Natural Areas from Wildland Weeds
Newsletter of the California Invasive Plant Council

Taking

to the

air

p.4

A helicopter crew surveys
artichoke thistle (Cynara
cardunculus) for the Irvine Ranch
Conservancy.

INSIDE
2013 Symposium at Lake Arrowhead p.6
Central Sierra eradication project p.10
New online Inventory p.11
Student Chapter at Santa Rosa Plateau p.11
Mendocino stops stinkwort p.13

From the Director’s Desk

Climate Adaptation
Cal-IPC
1442-A Walnut Street, #462
Berkeley, CA 94709
ph (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 lands and waters
from ecologically-damaging invasive plants
through science, education, and policy.
STAFF
Doug Johnson, Executive Director
Elizabeth Brusati, Science Program Manager
Heather DeQuincy, Outreach Program Manager
Agustín Luna, Business Manager
Bertha McKinley, Program Assistant
Dana Morawitz, Mapping Program Manager

DIRECTORS
John Knapp, President
Native Range, Inc.
Jason Casanova, Vice-President
Council for Watershed Health
Shawn Kelly, Treasurer
Southern California Wetlands Recovery Project
Peter Schuyler, Secretary
Ecological Consultant
Peter Beesley
Pacific Gas and Electric
Karen Buhr
California Association of Resource Conservation Districts
Jutta Burger
Irvine Ranch Conservancy
Frank Davis
UC Santa Barbara
Jennifer Funk
Chapman University
Gery Gero
Climate Action Reserve
Doug Gibson
San Elijo Lagoon Conservancy
Jason Giessow
Dendra, Inc.
Kim Hayes
Elkhorn Slough Foundation
Dan Knapp
Los Angeles Conservation Corps
Chris McDonald
UC Cooperative Extension
STUDENT LIAISONS
Bridget Hilbig
UC Riverside
Meghan Skaer
UC Davis
Affiliations for identification purposes only.

Cal-IPC News

Spring 2013 – Vol. 21, No. 2
Editors: Doug Johnson, Elizabeth Brusati
Cal-IPC News is published by the California Invasive Plant
Council. Articles may be reprinted with permission from the
editors. Submissions are welcome. Mention of commercial
products does not imply endorsement by Cal-IPC. We reserve
the right to edit all work.

Cal-IPC News Spring 2013

educing human greenhouse gas emissions is an important ongoing effort. But a
new effort is gaining speed. Because significant climate change is already underway,
and will continue into the foreseeable future, scientists and managers are beginning
to address ways to prepare for and adjust to these changing conditions. This pursuit is
referred to as “climate adaptation.”
The National Wildlife Federation has developed “Climate-Smart” conservation
guidelines because “climate change is now a primary lens through which conservation
and natural resource management must be viewed.”
Meanwhile, the National Fish, Wildlife, and
Plants Climate Adaptation Strategy published
last year aims “to inspire and enable natural
resource administrators, elected officials, and
other decision makers to take action to adapt
to a changing climate.” Adaptation actions are
“vital to sustaining the nation’s ecosystems and
natural resources — as well as the human uses
and values that the natural world provides.”
Invasive species are mentioned early
and often in the document. Among the
document’s recommendations, Strategy 7.3
focuses specifically on ways to strengthen
invasive species prevention and management. As the document says, “reducing
existing stressors on fish, wildlife, and plants may
be one of the most effective, and doable, ways to increase resilience
to climate change.” We agree, and hope this understanding leads to renewed focus
on invasive species management.
Cal-IPC and the California land management community are leaders in putting
these principles to work on the ground. Projecting invasive plant response to future
conditions helps make our management as strategic as possible. As another growing
season cycles across the state, we can feel proud that we are doing some of the “most
cost-effective and doable” work to protect California’s plants and animals in an uncertain future.

Thank You Heather!
Longtime Cal-IPC staffer Heather DeQuincy
has taken a new position with the East Bay
Regional Parks District. As part of our core
team, she has made tremendous contributions
to the growth of Cal-IPC. In her role as
Training and Outreach Program Manager, she
oversaw the development of our field courses
and had a hand in almost everything we do.
With a background in land management, she
loved interacting with our members and sharing
in their work. We will really miss her!

AB 763 passes in California State
Assembly and heads to the Senate.
Authored by Assembly Member Joan
Buchanan and sponsored by Cal-IPC,
the bill aims to strengthen response
to invasive weeds in the Delta and to
define “invasive species” in state code as a
foundation for invasive species management programs. www.leginfo.ca.gov
Recreational boaters make Delta
weeds a top issue. In related news, the
Recreational Boaters of California put
invasive plants at the top of their policy
agenda for the year. There are 3 million
recreational boaters in California, and
plants like water hyacinth can block waterways as well as damage aquatic ecosystems. blog.sfgate.com/stienstra/2013/02/13/
delta-weeds-cash-top-cal-boaters-fears/
Cal. Dept. of Fish & Wildlife announces new State Wildlife Action
Plan newsletter. Track the progress of
the SWAP, which examines the health of
California’s wildlife and prescribes actions
to conserve speicies and vital habitat.
Subscribe at www.dfg.ca.gov/SWAP.
Group forms to create national standard for listing invasive plants. Working
with sister organizations from other states,
Cal-IPC has established an ASTM work
group to develop a standard. The standard
will strengthen lists like Cal-IPC’s so
they can be cited by building codes that
restrict landscaping to non-invasive
plants. www.astmnewsroom.org/default.
aspx?pageid=3095

Wildland
Weed News
Eucalyptus advocates protest use of
FEMA funds for East Bay hills. Two
decades after the Oakland Hills firestrom,
citizens and agencies are still struggling
to agee on strategies for reducing fuel
loads. “Deforestation” and use of herbicides are two concerns for protestors
who increasingly dispute the concept of
invasive species as personal bias in favor of
native species. oaklandlocal.com/2013/06/
storm-of-controversy-rages-over-fire-hazardreduction-plans-for-oakland-hills/
Sweet broom on the way out? The
Butte County Agricultural Department
has petitioned the California Dept. of
Food & Agriculture to place all hybrids
of Genista and Cytisus species under
quarantine. The move is based on UC
Davis research that documents interbreeding between sweet broom, still available
in nurseries, and invasive French broom.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/
S1055790311003915

Climate change expected to cause
widespread loss of common plants and
animals. An international team studied
50,000 common species and found that
two-thirds of plants and one-half of
animal species will lose more than half of
their climatic range by 2080. Immediate
action to curb greenhouse gas emissions
could reduce losses by 60% and buy an
additional 40 years for species to adapt.
www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/vaop/
ncurrent/full/nclimate1887.html
Landscape-scale conservation report
released for Pacific Northwest.
Coordinated by the National Wildlife
Federation, the report drew on expertise
and perspectives of participants in regional meetings. A top recommendtion is
to identify the dispersal corridors invasive
species will use in response to changes in
climate. northpacificlcc.org
Vector risk assessments for aquatic
invasive species completed for
California. The state’s Ocean Science
Trust commissioned studies to help
address pathways of introduction
and spread. calost.org/scienceinitiatives/?page=aquatic-invasive-species

New effort to secure federal funding for
invasive species management. A coalition of western states is working on legislation that would redirect $200 million of
federal funds to states for on-the-ground
invasive species control. Cal-IPC is tracking this effort with partner groups in the
National Association of Exotic Pest Plant
Councils and the National Environmental
Coalition on Invasive Species.
healthyhabitatscoalition.com
California’s Wildlife Conservation
Board funds Cal-IPC. The new grant
supports strategic prioritization of
landscape-level projects across the state.
The board also approved funding for the
Invasive Spartina Project. www.wcb.ca.gov

San Diego arundo fire started in a homeless encampment. The Mother’s Day fire
destroyed or damaged five structures and a woman was hospitalized in critical condition. Photo by Mark Roberts, from lakesidefiredist.blogspot.com.

Cal-IPC News Spring 2013

Taking to the air to locate, prioritize and treat effectively
By Jutta C. Burger, Irvine Ranch Conservancy

and managers face difficult decisions
regarding where best to spend their
limited resources fighting invasive species.
Large, obvious stands of an invader,
such as those of black mustard in coastal
southern California, clearly erode native
plant and animal diversity and ecological
function. Small populations, such as
those along the leading edge of Saharan
mustard’s range expansion, do not initially
have significant large-scale ecological
effects but could become future management nightmares.
Decisions are often complicated by not
knowing the distribution or total cover
of target species. Regional and statewide
inventories such as those that Cal-IPC
is developing are a tremendous help in
setting targets. Yet the task of gathering
fine-scale information on local status and
distribution of species still lies on the
shoulders of the land manager. Working
without good surveys is much like treating
a patient without having a complete
diagnosis. Doing nothing with a survey or
not treating systematically can further lead
to disastrous and avoidable expansions of
invasive species and wasted money.
The Irvine Ranch Natural Landmarks
is a network of urban wildlands in Orange
County that has been given both state
and national status for its geological and

Spanish broom was the species mapped
most accurately by air. Photo by Stephen
Francis.

Cal-IPC News Spring 2013

natural history values. It includes some of
the largest remaining tracts of southern
California’s coastal sage scrub, perennial
grassland, oak woodlands, and riparian
habitat, as well as extensive stands of
chaparral. The northern portion of the
Landmarks is located in the foothills of
the Santa Ana Mountains and is the focus
of this article.
We compiled a list of 35 invasive
plants to map for this area, selecting
species based on personal experience,
local expert opinion, and past surveys. We
excluded ubiquitous species such as brome
grasses and mustards, assuming these
could neither be mapped nor controlled
cost effectively on a landscape scale.
Using this list, we contracted for
an aerial weed survey of a 31,000-acre
area. The result was a first-time-ever
comprehensive map of weed species and
their cover for this area. Here I present the
results of our survey, a coarse assessment
of the accuracy of the methodology, and
implications for management.

Methods
A Native Range, Inc. helicopter team
conducted the aerial survey by flying transects following contours. The survey area
was characterized by moderate topography
with steep canyons and occasional wide
valley bottoms that are characteristic of
the foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains.
Most habitat was either shrubland or
grassland and therefore could be assessed
relatively easily from the air.
The helicopter flew at 60-100’ altitude
to minimize disturbance of any nesting
bird species. Two trained observers identified weed populations and recorded these
digitally as points, lines, or polygons,
depending on stand size and shape. For
each population, we captured species,
gross stand area, percent cover, age class,
habitat type, recorder, date, and time.
Stands of a single species distributed a
minimum of 100’ apart were considered
distinct populations. The survey area was

mapped in twelve days.
Accuracy was estimated for giant reed,
Spanish broom, and artichoke thistle by
using GIS software to compare data from
the 2011 aerial survey to foot surveys
from 2012. Foot survey points were
assumed to represent the true population
distribution.
A simple prioritization model was
built by numerically ranking all species
using the following parameters: average
population area, median population
size, and total number of populations.
Population parameters were averaged
to produce a single number and added
to a score of previous control effort and
Cal-IPC ranking. The final ranking was
used to assign each species to a “high”,
“medium”, or “low” priority.

Survey Results
A total of 4775 populations were
identified across 35 target invasive species,
totalling 458 net acres (2403 acres gross).
The five most abundant species were
Italian thistle, artichoke thistle, gum tree
(Eucalyptus spp.), milk thistle (Silybum
marianum), and tree tobacco (Nicotiana
glauca). All but Eucalyptus — historically
planted along orchard and road edges —
were under some level of management.
Artichoke thistle was widely distributed, even though the species had been
treated for nearly 20 years prior to the
survey. This species is ranked statewide
as a “moderate” concern by Cal-IPC, but
is considered a high concern locally by
Orange County land managers. Most
stands observed were small, however,
consisting of only one to a few individuals. Of the 868 populations observed,
nearly one fourth occurred in otherwise
intact coastal sage scrub, oak woodland,
or riparian habitat.
The survey located new populations
of a few highly invasive species. The most
significant was two new stands of yellow
starthistle (Centaurea solstitialis) covering
over half an acre, a few hundred yards

away from the only previously known
stand. Small populations of spiny emex
(Emex spinosa), tree-of-heaven (Ailanthus
altissima), and Canary Island date palm
(Phoenix canariensis) were also mapped for
the first time. Pampas grass (Cortaderia
selloana) and fountain grass (Pennisetum
setaceum), previously not prioritized for
control, were both more abundant than
had been thought; totalling 3.8 acres
across 77 stands and 2.6 acres across 81
stands, respectively.
Accuracy of aerial mapping was
highest for Spanish broom (Spartium
junceum), with 85% of all points falling
within a 200’ buffer of populations
mapped on the ground. Accuracy of
giant reed was slightly lower at 79%.
Interestingly, foot surveys and aerial
surveys each located two stands that the
other did not. Accuracy for artichoke
thistle was lowest at 63% and could have
been due in part to germination of new
plants after the aerial survey.

Summary and Conclusions
Several species that had not been targeted for reserve-wide control now have
elevated priority due to the findings of
our comprehensive survey . These include
species that not previously recorded, such
as spiny emex and tree-of-heaven, as well
as some whose exact distribution had been
unknown. Other species, such as yellow
starthistle were already a high priority but
are now known from additional populations. Still other species have increased in
priority due to the ability to now remove
them more strategically based on distribution data; these species include tamarisk,
giant reed, Spanish broom, and pampas
grass. Lastly, Italian thistle and tree
tobacco, species that had been prioritized
and treated previously, were found to be
so abundant and widespread that they
were down-weighted in our prioritization
model. We now only treat them in a
select number of manageable locations.
Resources saved from reprioritizing these
species can now be shifted to treating
newly prioritized species and populations.
Results of our aerial survey suggest
that artichoke thistle is still widely
distributed and covers substantial acreage but occurs mostly in small, isolated

populations. After years of controlling
artichoke thistle, the survey results are
both sobering and encouraging. More
control remains to be done, but the
pattern of distribution is what would be
expected after years of ongoing control
that have eliminated most large stands.
Our control efforts for artichoke
thistle will now emphasize “preventive
care”, targeting isolated patches of this
species to prevent future spread and
incorporating annual aerial access for
treating remote populations of this and
other priority species. Our prioritization
model does not identify artichoke thistle
as a priority control target because of its
extensive distribution.
Concerns over regional
spread (especially in the
event of a fire), the opportunity for local eradication
of isolated patches, and the
need to hold the ground
gained through past
control efforts that could
otherwise be lost, however,
have led to our decision to
continue strategic control
of this species.

weed propagules. The smaller the reserve
and the greater other constraints such as
proximity to urban areas and vegetation
canopy, the greater the potential benefits
of a foot survey.
If small, less apparent or understory
species are a priority, then foot surveys
should be considered. Most target species
in our reserve area were typically two feet
or greater in size and some of the smaller
species, such as yellow starthistle, were
distinctive enough to be easily identified
by air. Other species, such as Saharan
mustard (Brassica tournefortii) were not
amenable to aerial survey. And of course,
when conducting an aerial survey by

Choosing a Survey
Approach
For our purposes, an
aerial survey provided extremely useful
distribution data that would have been
virtually impossible (and cost prohibitive)
to get from the ground. The aerial survey
took 12 days and covered 31,000 acres at
a cost of $94,000 (a little over $3/acre).
In contrast, our foot survey of six canyons
took two summers, covered 1345 acres
and cost $46,000 ($34/acre).
When deciding whether to conduct
a broad spectrum aerial survey or a foot
survey, management needs, feasibility, and
cost should be considered. The benefits of
an aerial survey are the speed, consistency,
and cost efficiency over a large area.
A foot survey may ultimately be more
accurate, but its consistency is severely
impacted by the time it takes to survey
and its coverage will not be complete due
to accessibility issues in rugged terrain.
Furthermore, physical access to remote
areas can introduce disturbance and

helicopter, care must be taken to minimize risks such as fire or disturbance of
nesting sensitive species through wind or
noise impacts.
Someday automated remote sensing
from satellites or aircraft may become
a viable alternative, but as yet the field
has not been able to consistently identify
more than a handful of invasive species.
For now, if you’re managing a large area,
you may find as we did that an aerial
survey provides the distribution data that
is essential to setting effective strategy.
Special thanks to John Knapp and
Native Range, Inc. for conducting surveys
and providing helpful discussion and to
Henry DiRocco, Jennifer Naegele, and
Yi-Chin Fang for participation in the
project.
Contact the author at jburger@
irconservancy.org.

Cal-IPC News Spring 2013

2013 Cal-IPC Symposium
October 2-5, Lake Arrowhead

Taking the Long View

oin fellow land managers, researchers, and
conservationists for autumn colors at Lake
Arrowhead in the San Bernardino Mountains! Our
22nd Symposium features the latest information on
tools and strategies for controlling invasive plants
and addresses the big-picture challenges we face in
setting realistic goals to protect California’s plants
and wildlife in an era of rapid climate change. Bring
your expertise and questions—we’ll see you there!
All information is online at www.cal-ipc.org
Pre-Symposium Workshop, Oct. 2
Climate-Smart Land Management
Federal agencies and conservation organizations have
been begun producing “climate-smart” guidelines aimed
at protecting biodiversity in a changing a climate. This
half-day workshop will survey these guidelines. share
ideas for how they inform invasive plant management,
and explore case studies that illustrate on-the-ground
management choices already being made to support
resilient ecosystems. This critical topic will benefit from
robust discussion among instructors and attendees, and
participants will have the opportunity to help refine
recommendations for the Cal-IPC community.

Grizzly surveying the San Fernando Valley centuries ago.
Painting by Keynote Speaker Laura Cunningham, naturalist, artist and author of A State of Change: Forgotten Landscapes
of California.

Plenary Sessions. Oct. 3-4
Learning from Southern California Mountains and
Deserts – Post-fire weed invasions, desert plant ecology, solar power plants, endangered species and more.
Speakers include Katie VinZant, Angeles National
Forest, and Travis Huxman, UC Irvine.
The Novel Ecosystem Debate Reframed for Land
Managers – How can managers make effective decisions
on which non-native species to accept, perhaps even
welcome, into otherwise native ecosystems? Speakers
include Timothy Seastedt, University of Colorado,
Boulder, and Deborah Rogers, Center for Natural Lands
Management.
Impacts of Invasive Plants on Ecosystem Services
Plant invaders affect ecosystem services like pollination,
recreation, and navigation. Can land managers make a
case for funding invasive plant removal based on social
and economic benefits? Speakers include Julie Rentner,
River Partners, and Alexandra Threatt-Harmon,
University of Illinois.

www.cal-ipc.org/symposia
6

Cal-IPC News Spring 2013

Location
Lake Arrowhead Resort sits on the shore of Lake
Arrowhead in the San Bernardino Mountains, a 45-minute drive from Ontario Airport. The discounted room
rate is $84/night (not guaranteed after Sept. 3).
Registration
Register online at www.cal-ipc.org. Early bird discount
applies through Sept. 3. Discounts are available for students and Symposium volunteers. Registration includes
continental breakfasts, Thursday Awards Luncheon and
Social Hour.
Laws and Regs moves to Wednesday
The Laws and Regulations session, providing Dept. of
Pesticide Regulation continuing education credits, will
be held the evening of Wednesday, Oct. 2, the night
before main Symposium sessions begin.

Tool Tailgate with Ken Moore of the Wildlands Restoration
Team at the 2012 Symposium. Ken and other experienced
workers in the field will conduct a lunchtime tailgate at this
year’s Symposium as well. Photo by JP Marie.

Discussion Groups
Learn from experts and your fellow attendees at our
interactive discussion groups on hot topics in invasive
plant research and management. Groups include: Ask
the Management Experts; Primer on Prioritization Tools;
Climate-Smart Land Management; Saharan Mustard;
Invasive Species Besides Plants; and Biocontrols.
Saturday Field Trips
Santa Ana River: Visit restoration projects in Southern
California’s largest watershed. Get a bird’s-eye view from
the top of the watershed then descend into the valley to
visit historic and current projects controlling arundo,
yellow starthistle, perrennial pepperweed, and more.
San Bernardino Mountains: Explore restoration sites in
the mountains surrounding Lake Arrowhead, and visit
the National Children’s Forest and a historic fire lookout.
And More…
30 Presentations… Exhibitors and Posters… 2013 Awards
Luncheon… Social Hour with Raffle and Auction…
Photo Contest… Student Paper Contest…
Sponsor the Symposium!
Organizations sponsoring the Symposium receive
exhibit space, free passes, and recognition, and the
knowledge they are supporting the event and CalIPC’s important programs. Information online.

James Law of the Santa Ana Watershed Association surveying
vegetation in the upper watershed. SAWA will lead a field
trip at this year’s Symposium, visiting restoration sites that
brought back the endangered least Bell’s vireo. Photo by Lee
Reeder.

Early registration deadline is September 3.
Cal-IPC News Spring 2013

EDRR success at Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park
By Ramona Robison, California State Parks

n 2012, Cal-IPC worked with the Santa Cruz District of California State
Parks to select top species for surveillance as early detection and rapid response
(EDRR) targets. One of the sixteen plant species selected, yellow archangel
(Lamiastrum galeobdolon) is highly invasive in the Pacific Northwest and has the
potential to invade redwood forest understory. Only one population was known
in the area. This spring, newly-trained members of the Santa Cruz Resource
Conservation District, which is partnering with State Parks and Cal-IPC on the
project, identified a new population at Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park. They
immediately reported the find to State Parks staff for eradication. That’s exactly the
way it’s supposed to work!
We will be transferring this
pilot approach to our Orange Coast
District next, and hope to establish a
standard statewide system.
Left: Yellow archangel is one of
sixteen surveillance species for the
Santa Cruz District.
Right: Resource Ecologist Tim
Hyland of State Parks surveys for
invasive plant surveillance species on
Santa Cruz District park land.

Weed Control in Natural Areas
in the Western United States
Published in 2013
by the University
of California’s
Weed Research
and Information
Center, with fifteen
contributing authors
The manual presents
detailed information
on biology and
control methods for
340 species found
in thirteen western
states. Includes tables
summarizing chemical
and non-chemical
control options.
544 pages with photos.

$37.00 plus tax and shipping from
the Cal-IPC online store.

Order at www.cal-ipc.org/shop
8

Cal-IPC News Spring 2013

Celebrating SERCAL and CNGA

al-IPC salutes the California Society
for Ecological Restoration (www.
sercal.org) and the California Native
Grasslands Association (www.cnga.org)
for their exceptional work on behalf of
California’s wildlands. sister organizations
Check out their trainings and conferences,
read the following “teasers” adapted from
recent articles, and become a member of
these organizations if you are not already!

Towards Multidisciplinary
Landscape-Scale Restoration
By Matt James, Coastal Restoration
Consultants, adapted from 2012 Summer
Solstice issue of Ecesis. Recent issues have
covered biodiversity in agricultural settings
and “messy creek” restoration. See Ecesis
online at www.sercal.org.
Almost every restoration project, be it
large or small, has societal benefits beyond
its immediate ecological goals. Restoring
wetlands usually has water quality and

Congratulations on 20 years! SERCAL
held its 20th annual conference this spring
at UC Santa Barbara. The event’s ten field
tours included this one to the Ventura
River watershed. Photo by tour co-leader
Paul Jenkin, Surfrider Foundation.
flood protection benefits for neighbors
and entire watersheds. Restoring riparian
habitats along creeks and rivers, especially
where levees are set back or removed, is an
excellent way to provide flood protection.
Restoring resiliency to coastal habitats, including beaches, dunes and salt marshes,
is becoming an important part of preparing coastal communities for sea level rise.
Further, restoration sites are increasingly

seen as opportunities for recreation and
education, especially in urban areas.
If restoration programs are to achieve
truly ambitious large-scale goals, both
ecological and societal, the future must
lie in coordinating projects within much
broader landscapes. This is happening with much fanfare in places like
the Bay-Delta Region, the Everglades
and Chesapeake Bay. This approach is
also being employed on smaller scales,
including the Ventura and Santa Barbara
region, where watershed-scale restoration
programs are being implemented to address the threat of sea level rise to natural
habitats and other coastal resources.
California is a great place to be a
restoration ecologist. Though we have
done great damage to natural ecosystems
here, I find reason for great optimism.
As society becomes more and more
accepting of ecological restoration as a
tool for improving natural ecosystems and
improving our quality of life, there is an
increasing opportunity to do larger and
more meaningful restoration projects than
ever before. As restoration ecologists, we
will meet ambitious goals only by looking
far beyond the borders of our projects to
understand how our work integrates with
the rest of the surrounding landscape.

Volunteer Habitat Restoration–
Trials and Triumphs
By Chad Aakre, Restoration Resources,
adapted from the Spring 2013 issue of
Grasslands.
What could be more fun than volunteering to lead a crew of people you have
never met through the intricate process
of installing a habitat restoration project?
I offer these bits of advice to maximize
the success of habitat restoration with
volunteer labor.
Collaborate: Identify the primary
stakeholders that will influence the success
or failure of a project. Finding a local
nonprofit with which you can partner will

CNGA 2013 Field Day organizer Bryan
Young leads a driving tour of restoration
projects along roadsides, canals, and
pastures. Photo by Phil Hogan, NRCS.
provide the validity you need to convince
key stakeholders that they should join
forces and collaborate with you.
Simple: One way to keep it simple is to
think like a volunteer. Break the volunteer
effort down into step-by step procedures.
Make a map. Convey a simple idea of
what you would like to see happen in the
project. One aspect of volunteer projects
is not simple at all: correspondence. Take
the number of emails, phone calls and
meetings required to manage a normal
restoration project and multiply by four.
Small: Start small, and then increase in
incremental steps. A small project will win
approval by key stakeholders more easily.
Strive to be innovative but measured in
your approach. Using techniques that
maximize efficiency will help keep a
project small and maximize success.
Successful: Keeping the project successful
can only happen if the project area is
managed in perpetuity. One way I like to
push a project in the right direction is by
creating annual work days. Keep a clear
vision of what you want the project to
eventually look like and figure out how to
gently push the project in that direction.
Grass-centric: Look for opportunities
to install grasses in every project you are
involved with. One-gallon native grass
container plantings can usually be easily
incorporated into traditional tree planting
projects with no measurable changes in
design or management.

Cal-IPC News Spring 2013

Regional planning spreads across the state
Central Sierra Eradication Project

artners in the central Sierra counties of El Dorado, Alpine Amador,
Calaveras and Tuolumne are embarking
on several new projects. As the first region
to complete their strategic plan using
CalWeedMapper, the region worked with
Cal-IPC to apply for and receive grants
from the National Fish and Wildlife
Foundation (NFWF) and the Sierra
Nevada Conservancy (SNC).
Funds from NFWF support regionwide eradication of Canada thistle, purple
starthistle, and diffuse knapweed. County
Agricultural Commissioners, local UC
Cooperative Extension representatives,
and the US Forest Service are coordinating to treat and monitor these species.
Single isolated populations of eight
additional species will also be targeted to
make sure they do not spread. And in the
Groveland area, along Highway 120 to

Yosemite, local leading edge populations
of Spanish broom have been mapped.
SNC funds are supporting necessary environmental permitting to allow treatment
in an area of varied land ownership.

Other Regions
Following a similar path, both the
Northwest region (Humboldt and Del
Norte counties) and North Central
region (Trinity, Shasta, and Siskiyou
counties) submitted pre-proposals to
NFWF this spring to implement projects
based on regional priorities determined
collaboratively using CalWeedMapper.
We worked with the Central Coast (Santa
Cruz, Monterey, and San Benito counties)
and are beginning with the South Central
Coast (San Luis Obispo and Santa
Barbara counties) and the North Sierra
(Placer, Nevada, Yuba, Sierra and Plumas
counties). The California Landscape
Conservation Cooperative has been
instrumental in funding this landscapescale prioritization by region.
CalWeedMapper can be used for
different types of regions. The ShastaTrinity National Forest used the distribution information as a primary source to
establish management priorities for the
forest. The resulting strategy will enable
the forest to use an early detection and
rapid response strategy. In addition, this
process identified a small number of
eradication targets that represent “lowhanging fruit” that can be acted on now
in an effort to prevent further entrenchment of these species in the landscape.
Their plan, with a description of their
process, can be found under News on the
CalWeedMapper website.

WHIPPET Progress

Becky Miller-Cripps of UC Cooperative
Extension maps Spanish broom near
Groveland. Photo by Dana Morawitz.

Cal-IPC News Spring 2013

Regional planning
is underway in seven
regions, indicated by
stars.

When all populations of important
invasive plants in an area have been
mapped, the WHIPPET tool developed
by Gina Darin and collaborators at
UC Davis can be used to set finer-scale
priorities between populations of multiple
species. With support from the US
Fish & Wildlife Service and the USDA

Forest Service-State & Private Forestry,
Cal-IPC is building an online version of
WHIPPET.

BAEDN and California EDN
With the end of ARRA stimulus
funding, the Bay Area Early Detection
Network (BAEDN) elected to become
a project of Cal-IPC and join with the
other regional partnerships across the state
that are also working on identifying and
addressing eradication targets. Cal-IPC
is supporting continued work on Bay
Area populations that have been selected
as eradication targets, and working to
restore the BAEDN website which was
badly damaged by hackers. A substitute
BAEDN website has been uploaded at
www.cal-ipc.org/WMAs/BAEDN.
As Cal-IPC continues to work with
regional partnerships to set eradication
and surveillance priorities, a statewide
network is taking shape. This fills the role
envisioned for a California EDN, and
includes additional aspects of strategic
management. Cal-IPC is working to
strengthen communication within and
between regions, which is critical for
flagging priority species. Our current
push is to jump-start funding to respond
to priorities on-the-ground. We will
continue to help regional partnerships
continue to grow, establish priorities, and
implement top projects.

Cal-IPC Student Chapter mentors local K-12 students
By Bridget Hilbig, UC Riverside

ast fall Cal-IPC Student Chapter
members from UC Riverside were
approached with a unique opportunity to
participate in an educational program run
by the Santa Rosa Plateau Foundation.
The program gives local high school,
middle school, and elementary school students from the nearby town of Murrieta.
hands-on experience restoring invaded
perennial grasslands.
Throughout the school year, three
Cal-IPC Student Chapter members from
UC Riverside have helped design and
implement restoration projects at Santa
Rosa Plateau in conjunction with local
school teachers and reserve managers. We
have participated in multiple field trips in
which we helped students identify native
and invasive plants, set up a weather station, conceptualize a scientific experiment,
and use vegetation sampling techniques.
The high school students designed a
study on the effects of mulching on species abundance and diversity. The middle
school students have set up transects to
look at the effects of gopher activity and
mowing on invasive annual grasses. The
elementary school students started a seed

bank study to identify what percentage of
the seed bank is invasive species. As part
of the seed bank study, some of the high
school students mentored the younger
students.
Working with the students has been an
amazing and rewarding opportunity. The
students are truly excited to be outdoors
and learning about California’s native
plants and the impacts of invasive plants.
We will continue working with these students for the remainder of this academic
year, and hope that we can continue to
help this project in years to come.
This is one of the most involved
K-12 outreach projects for the Student
Chapter. Over the past few years, the
Student Chapter has participated in
public outreach activities in order to help
educate people about invasive plants. The
chapter started at UC Riverside and has
members at several other universities in
California. Some outreach activities have
included setting up informational booths
at native plant sales, attending events such
as Earth Day in the Garden, and working
with second grade students at a local
elementary school.

High school students trained by the
Cal-IPC Student Chapter work with
fifth graders at the Santa Rosa Plateau.
Students set up experiments related to
grassland restoration work at the site.
If you would like more information
about the Cal-IPC Student Chapter,
or are interested in keeping up-to-date
on events, visit our website at calipcsc.
org or ‘Like’ our Facebook page at www.
facebook.com/calipcsc.

New and improved online California Invasive Plant Inventory!

al-IPC has a new, more powerful
online system for using our Invasive
Plant Inventory, the definitive reference
for invasive plants in California. Through
the new website, users have more options
for getting summaries of information and
for viewing each species’ detailed Plant
Assessment Forms.
First, the summary table (at www.
cal-ipc.org/paf ) now allows you to search
for plants by Jepson ecoregion and/or
habitat type. For example, you can search
for all plants that invade forests in the
Sierra Nevada. You also now have the
ability to download the full Inventory into
a spreadsheet, including full details from
the plant assessment forms. This function

will help users sort or search the data for
their own projects.
For each plant, the table links to its
Plant Assessment Form, its Plant Profile
page on our website, and its map on
CalWeedMapper.
Information for the Plant Assessment
Form for each species is now in an online
screen format that replaces links to
individual files. When viewing the score
for each of the 13 criteria questions, you
can read the explanation and citations
that go along with it, and bring up the
complete definition of a particular criteria
to now what each score means. (You can
still download the information as a pdf.)

It’s always important to remember that
the Inventory ratings of High, Moderate,
and Limited are statewide ratings and may
not reflect differences in different parts of
California.
In addition to the 200 species in the
Inventory, the webpage also provides
access to our Watchlist, which contains
another 200 plant species that have been
observed in wildlands and may be a
concern in the future. To submit information regarding a species you are concerned
about, contact Science Program Manager
Elizabeth Brusati at edbrusati@cal-ipc.org.

www.cal-ipc.org/paf
Cal-IPC News Spring 2013

“Buy It Where You Burn It” campaign to stop forest pests
By Tom Smith, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection

erhaps you have seen a campground
poster encouraging people not to
move firewood, or maybe a billboard
with the “Buy It Where You Burn It”
slogan. The incentive and justification for
this outreach campaign is simple – untreated firewood is a great vehicle for tree
insects and diseases, including harmful
invasive pests that are forever altering
natural environments in California and
the rest of the US. The threat is quite
real – long distance spread of the Asian
longhorned beetle, emerald ash borer,
goldspotted oak borer, and polyphagous
shot hole borer can occur via the
transport of infested wood. The same is
true for a multitude of other pests and
diseases that go unseen in tree bark and
wood, or incidentally hitch a ride on the
surface of firewood.
California joined the firewood
campaign in November 2010, when
the nonprofit California Forest Pest
Council passed a resolution leading to
the formation of the California Firewood
Task Force, a coalition of agencies,

organizations, and other stakeholders
working to protect the State’s urban and
wildland forests and natural environments

from invasive pests and diseases. The
principle Task Force goal is outreach and
education.

Throughout the nation, quarantines
have been established for specific pests
and some states have enacted laws restricting the movement of untreated firewood;
however, regulations and laws have their
limits. While most Californians value
the State’s trees and forests, they often
don’t understand threats to these resources
or recognize that their personal actions
can make a difference. Ultimately, the
challenge is to educate the public about
risks associated with firewood movement,
as the collective cooperation of the general
populace is our greatest hope for making a
difference.
With its wealth of diverse landscapes,
habitats, and species, California has much
to offer and much to lose. The story of
invasive pests and their potential impact
in new environments is a basic ecological lesson, one about which, arguably,
all Californians should know. To learn
more about the California Firewood Task
Force and the firewood issue, go to www.
firewood.ca.gov.

Habitat restoration workday at Antioch Dunes for Earth Day
By Peter Beesley, Pacific Gas & Electric Company

n April 20, Cal-IPC members
joined staff from Pacific Gas and
Electric and Company (PG&E) and the
US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS)
for a volunteer habitat restoration day on
PG&E property adjacent to the Antioch
Dunes National Wildlife Refuge. PG&E
is partnering with the USFWS to restore
habitat for three critically endangered
species—the Lange’s metalmark butterfly,
Contra Costa wallflower and Antioch
dunes evening primrose—found only on
PG&E property and the adjacent refuge
lands. The goal is to reduce the amount of
invasive plant cover through a voluntary
Safe Harbor Agreement. Cal-IPC volunteers focused on mechanically removing
invasive winter vetch, yellow starthistle,
tree-of-heaven, and Russian thistle to

Cal-IPC News Spring 2013

improve habitat for the protected species.
This is the second year that Cal-IPC has
helped organize volunteer habitat restoration days on
PG&E and
refuge lands.
Local Weed
Management
Areas,
California
State Parks,
and the
East Bay
Chapter of
the California
Native Plant
Society also
participated.
Read more

about the project at www.pgecorp.
com/corp_responsibility/reports/2010/
en_feature_02antioch.jsp.

Mendocino County stops northbound stinkwort
By Chuck Morse, Mendocino County Agricultural Commissioner

n October 2010, the Mendocino
County Department of Agriculture
was notified by a local weed warrior
and member of the Inland Mendocino
County WMA that they had found a
significant stinkwort (Dittrichia graveolens) infestation near Willits. This was our
first indication that stinkwort had arrived
in the county. We surveyed the immediate area and mobilized the next day to
hand-pull all the plants, enough to fill 34
garbage bags.

and extended maturation of this plant
necessitated three survey/treatment passes
per season to capture all the plants as they
matured. Many locations required extensive work beyond the road edge where the
stinkwort had infested larger waste areas
and road cuts associated with the highway.
Pioneer populations were hand-pulled by
the Ag Dept. or were treated by private
landowners after learning about this
invasive weed.

Last year, our crews once again went
on the hunt for stinkwort.
It was a pleasant surprise
to see a noticeable
decrease in the overall
population densities
compared to 2011. The
same protocol of repeated
survey and treatment was
employed in 2012. We
found that the months of
July, August, September,
and October constitute
the treatment window.
Any sooner and this
late-maturing plant is easStinkwort around a reservoir in Santa Clara County. Photo ily missed. Any later and
you’re into post-bloom/
by Eric Wylde.
mature seed territory.
We quickly surveyed our major highThis Asteraceae species sets mature seed
way corridors (Hwy 101 and Hwy 20).
very quickly after bloom, so dealing with
We found infestations along our southern
it pre-bloom is almost a necessity. In both
border with Sonoma County northward
2011 and 2012, the Ag Dept. spent over
to the town of Hopland, but fewer plants
200 man-hours/year on stinkwort. This
north of Hopland, and only a few lonely
represents a significant commitment and
pioneer populations north of Ukiah up
demonstrates how serious we are about
to nearly the Humboldt County line. We
realized that we were at a point where we
could possibly control the plant versus
having it overwhelm our ability to control
it. As the leading edge of the stinkwort
invasion heading north from the Bay
Area, we decided to try to stop its spread.
In late summer and fall of 2011, the
Ag Dept. went “all in” to stop the spread
and dramatically reduce the population
of stinkwort. Low speed highway-edge
survey and spot treatments were employed
to address any plants found. The late

Dittrichia graveolens. Photo by Bob
Case.
not allowing stinkwort to become established in Mendocino County. In 2013, we
will once again survey and treat stinkwort.
We are hoping for dramatic reductions in
population numbers after two full years of
the program, as we have done everything
within our means to prevent new seed
production.
Contact the author at morsec@
co.mendocino.ca.us. California Agriculture
published an article on the expansion of
stinkwort in its April-June 2013 issue,
available at californiaagriculture.ucanr.org/
archive.cfm.

Bags of removed stinkwort removed as part of “rapid response” effort in Mendocino
County. Photo by Chuck Morse.

Cal-IPC News Spring 2013

Cal-IPC adopts new membership structure for individuals and organizations

al-IPC’s membership is the foundation for the organization’s work.
Your expertise and commitment inform
all that we do. And your membership
dollars provide a vital component of our
annual budgt.
Starting in April, Cal-IPC instituted several changes to our membership
structure. These changes were considered
carefully by our staff and board of directors, and are intended to give Cal-IPC
the strong financial support it needs for
meeting its ambitious mission while
providing members with even better
access to information and advocacy.
Memberships are current for 12
months from renewal date. (Previously,
memberships were on a calendar year
basis).
Membership provides a registration discount to events, including the
Symposium. Symposium registration will

no longer include automatic membership
renewal. (You have the option to join or
renew with your registration.)
Joint memberships with SERCAL and
CNGA are no longer being offered. We
continue to strongly support their work,
but need to streamline our membership
administration.
Organizational Members receive
one, two three or four Professional-level
memberships for individuals within their
organization. They also receive recogintion in all issues of this newsletter for 12
months, ranging from a listing by name
up to a quarter-page ad.
For online information on membership, please see www.cal-ipc.about.
membership. Please let us know if you
have any questions or concerns by emailing us info@cal-ipc.org. Thank you for
your work, your ethic of stewardship, and
your support of Cal-IPC!

Individual Membership:
Stewardship Circle
Champion
Partner
Professional
Friend
Student

$1000
$ 500
$ 250
$ 100
$ 50
$ 25

Organizational Membership:
Benefactor
Patron
Sustainer
Supporter

$2000
$1000
$ 500
$ 250

Spring Campaign for Climate
Adaptation a success!

hanks to generous contributions from individuals and
organizations, Cal-IPC met its goal of raising $30,000 this
spring for our work on climate adaptation!
Cal-IPC’s climatic suitability modeling helps predict which
invasive plant species are most to likely to expand dramatically
with a warmer climate. We need to be strategic about investing
our resources in addressing invasives on the ground so we get
the greatest conservation benefit, and this analysis helps us be
“climate-smart” in our approach.
Wildlife agencies at the state and federal levels are working
to determine ways to give wildlife the best chances of adapting
to new conditions. California’s Wildlife Action Plan is being
revised with ambitious goals. Stressors for each regional habitat
type are assessed (including their interactions with climate
change) followed by strategies to address those stressors. Cal-IPC
is being funded by the Wildlife Conservation Board to take the
first cut at assessing invasive plant impacts for regional habitats
and generating project specifications that will provide sustainable
conservation benefit. Your support from our Spring Campaign is a
critical complement to this public funding. Thank you!

Bull thistle (Cirsium vulgare) at Tioga Pass in the
Sierra, an example of invasive plants moving to higher
elevations. Photo by Bob Case.

Cal-IPC News Spring 2013

Thank You for Supporting our Work!
New Stewardship Circle Members:
Alicia Funk, Nevada City
Julia Kelety, San Diego
Spring Campaign Donors:
Mark Abramson, Paul Aigner, Edith
Allen, Greg and Connie Archbald,
Richard Arnold, Stephen Batchelder,
Louise Beesley, Chris and Megan Beynon,
Douglas Brannon, Ann Brenner, Bob
Brenton, Norm and Marcia Brockbank,
Sheilagh and Bob Broderson, Josh
Brody, Wendy Butts, Jason Casanova,
Mike and Patrice Chamberlain, Sarah
Chaney, David Chang, Nona Chariello,
Rebecca Coffman, Philippe Cohen,
Sarah Connick, Helen Conway, Ellen

Organizational Members

Cypher, Glen Dake, Sandy DeSimone,
Joanne Drummond, Ed Duarte, Michael
Erhenzweig, Pat Ferguson, Lynne and
Rick Frame-Hoskins, Pamela Frost,
Valerie Funk Taunton, Holly Gellerman,
Gary Gero, Marilyn Goldhaber, Lindsay
Goodwin, Phil Greer, Mary Gutekanst,
Kim Hayes, Julie Horenstein, Ann
Howald, Sue Hubbard, Bob Huttar,
Nelroy Jackson, Richard James, Wendy
James, Kathleen Kay, Beth Keer, Daniel
Kellog, Jo Kitz, Larry Klaasen, Daniel
Knapp, John Knapp, Marla Knight, Beth
Koh, Elwood Lentz, John and Sylvia
Leslie, Jackie Lindgren, David Long, J
Lopez, Cheryl Macpherson, Mischon
Martin, Susan Mason, Jack McCabe,
Chris McDonald, Betsy McFarlin, Tanya

Meyer, Sarah Miggins, Mary Millman,
Joe and Erica Mitchner, Michael Mooney,
Dorsey Moore, Mark Nechodom, Bill
Neill, Diane Nygaard, David O’Connor,
Kevin Oday, John Pacheco, Chris
Parry, Sarah Pierce, Elizabeth Proctor,
Janice Ramsey, Lowell and Diane
Robertson, Jack Sahl, Steve Schoenig,
Jean Schuyler, Carolyn Sechrist, Erika
Seid, Deborah Shaw, Dan Silver, Bobbi
Simpson, Meghan Skaer, Lincoln Smith,
Christopher Solek, Joe St. John, Nancy
Steele, Kate Symonds, Mike and Cristy
Taylor, Don Thomas, Arnie Thompson,
Ann VanLeer, Ellen Watrous, Kathy
Welch, Wendy West, Sue Wickham,
Margaret Willits, Steve Windhager, David
Williams, Paul Ziemann.

City of Walnut Creek

Sweetwater Authority

County of Lake Agricultural
Commissioner’s Office

The Huntington Library

DriWater, Inc.
Dudek and Habitat Restoration
Sciences, Inc. (HRS)

US Fish and Wildlife Service
– Inventory and Monitoring
Program

Forester’s Co-Op

USDA Forest Service

The Nature Conservancy

Habitat West, Inc.
Hedgerow Farms
Inyo County Water Department
National Park Service – California
Exotic Plant Management Team
Pacific Gas and Electric Company
ACS Habitat Management
California Association of Local
Conservation Corps
California Native Grasslands
Association
California Native Plant Society
California Weed Science Society
Center for Natural Lands
Management

RECON Environmental /
RECON Native Plants, Inc.
Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation
Santa Ana Watershed Association
SERCAL
Shelterbelt Builders, Inc.
Sierra Foothill Conservancy
Southern California Mountains
Foundation

Weed Wrench, 1st place in the 2012
Photo Contest, by William Welsch.
See our website for photo contest
details. You do not need to attend
the Symposium to enter!

Cal-IPC News Spring 2013

Non-Profit Org.
U.S. Postage
PAID
Berkeley, CA
Permit No. 1435

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

2013 Symposium
registration is open!
Check your membership
status…

The WILDLAND WEED CALENDAR
UC Davis Weed Day
July 11
UC Davis
wric.ucdavis.edu/events/weed_day_2013.htm

Conference on Marine Bioinvasions
August 20-22
Vancouver, BC
www.icmb.info

Central CA Invasive Weed Symposium
November 7
Paicines
cciws2013.eventbrite.com

Planning and Implementing Sustainable
IPM Programs
August 11-24
Corvallis, OR
oregonstate.edu/conferences/event/ipmplanning

CNPS Rapid Vegetation Assessment
September 3-5
In the Sierras
www.cnps.org/cnps/education/workshops

Northern California Botanists
January 13-15, 2014
Chico
www.norcalbotanists.org

Cal-IPC Symposium
October 2-5
Lake Arrowhead
www.cal-ipc.org/symposia

Western Society of Weed Science
March 10-13, 2014
Colorado Spring, CO
www.wsweedscience.org

“Global warming and biological invasions are two major agents of the global
changes affecting our planet; these human-induced phenomena often work in
synergy to contribute to the ongoing decline of biological diversity.”

– from “Wildlife in a Changing Climate,” Food & Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations, 2012, p.51, www.fao.org/forestry