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

Vol. 15, No. 3

Fall 2007

Quarterly Newsletter of the California Invasive Plant Council

Pulling
for 16
PullingTogether
Together
Years
for 16 Years!

“‘Hey, if the weight
of one
guy pulling
won’t work, why
Restoration
volunteers
removing
Portuguese
not try two?’
GGNRA
restoration
volunteers
removing
broom
(Cytisus
striatus)
in Golden
Gate National
Portuguese broom
(Cytisus
striatus).”
Place
Recreation
Area, the
birthplace
of the1st
weed
wrench.
winner
of thebyAnnual
Cal-IPC Symposium
This
photo,
Greg Archbald,
was voted 1stPhoto
place
Exhibit.favorite
Photo of
bythe
Greg
Archbald.
crowd
Photo
Contest at the recent
Cal-IPC Symposium in San Diego. More contest
photos on page 8.

Inside:
Ravennagrass……………………………………………
blah
blah…………………………………………………. 4
blah…………………………………………………………
Symposium
in San Diego……………………………. 6
blah………………………………………………………..12
International
weed conference in Australia……. 9
blah………………………………………………………..14
Human
dimension of weed work………………….10
blah………………………………………………………..19
Weed
funding outside the box…………………….12

From the Director’s Desk
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
Cora Puliatch, Outreach Coordinator
cnpuliatch@cal-ipc.org
Bertha McKinley, Office Manager
bmckinley@cal-ipc.org
DIRECTORS
Dan Gluesenkamp, President (2007)
Audubon Canyon Ranch
Mark Newhouser, Vice President (2007)
Sonoma Ecology Center
Wendy West, Secretary (2007)
U.C. Cooperative Extension
Jennifer Erskine Ogden, Treasurer (2007)
U.C. Davis
Steve Schoenig, Past President (2007)
California Dept. of Food & Agriculture
Jason Casanova (2008)
Los Angeles/San Gabriel Rivers Watershed Council
David Chang (2008)
Santa Barbara Agricultural Commissioner’s Office
Joanna Clines (2008)
Sierra National Forest

Generation Wild
At the Symposium in San Diego, Catalyst Award winner Dick Zembal observed that the
youthfulness of the crowd was good sign for the future of our work. I have to agree.
Dick received the award for his years of initiative in securing funding to address arundo
through the Santa Ana Watershed Association. Because of such work, major public funds
are now being leveraged to control arundo, and Cal-IPC has a major state grant to map the
weed over a sizable portion of the state. For longtime weed workers like Dick and Nelroy
Jackson, recipient of the 2007 Jake Sigg Award for Vision and Service, one of the best
rewards for their years of dedication is seeing a fresh wave of folks coming on board.
Young people have every reason to be drawn to this work. Restoration is one of the best
ways to reinforce our connection to the land, requiring in-depth learning about ecological
dynamics and active, positive participation in those dynamics. Cal-IPC aims to engage more
young people through several efforts. For starters, we offered discounted registration for
students and volunteers at this year’s Symposium. For next year, we are considering a range
of special events for students, restoration volunteers, and young professionals.
To date, our Wildland Weed Field Courses have focused on training professionals,
but we plan make them more accessible for restoration volunteers. Grant support recently
received from the JiJi Foundation will enable us to offer discounted rates for volunteer
stewards at 2008 courses. We also hope to offer field courses in partnership with local
conservation corps to provide work training for young people.
To support innovative work by students and practitioners, we are seeking funds to
provide competitive mini-grants. This will give us a way to promote research on high
priority topics identified in the research needs assessment being undertaken through UC
Davis, CDFA and Cal-IPC while supporting those with a strong interest in the field.
These are all aspects of keeping our work vital, of making sure it grows stronger in the
future. Ultimately, we can cultivate a Generation Wild that cares for wildlands as a part of
its basic responsibility to nature and society.

Bob Case (2008)
California Native Plant Society
Chris Christofferson (2007)
Plumas National Forest
Doug Gibson (2008)
San Elijo Lagoon Conservancy
Jason Giessow (2008)
Santa Margarita/San Luis Rey Weed Management Area
John Knapp (2007)
Catalina Island Conservancy
Marla Knight (2007)
Klamath National Forest
Tanya Meyer (2007)
Yolo County Resource Conservation District
Brianna Richardson (2007)
Montgomery Law Group, LLP
Bruce Saito (2008)
Los Angeles Conservation Corps
Affiliations for identification purposes only.
Last year of term noted.

Cal-IPC News

Fall 2007 – Volume 15, Number 3
Editors: Doug Johnson, Elizabeth Brusati, Cora Puliatch
Cal-IPC News is published quarterly by the California Invasive
Plant Council. Articles may be reprinted with permission from
the editor. Submissions are welcome. Mention of commercial
products does not imply endorsement by Cal-IPC. We reserve
the right to edit all work.

Cal-IPC News Fall 2007

“We hate purple starthistle!” Future weed warriors in hot pursuit of that annoying menace, Centaurea calcitrapa. Photo by Rich Atmore of Wildscape Restoration, from the photo
exhibit at the 2007 Cal-IPC Symposium.

Wildland Weed NewsNewsNewsNewsNews
CDFA has awarded $1.2 million to 28
Weed Management Areas in the state for
60 projects. This year’s requests totalled
$1.8 million and were limited to WMAs not
funded last year. sschoenig@cdfa.ca.gov
The California Association of Nurseries and
Garden Centers contributed $15,000 to
UC Davis to develop a genetic library of
pampasgrass. This has been identified as
an important step in stopping the introduction of invasive Cortaderia species through
horticulture.
The endangered El Segundo Blue butterfly
has reappeared at two L.A. area beaches
where it has not been seen in decades. The
return is attributed to the removal of invasive iceplant and the replanting of native
vegetation, including the butterfly’s food
plant, buckwheat. Los Angeles Times, 7/8/07.

Cal-IPC Updates…
Annual Inventory update…
Now is your chance to submit new
information on plants for the California
Invasive Plant Inventory. Send to
edbrusati@cal-ipc.org, and the review
committee will update the list based on your
input. Deadline is December 1.
Renew your membership!
Check the mailing label on this newsletter
to see if your membership expires Dec. 31.
We send renewal notices in January, but it
saves us time if you renew early. Use our
convenient online system by clicking the
Quicklink for “Join, Renew or Donate.”
One-stop shop for weed info…
If you have not seen it yet, check out the
Plant Profiles section on our website.
For each invasive plant in the Cal-IPC
Inventory, a page has been created that links
to the top information from books, articles,
and websites.
New Aquatic weed brochure!
The new Aquatic “Don’t Plant a Pest!”
brochure is perfect for outreach to water
gardeners, and is available free of charge.
Help us distribute them! View and order the
brochure on our website.

Sen. Reid (NV) introduced S. 1949, the
100th Meridian Invasive Species State
Revolving Loan Fund, authorizing $410
million over 5 years for invasive species
control in western states. http://weblogs.nal.
usda.gov/invasivespecies
Citing a lack of prohibitions against planting invasive ornamentals such as pampasgrass, the Encinitas city council voted in
June to revisit a 2002 recommendation to
ban non-native plants on city property
and require new residential and commercial developments to avoid using them.
San Diego Union Tribune, 7/5/07.
Researchers at Princeton University have developed an interactive web portal to collect
data from weed workers on infestations
continued page 17…

PlantRight campaign needs you…
This winter, Weed Management Areas and
other groups are asked to contact local
nurseries about PlantRight. Next spring, our
speakers bureau will be spreading the word
to garden clubs throughout the state. See
article page 13.
$500 prize for reporting weed success…
UCSC graduate student Pete Holloran is
researching the best ways to communicate
success in weed projects. His Goldilocks
Challenge offers $500 for the most
compelling documentation of weed project
success. Details page 11.
Weed maps now online!
The state’s Weed Management Areas
contributed valuable data on weed
abundance and spread through a recent
survey, and the resulting statewide maps for
36 weeds are on our website.
2008 Field Course schedule…
Our projected schedule for field courses
throughout the state is on page 19. Along
with courses on control techniques, we
will be offering new courses on weed
identification, revegetation, and weed
mapping.

Cal-IPC Endowment created
Thanks to contributions from two donors
(one southern Californian, one northern),
Cal-IPC has established an endowment at
the Marin Community Foundation. Interest
earned from the endowment supports CalIPC’s operating expenses, while the principal remains to support our work over the
long term. If you can help grow the endowment through a legacy gift, please consider
including Cal-IPC in your will or other
estate planning. Contact Executive Director
Doug Johnson if you need any information.
Considering an end-of-the-year donation
to Cal-IPC? We will split general contributions among operational expenses, a reserve
fund, and the endowment in portions
decided by the Cal-IPC Board of Directors.

WMA webpages…
Cal-IPC created webpages on invasive plants
for the Sacramento River Watershed Project,
including profiles of fifteen WMAs in the
region with project descriptions, outreach
materials, and contact info. See srwp.org.
Japanese dodder brochure…
Contra Costa and Alameda counties are
among the most infested with Cuscuta
japonica (see Cal-IPC News Summer 2006),
and the local group Friends of Five Creeks
spearheaded production of a brochure in
four languages urging citizens to report
sightings. Contact us at info@cal-ipc.org for
free copies to distribute, and see dodder.org.
Missed the Symposium?
Presentations and working group notes are
available on our website. Photos from the
event are on page 6 of this newsletter.
Thank you to…
Dale Smith, for donating professional
design expertise toward our proceedings,
exhibit panels, and new membership
brochure in the works.

www.cal-ipc.org
find it all there

Cal-IPC News Fall 2007

Weed Alert!

Ravennagrass: A major wildland weed along Cache Creek
Craig Thomsen, UC Davis, Dept. of Plant Sciences, and Upper Cache (Bear Creek) Watershed Coordinator
Tanya Meyer, Yolo County Resource Conservation District, and Lower Cache Creek Watershed Coordinator
This article is modified from an earlier version
printed in two Yolo County newspapers, the
Davis Enterprise and Daily Democrat,
March, 2007.

A

n important riparian corridor in California is under assault by yet another
wildland weed. Ravennagrass (Saccharum
ravennae) is invading the Cache Creek watershed in Colusa, Lake and Yolo counties.
The main stem of Cache Creek
flows for 81 miles, extending east from
Clear Lake to the Central Valley. It also
contains a north fork that flows out of the
Indian Valley Reservoir from eastern Lake
County. Historically, the creek flowed
into the Sacramento River, but it now
ends just north of the town of Woodland
in the Cache Creek settling basin, and is
connected to the Sacramento River through
an overflow channel in the Yolo Bypass.
Cache Creek is an ecologically significant
watercourse that forms a vital biological link
between California’s Inner Coast Ranges
and the Sacramento River. It has many
splendid riparian features, including a large
wintering population of bald eagles, and it
is an important corridor for neo-tropical
migratory birds.

Inflorescence. Photo by Tanya Meyer.

Cal-IPC News Fall 2007

Dense, villous hairs occur on ravennagrass
along the lower leaf blades. Photo by Joe
DiTomaso.
Ravennagrass, now widespread along
Cache Creek, is one of the largest exotic
grasses in the state, with leaves up to 20 mm
wide, tussocks reaching nearly 2 meters, and
flowering stalks sometimes 4 meters tall. It
is a warm season, summer flowering species
with a large plume-like inflorescence.
Sometimes referred to as hardy
pampasgrass, ravennagrass does resemble
female pampasgrass (Cortaderia selloana)
with its large tufts and showy flowers.
However, ravennagrass is more closely
related to sugarcane, and belongs to the
same genus, Saccharum, Latin for sugar. The
name (pronounced ra-VEN-ah) comes from
Ravenna, Italy, in the northeastern part of
the country near the Adriatic Sea.
Since ravennagrass is often misidentified
as pampasgrass, it is important to
recognize key diagnostic traits. A vegetative
characteristic that is useful for distinguishing
ravennagrass from pampasgrass in the field
are the dense, villous (long, soft) hairs that

occur on ravennagrass along the lower
leaf blades, whereas only a fringe of hairs
is found on pampasgrass as part of the
ligule. Full descriptions of ravennagrass and
pampasgrass can be found on the website of
the Kew Royal Botanic Gardens (www.kew.
org/data/grasses-db/www/imp09056.htm)
and in Weeds of California and other Western
States (DiTomaso and Healy, 2007).
In the Cache Creek watershed,
ravennagrass occupies riparian sites similar
to those inhabited by two other wellknown invasive plants, tamarisk (Tamarix
parviflora) and giant reed (Arundo donax),
which are also quite prevalent in the
watershed, but has also moved into upland
areas such as roadsides, cut-banks, and
moist, steep canyon slopes. Individual plants
produce thousands of seeds that disperse by
both wind and water.
While no formal studies have been
conducted yet on the effects of ravennagrass
on the Cache Creek ecosystem, field
observations indicate that these enormous
plants are having a pronounced influence

Seeds. Photo by Jon O’Brian, UC Davis.
on the creek’s native plant communities.
Extensive stands have developed along miles
of the creek, altering natural succession
processes and riparian plant community
structure.

Distribution
Ravennagrass is widespread in the Old
World, where it is native throughout Eurasia
and northern Africa. In North America, it is
reported as having escaped from cultivation

in 12 states (DiTomaso and Healy, 2007).
field surveys along the north fork of Cache
wildland plant. For example, Andrew
Based on searches at the UC Davis
Creek. It has not yet been observed along
Sanders, curator of the UC Riverside
Center for Plant Diversity Herbarium, and
Bear Creek, a 39-mile tributary of Cache
Herbarium, noted that “the plant is
the web-based Consortium for California
Creek, but several plants were recently
common to abundant in wet places along
Herbaria, ravennagrass has been observed
documented in Colusa County in a canyon
the Coachella Canal in Imperial Count
or collected in at least seven California
drainage that feeds into Bear Creek.
and that there is a lot of it in the vicinity of
counties: Colusa, Fresno, Imperial, Napa,
The late Jan Lowrey, a life-long resident
Frink Springs.”
Sutter, Lake, and Yolo, where it is typically
of Rumsey and former director of the Cache
Although we have limited information
found on moist sites such as canals,
Creek Conservancy, noted that it appeared
about its invasive behavior outside of
reservoirs, seeps and riparian areas.
in abundance along lower Cache Creek
California in the other 11 states where
The first
it has escaped from
herbarium record
cultivation, Chris
for ravennagrass in
Hise of The Nature
California is from P.
Conservancy reported
B. Kennedy in 1918
on a “significant
from “roadsides, near
infestation” that occurs
Fresno.” Collections
along the Canadian
from Imperial
River floodplain in
County date back
western Oklahoma
to 1948, and there
within their Four
are numerous other
Canyon Preserve,
locations there where
and has observed
it has since been
this plant along the
documented. Given
length of the river
these early dates of
for several hundred
introduction and more
miles, from central
recent rapid spread
Oklahoma west into
along Cache Creek,
the Texas Panhandle
one might wonder
(Jeff Firestone, pers.
why this species has
comm.). Additionally,
not become more
it was spreading in
abundant statewide.
the Grand Canyon
Dr. Marcel Rejmanek,
although it appears
Ravennagrass spreading along Cache Creek. Photo by Craig Thomsen.
UC Davis invasive
that control efforts
plant specialist,
have greatly reduced
suggests that aggressive genotypes may have
after an intense flood in 1995. Ravennagrass infestations (see below).
come later and may be responsible for the
appears in all of the Yolo County parks
recent incursions.
along Cache Creek and also grows at the
Control
Ravennagrass has been used as an
remote Lake Davis reservoir on Davis
Ravennagrass occurs on the weed
ornamental in the United States for
Creek, a small tributary to Cache Creek.
lists of several Southwestern states, and is
decades and joins the ever-growing list of
John Watson, vegetation manager with the
mentioned as a horticultural plant to avoid,
plants that were purposefully introduced
Cache Creek Conservancy, suspected that
but comprehensive control information is
into landscape settings and later escaped,
this weed might also occur within the Cache lacking. There is much to be learned about
becoming major weeds. Web sites that sell
Creek settling basin, a short distance from
this plant including size and duration of
this plant (a Google search turned up almost the Sacramento River. Reconnaissance visits
the seed bank, optimal control methods,
700 sites where one can purchase the weed)
with him to the basin confirmed this; ten
and how fast it may re-colonize sites
show that it is widely promoted by the
plants were observed scattered along several
after treatment. UC Davis weed control
nursery trade for its size, plume-like flowers, miles of the Cache Creek corridor and a
specialists Dr. Joe DiTomaso and Guy
vigorous growth, tolerance to harsh sites,
secondary channel.
Kyser are planning to answer some of these
and resistance to disease. Of course, some of
Thankfully, ravennagrass still has a
questions through future research.
those same qualities are the very traits that
limited distribution in the state and was
In Arizona, ravennagrass has been
make it an invasive weed.
recently rated by Cal-IPC as “Moderatesubject to control efforts in the Grand
The original source of ravennagrass
Alert” (Cal-IPC News, Spring/Summer
Canyon, where it was discovered in the
along Cache Creek was the upper watershed 2007). Based on its behavior along Cache
early 1990s. Since then, National Park
in Lake County. Gregg Mangan, Cache
Creek and invasive history elsewhere,
Service staff and volunteers have reportedly
Creek Natural Area manager at the Bureau
it appears to have potential to move
grubbed out over 25,000 plants, and it is
of Land Management’s Ukiah office, recalls
well beyond Cache Creek and flourish
seeing this plant in the early 1990s during
throughout the state as a troublesome
continued on page 16

Cal-IPC News Fall 2007

2007 Symposium in San Diego

…and the Field Course

Above: Mark Newhouser demonstrates his arundo hook at the Control Techniques
Discussion Group led by Mike Kelly and Joe DiTomaso under the fancy skylight
on the William D. Evans sternwheeler. Above right: Bob Case leads a Laws &
Regs session skit
on proper herbicide use, aided by
demonstrations by
Johnny Sprayright
(John Knapp) and
not-so-swift Jed
(Chris Christofferson).
Above left: Cal-IPC
board members Jason Casanova (left)
Chris Christofferson
(right) sell raffle
tickets to eager attendees.
At left, from left:
Cal-IPC board
members Wendy
West (Secretary)
and Dan Gluesenkamp (President)
and board member-elect Beth Keer
enjoy the social
hour.

Cal-IPC News Fall 2007

Sixty weed mappers attended Cal-IPC’s
Wildland Weed Mapping Field Course at
Mission Trails Regional Park the day before
the Symposium. At top, Jason Giessow
describes a procedure using a tablet PC; at
bottom, John Knapp explains a Trimble GPS
unit.

Awards

Above left: Doug Johnson, Cal-IPC’s executive director, presents the Golden Weed
Wrench Award for Land Manager of the Year to Bruce Delgado, BLM Botanist at Fort
Ord in Monterey. Bruce proceeded to sing about all the legged frogs. Above right:
From left, Kim O’Connor of Navy Region Southwest, Vanessa Sippel of Fallbrook
Weapon Detachment, and Dawn Lawson of Camp Pendleton accept the new Wildland
Weed Management Organization of the Year Award on behalf of Dept. of Defense land
management units in southern California. (Also present but not pictured: Deborah Bieber
of Camp Pendleton, and JoEllen Kassebaum of Marine Corps Air Station Miramar.) Left:
Nelroy Jackson, retired from Monsanto, received the Jake Sigg Award for Vision and
Service. Nelroy helped found Cal-IPC and has been a central figure in organizing national
coordination efforts, federal policy, and international research conferences. Richard
Zembal of the Santa Ana Watershed Association received the Catalyst Award for years
of work promoting funding for arundo control, and Robert Falconer of the California
Association of Nurseries & Garden Centers received the Policy Award for his leadership in
working to prevent horticultural introduction of invasive plants.

Pete Holloran hands a $500 check to Cal-IPC Office
Manager Bertha McKinley, prize money for the Goldilocks
Challenge (see page 11).

Mike Kelly of Los Penasquitos Canyon Preserve demonstrates his drilling
technique for herbicide treatment of invasive palm species during the Torrey Pines field trip.

See you next year in Chico!
Mark your calendars for Oct. 2-4, 2008
Cal-IPC News Fall 2007

2007
Photo
Exhibit
Thirty-eight entries were featured in this
year’s photo exhibit. Symposium attendees
voted for their favorites, and these were
the top picks. See this issue’s cover for
the first place photo!

3rd Place: “Dangerous Beauty” Musk thistle (Carduus
nutans), Verdi, NV. Eric Wylde, Santa Clara County Division
of Agriculture.

4th Place: Castor Bean 2, The Movie …this time, it’s personal…
Phillip Roullard and Callie Mack.

Cal-IPC News Fall 2007

2nd Place: Majors Creek, Santa Cruz: 2% Round-Up Pro
being applied to pampasgrass. Jacob Bentley, California
State Parks.

Conference Report

“Weedos” in a Land Down Under
A report on EMAPi9 by Gina Darin, UC Davis

control in National Parks in South Africa. Concerns over biofuels,
climate change, and implications for weed risk assessment emerged
as themes during many question and answer sessions.
Several presentations were relevant to California. Sarah
Reichard, University of Washington, introduced everyone to
Cal-HIP (Horticulture Invasives Prevention) in her presentation,
“Can Voluntary Codes of Conduct Prevent Plant Invasions?”
Steve Schoenig presented CDFA’s noxious weed eradication
program and included information on Weed Management Areas.
Janet Leak-Garcia talked about the genetics of artichoke thistle.
I gave a presentation on prioritizing noxious weed populations
for eradication. Randy Westbrooks, USDA-APHIS, inspired
conference-goers and started an international working group on
early detection and rapid response.
The most inspiring talk of the conference was the presentation
by Kate Blood, Department of Primary Industries, on the Weed
Spotters of Victoria, Australia. Weed Spotters are people who assist
the Victorian Government by keeping an eye open for and report
potential, new or emerging weeds to the state. Weed Spotters are
asked to be observant during their day-to-day activities and look out
for a number of serious weeds in Victoria. This program has had
amazing results.
On the final day of the EMAPi9 conference, my husband and
I joined the field trip to Rottnest Island, so named for the Dutch

Just over 200 researchers, land managers, government
representatives and students representing 27 nations from around
the world met in Perth, Western Australia this past September for
the ninth international conference on the Ecology and Management
of Alien Plant Invasions (EMAPi9) and the second international
Weed Risk Assessment Workshop (WRA2). California delegates, all
of whom are Cal-IPC members who
missed the Symposium in San Diego
(for shame!), included Carla Bossard,
St. Mary’s College of California; Steve
Schoenig, CA Dept. of Food and
Agriculture; Janet Leak-Garcia, UC
Riverside; and Gina Darin, UC Davis.
Program session topics ranged
Weeds “Down Under”: fertile capeweed
from the biology and ecology
carpets King’s Park. Photo by Gina Darin.
of invasive plants to policy and
management, and focused mainly on
word for “rat’s nest.” The first sailors to visit
environmental weed issues.
thought the island was infested with large, hopping
“In addition to the normal
rats, which turned out to be small wallabies called
networking opportunities created at
quokkas. Unfortunately, the name stuck. On the
an international meeting, we hope
island, we saw native vegetation along with weeds,
this conference in Perth leads to a
restoration sites, gorgeous vistas looking out into
greater understanding of how we deal
the Indian Ocean and many, many quokkas.
Native kangaroo paw in King’s Park—
with invasive plants ‘Down Under,’
EMAPi conference abstracts may be found
wildflower season! Photo by Gina Darin.
and that delegates can take some
on
the
Web at www.lboro.ac.uk/research/cens/
useful techniques back home,” said
invasives/index.htm.
The presentations from
Sandy Lloyde, Western Australia Dept. of Agriculture and President
WRA2
are
now
posted
at
www.hear.org/iwraw.
The next EMAPi
of the EMAPi9 organizing committee. Three presentations that
conference,
EMAPi10,
will
be
held
in
Stellenbosch,
South Africa,
demonstrate the diversity of topics covered were (1) reproductive
August
24-28,
2009.
thresholds of milkweeds (or cottonbush, as they say in Queensland),
(2) asset-based and outcome-driven approaches to weed
management on public land in Australia, and (3) invasive weed

Cal-IPC News Fall 2007

The Human
Dimension in
Weed Work

Invited sessions at this year’s Symposium addressed the human dimension of invasive plant
management; from building coalitions that forge effective, non-traditional partnerships to
analyses of public responses to restoration activities, topics engaged audiences and provoked
thoughtful discussion. Presentations are now available at www.cal-ipc.org, and proceedings
are forthcoming. Captions are by Pete Holloran, UC Santa Cruz, who co-chaired the sessions with Sharon Farrell of the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy.

Kim Delfino of the Defenders of Wildlife and Kevin
Kester of the California Cattlemen’s Association walk the
halls of Congress on behalf of the California Rangeland
Conservation Coalition. Among their aims: conservation
easements protecting 1 million acres of Central Valley
grasslands. In her Cal-IPC talk, Delfino emphasized the
importance of communication. “We agree on 95% of the
issues,” she said, “and don’t let the other 5% of the issues
take up 100% of our time.” Photo by Defenders of Wildlife.

California Indian basket weavers rely on native plant
materials gathered from managed landscapes throughout
California. In her Cal-IPC talk on cultural issues in weed
work, Shannon Brawley of the Cache Creek Conservancy
described the diversity of opinions within the California Indian community about the positive and negative
impacts of invasive plant management. Like the other
two talks during the theme session on coalition building,
Brawley’s emphasized the importance of open and patient
communication in building trust among people who may
disagree about tactics. At left, weaver Deb McConnell
(Hupa/Yurok/Quinalt) creates a cooking basket from
hazel and spruce. Photo by Jennifer Kalt.

The California Horticultural Invasives Prevention (Cal-HIP) steering committee visits Marin Water District to see first-hand the impacts
caused by a few invasive plants with origins in the horticultural trade. Betsy Peterson of the California State Floral Association and the
California Seed Association, in her Cal-IPC talk on the project, described how these field trips—which have also included visits to botanical
gardens, wholesale nurseries, and seed production facilities—cultivate trust, camaraderie and a better understanding of the issues faced by
each stakeholder group. PlantRight’s public outreach phase will be launched in spring 2008 (see page 13). Photo by Sustainable Conservation.

10

Cal-IPC News Fall 2007

The serpentine cliffs near the Golden Gate Bridge witnessed dramatic change recently as part of a major restoration effort undertaken by
the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and its partners (site before the project shown in left photo; the same scene after the project
shown at right). In her Cal-IPC talk on increasing public engagement, Sharon Farrell (Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy) described
how her Public Information Coordinators interacted directly with more than 6,000 park visitors over the last two years at six different
project sites. Because public concerns were addressed through this outreach effort, project activities were able to proceed without being
confronted by public outcry, despite the massive scale of operations. Photos by GGNPC.
In his Cal-IPC talk on strategic interactions across property
boundaries, Mark Buckley of Environmental Incentives
shared results of a recent survey in which farmers along the
Sacramento River reported that they expect the costs of
nearby restoration activities will outweigh the benefits to
their farming operations. For instance, 8% believed that their
land would benefit from having more pollinators around,
while 48% responded that restoration efforts would increase
weeds on their land. (The graph at right shows the average
percentage of responses agreeing with a range of benefits and
a range of costs). Buckley reminded us that a “good neighbor”
policy sometimes involves listening to and acting upon the
expectations of neighboring landowners, even when they differ
from our own. Graph by Mark Buckley.

The Goldilocks Challenge: $500 prize to best entry
Measuring performance is all the rage, and for good
reason. Quantification allows decision makers to weigh the
costs and benefits of complex issues. But which performance
measures tell our stories most effectively?
Pete Holloran, whose Cal-IPC talk addressed performance
measures for weed eradication projects, is offering a $500.00
cash award for the best concise summary of an organization’s
invasive plant management performance. Entries will help
define the current state of performance measures in our
community and provide good examples for us all.
Send entries to peteh@ucsc.edu by December 1, 2007.
Entries must be no longer than two pages and contain

real data across several years. You should clearly specify
management objectives, focus on outcomes rather than
outputs, and include information about cost or effort.
We are calling this the “Goldilocks Challenge” because
the summary should contain just the right amount of
information—not too much and not too little.
So tap into your competitive spirit and send in your
own recommended performance measures for weed work!
We will all be the better for it, and one of you will be the
richer for it.

Cal-IPC News Fall 2007

11

Funding outside the box
By Laurel Brandt, Cal-IPC and UC Santa Barbara

A

sources for invasive plant projects from
DWR Integrated Regional Water
the State of California: the Department of
Management Program
Water Resources Integrated Regional Water
Projects funded by the Department of
Management
Water Resources Integrated
Program and
Regional Water Management
the Wildlife
Ways that weeds use water
Program (IRWM) must
Conservation
work to protect communities
Board habitat
Yellow starthistle
from drought, reduce local
conservation
• Yellow starthistle (YST) has
dependence on imported
programs.
deeper root systems than
water, or improve local water
most annual grassland plants,
quality. Not surprisingly,
allowing it to capture moisture
arundo and tamarisk are
from lower in the soil profile.
common targets for control,
Previously funded projects
as their removal may increase
• Invasion of deep soil sites by
surface water flow, improve
YST results in soil moisture
Dept. of Water Resources IRWM
groundwater percolation, and
3
loss of about 1200 m /ha/
prevent obstruction of flood
year. In shallow soil sites, soil
• Removal and monitoring of tamarisk, arundo and
control channels. Other
moisture loss is lower: 1050
Russian olive in the Mojave River floodplain area,
weeds may also be targeted.
3
m /ha/year. In the Sacramento
conserving 500 acre-feet of water per year. www.
For example, IRWM funded
River watershed, water loss
mojavewater.org. Contact: Michael Limbaugh, Mojave
the Humboldt County Fish
according to these estimates
Water Agency, mlimbaugh@mojavewater.org, (760)
Friendly Farming Program
would equal approximately
946-7023.
to remove English ivy, big
46,000 acre-feet (15 billion
• Removal of 24 net acres of arundo in San Gabriel
periwinkle, and arundo, and
gallons) per year (Gerlach
Valley riparian areas, increasing surface water flow,
revegetate with native plants
2004).
improving groundwater percolation, and preventing
to control sediment loads in
obstruction of flood control channels. www.ladpw.
Arundo donax
streams. The IRWM grant
org/wmd/irwmp. Contact: Hector J. Bordas, Los
program may fund planning
• Arundo colonizes moist places
Angeles County Flood Control District, hbordas@
projects in addition to onlike riparian areas, floodplains
dpw.lacounty.gov, (626) 458-5947.
the-ground control work.
and ditches. Arundo invasions
The most important
• Planning and preparation of regulatory permits
increase flooding and siltation
requirement
of the IRWM
and CEQA documents for a regional Arundo and
in natural riparian areas
grant
program
is that only
Tamarisk removal project in the Calleguas Creek
(DiTomaso and Healy 2007).
projects that are part of
Watershed, Ventura County. www.watershedscoalition.
• The amount of water used by
a regional IRWM plan
org. Contact: Susan Hughes, Ventura County
arundo is about three times
are eligible for funding.
Executive Office, susan.hughes@ventura.org, (805)
that used by native vegetation.
You must join an IRWM
654-3836.
Large infestations of arundo
regional partnership in
can significantly increase
order to become involved
Wildlife Conservation Board
water loss from underground
in planning a proposal. To
aquifers. This can be very
• Removal of tamarisk, eucalyptus, acacia, myoporum,
find out about an IRWM
detrimental, especially in arid
and many annual invasive weeds on 7 acres of
partnership in your area, visit
regions where water is sparse
Devereaux Slough in UC Santa Barbara’s Coal Oil
the IRWM website at www.
(DiTomaso and Healy 2007).
Point Natural Reserve.
grantsloans.water.ca.gov/
grants/implementation/prop84/
• Restoration of 551 acres of grassland and vernal pool
integregio_fundingarea.cfm.
habitat in Grassland Regional Park, Yolo County.
The restoration plan includes control and monitoring of perennial pepperweed
Planning efforts for IRWM programs
and annual grasses, and reseeding with native species.
funded by Proposition 84 and 1E are just
beginning, so now is the best time to get
• Removal and monitoring of Ludwigia hexapetala in the Dept. of Fish and
involved.
Game’s Laguna Wildlife Area in Sonoma County.
continued next page…

certain amount of creativity is
required for writing grant proposals.
You probably are well aware of the need
to describe your project in a compelling
way, but the need to match your project
with a funding source whose goals align
with yours is equally important. In order
to find the perfect funding source to
support your project, you may want to
look beyond the usual dedicated weed
control funding sources. This article will
discuss two examples of creative funding

12

Cal-IPC News Fall 2007

Get ready: PlantRight needs resource manager support in 2008!
Cora Puliatch, Cal-IPC Outreach Coordinator
You have heard about Cal-IPC’s work
with the nursery trade for several years now,
and we know that most of our progress has
been less than obvious. But the moment is
nigh when the PlantRight campaign will go
public, and we need our members to play an
active role in making it effective.
PlantRight works in much the same
way as our Don’t Plant a Pest campaign
by identifying invasives still in the trade
and suggesting suitable alternatives. But
there is one key difference—PlantRight has
the involvement and support of all major
stakeholders, including a super big one:
the horticultural industry. We are moving
forward in agreement, which will make all
the difference.
So, if you have ever been frustrated
about finding a weed for sale at a nursery,
here is something you can do. First, check
your ornery attitude at the door. (We are
working together, remember?) Second,
check out the plantright.org website. It
has lots of useful information, plus it looks
nice. Read the FAQs to help expand your
knowledge about the program.
But here is where the herbicide hits the
pampasgrass. This winter, we need to get the

Betsy Peterson and Bethallyn Black
demonstrate an effective interaction between
a weed worker and nursery worker at a
PlantRight “Bootcamp” at the Symposium.

word out to nurseries.
Although we have
published articles
in nursery trade
magazines and sent
brochures, nothing
will make an impression on a nursery like
having someone local contact them. On
our website you will find a sample letter
introducing the program to nurseries. Just
put it on the letterhead of your organization
or WMA and send it to local nurseries.
(There is also a sample article for newsletters
to help you spread the word.)
Then, next spring, we will take the
campaign to the gardening public. Our
Speakers Bureau will make presentations
to 100 garden clubs statewide. More
information on this in our next newsletter!
As resource managers with knowledge
of invasive plants in your area, you play
a critical role in helping the horticultural
community get fired up about this issue.
Let’s get ‘er done!
For more information on how you can help,
contact me at cnpuliatch@cal-ipc.org or
(510) 843-3902.

Funding continued from page 12…

Wildlife Conservation Board
The Wildlife Conservation Board
(WCB) has two programs that may prove
useful for funding invasive plant control
projects: the California Riparian Habitat
Conservation Program (CRHCP) and the
Habitat Enhancement and Restoration
Program (HERP). CRHCP funds removal
of invasive riparian plant species and active
or passive restoration of native riparian
vegetation. HERP is a more general
program that expands the focus of the
CRHCP to include projects outside of
riparian areas, such as native grasslands and
forests.
If you decide to write a proposal for
either WCB program, there are a number
of things to keep in mind. Nonprofit
organizations, local government agencies,
state departments and federal agencies are
eligible to receive funds, and all proposals
must outline other sources of matching
funds or in-kind contributions. These

programs generally do not fund studies,
operation, planning, design, or other
pre-construction costs. When writing a
proposal to WCB, remember that they are
looking for long-term success. You may
want to emphasize the benefits to habitat
(especially for listed species and native
fish), and how the project area will interact
with surrounding areas, including weed
presence upstream or downstream and land
use practices in adjacent areas. Both WCB
programs accept proposals at any time.
With a little research and creativity,
weed workers may be able to connect their
projects to larger environmental concerns
and increase their possibilities for funding.
If your project is not a good fit for grant
programs at Department of Water Resources
or the Wildlife Conservation Board, you
may want to look further afield for a
funding source that matches your goals.

For more information:
Wildlife Conservation Board: www.wcb.
ca.gov/, or Dave Means, (916) 445-1095.
Department of Water Resources: www.
grantsloans.water.ca.gov/grants/irwm/
integregio.cfm, or Tracie Billington, (916)
651-9226, tracieb@water.ca.gov.
References
DiTomaso, Joseph M. and Evelyn A. Healy.
2007. Weeds of California and Other Western
States. Berkeley: University of California
Press. Vol. 2: 1034-1039.
Gerlach, J.D. Jr. 2004. The impacts of serial
land-use changes and biological invasions
on soil water resources in California, USA.
Journal of Arid Environments 57(3): 365379.
Do you know of other funding sources
for weed projects? Let us know for future
profiles!

Cal-IPC News Fall 2007

13

Thank You, 2007 Symposium Sponsors!
Bronze Sponsors

Gold Sponsors
Agri Chemical and Supply, Inc.
California Dept. of Food and Agriculture
California Native Plant Society
California State Parks
Cal-Native Plants
Santa Ana Watershed Association
Silver Sponsors
DeAngelo Brothers, Inc.
DENDRA, Inc.
DuPont Vegetation Management
EcoSystems Restoration Associates
Habitat West, Inc.
Los Angeles Conservation Corps
Mission Resource Conservation District
Nature’s Image
San Elijo Lagoon Conservancy
Wildscape Restoration
NuFarm

News continued from page 3…
of kudzu, cogongrass, and Chinese or European privet across 11 southeastern states.
http://invasive.princeton.edu/details.html.
Scientists discovered that European wasp
species introduced by USDA as beneficial
insects in southern California also attack
Arundo donax. “We’ve confirmed that
Tetramesa romana is genetically the same
as wasps back in its native Mediterranean
region, so the USDA won’t have to import
it to control giant reed,” says Tom Dudley
of UC Santa Barbara. http://news.ucanr.
org/newsstorymain.cfm?story=1020.
Governors from Idaho, Nevada, Utah and
Wyoming met to plan a campaign against
cheatgrass, which causes extensive wildfire
damage across the West. Las Vegas ReviewJournal, 8/7/07.

14

Cal-IPC News Fall 2007

Aspen Environmental Group
Dow AgroSciences
EDAW
Intelli Spray/ BJ Trading LLC
Monsanto Company
RECON Environmental, Inc.
RECON Native Plants
Target Specialty Products
UAP Distribution
Washburn Grove Management
Green Sponsors
California Dept. of Fish and Game
Center for Natural Lands Management
CNPS East Bay Chapter
Dudek
ECORP Consulting, Inc.
Hedgerow Farms
NPS: Exotic Plant Management Team
Regional Council of Rural Counties

“Bonfire of the Superweeds” explores the
role of buffelgrass in Sonoran Desert wildfire. www.hcn.org, 8/20/07.
BLM is close to finalizing a programmatic
EIS on herbicide use for weed control over
nearly 1 million acres in 17 westerns states.
Some environmentalists have opposed the
planning document, which can be viewed at
www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/prog/more/veg_eis.html.
Land Letter 8/2/07.
Hydrilla has reappeared at Clear Lake after several years with no reported sightings.
CDFA has treated since 1994, and anticipated the reappearance after not treating last
year. Lake County Record Bee, 8/24/07.
The Salem Statesman-Journal has launched
a series on the invasive species threatening
Oregon, with extensive online coverage.
www.statesmanjournal.com.

Yellow starthistle rust is a bust, failing to
establish substantially in most California
sites, reported CDFA biocontrol specialist
Dale Woods at a statewide WMA meeting
in Woodland. dwoods@cdfa.ca.gov.
A USDA study indicates that rising carbon
levels may cause weeds to increase in size
and seed production. The study also found
that poison ivy produced more skin-irritating chemicals when exposed to elevated
levels of carbon dioxide. LA Times, 7/18/07.
Increased biodiversity in urban parks improves the mental health of park visitors.
A study using surveys of park visitors in
the U.K. found that visitors could roughly
gauge which parks had greater diversity of
species such as birds, butterflies, and plants,
and felt more at ease in places with higher
biodiversity. Biology Letters, 5/15/07.

New Members and Donors

(USFWS San Diego
NWR, San Diego),
Thank you for your generous support! This list reflects Patrick McConnell
(Center for Natural Lands
new members and donors since the last newsletter.
Management, Fallbrook),
David
McMichael
(Orange
County Water
New Members
District, Corona), John McRae (Six Rivers
Sherry Adams (Audubon Canyon Ranch,
National Forest, Eureka), Michael Medina
Glen Ellen), Albert Arnal (Agri Chemical &
(NAVFAC Southwest, San Diego), Alice Miller
Supply, Oceanside), Raquel Atik (RECON
(Joshua Tree National Park, Twentynine Palms),
Environmental, San Diego), Sasha Auer (Center Amanda Mills (Midpeninsula Regional Open
for Natural Lands Management, Riverside),
Space District, Los Altos), Nicole Molinari
Lynne Baker (Lakeside River Park, Lakeside),
(UC Santa Barbara), Harry Oakes (Jones &
Regina Ball (Lompoc), Jacob Barney (UC
Stokes, Sacramento), Andrea Poteet (California
Davis), Anna Bennet (CSU San Diego), Skyler
Conservation Corps, Fortuna), Carol Presley
Bishop (San Elijo Lagoon Conservancy, Del
(Santa Cara Valley Water District, San Jose),
Mar), Dawn Calciano (Putah Creek Council,
Emily Prud’homme (Mono Lake Committee,
Davis), John Cantlon (Dupont, Lakewood,
Lee Vining), Rich Records (Target Specialty
CO), Colleen Carr (San Diego Co. Dept. of
Products), Lori Robinson (Nature’s Image,
Agriculture, San Diego), Nicole Cartwright
Lake Forest), Jeannine Ross (RECON
(Tahoe RCD, South Lake Tahoe), Michelle
Environmental, San Diego), Phillip Roullard
Caruana (Natures Image, Lake Forest), Ian
(CA State Parks, San Diego), Margaret
Cecena (CA Dept. of Fish & Game, San
Royall (UC Irvine), Gary Ruyle (RLA, San
Diego), Enrique Chavez (Cal-Native Plants,
Diego), Paul Ryan (CA Dept. of Boating and
Menifee), Peter Chu (UC Berkeley), Patrick
Waterways, Sacramento), Miriam Sachs Martin
Conant (Hawaii Dept of Agriculture, Volcano,
(Acterra, San Jose), Hillary Saunders (Golden
HI), Jim Corbett (Habitat West, Escondido),
Gate Parks Conservancy, San Francisco), Bo
Damon Corley (ACORN, Encinitas), Michelle
Savage, (Los Angeles Conservation Corps),
Cloud-Hughes (CSU San Diego), Gretchen
Brad Schafer (Jones & Stokes, Sacramento),
Cummings (Cummings & Associates,
Heather Schneider (Riverside), Laura Scott
Ramona), Peter Dalin (UC Santa Barbara),
Sellers (Pasadena), Alyssa Shook (Tahoe RCD,
Kimberly Davis (San Marcos), Steve Davison
South Lake Tahoe), Geoffrey, Smith (CNPS,
(Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District,
San Diego), Darren Smith (CA State Parks,
Los Altos), Sara Jo Dickens (UC Riverside),
San Diego), Markus Spiegelberg (Center for
Tom Dinn (Nufarm Americas, Queen Creek,
Natural Lands Management), Cara Stafford
AZ), Jonathan Dunn (San Diego Zoo),
(Catalina Island Conservancy, Avalon),
Melinda Elster (Morro Bay), Donna Eto
Jiri George Strnad (URS, Sacramento),
(Earthworks Restoration), Greg Even (Padre
Catherine Stupar (Santa Rosa Junior College,
Dam Municipal Water District, Santee), Scott
Guerneville), Yoshi Tamagawa (UC Santa
Fegley (Huntington Beach), Jenny Francis
Barbara, Goleta), Jill Terp (USFWS San Diego
(Tahoe RCD, South Lake Tahoe), Sergio
NWR, Jamul), Carlos Torres (USDA Forest
Garcia (UC Cooperative Extension, Hollister),
Service, South Lake Tahoe), Peter Trotta
Deborah Good (USFWS Tijuana Slough,
(Habitat Restoration Sciences, Escondido),
Imperial Beach), Quinn Gregory (Sacramento
Amy Trujillo (San Elijo Lagoon Conservancy,
Conservation Corps), Jennifer Haines (San
Encinitas), Jason van Warmerdam (Joshua
Diego Co. Parks and Recreation), Linda Hamel
Tree National Park, Twentynine Palms),
(Caltrans, Sacramento), Jim Harrison (CNPS,
Melanie Vanderhoof (Environmental Science
San Diego), Keith Haworth (Center for Natural Associates, Oakland), Zach Vickers (La Jolla),
Lands Management, Wildomar), Amy K. Huie
George Vurlitis (CSU San Marcos), Matt
(El Cajon), Shirley Innecken (RECON, San
Wacker (MALT, Pt. Reyes Station), Kyle
Diego), Christopher Jones (U. of Arizona,
Washburn (Washburn Grove Management Inc.,
Globe, AZ), Matt Kedziora (Zoological
Hemet), Ryan West (RECON Native Plants,
Society of San Diego, San Diego), Beth Keer
San Diego), Teague Weybright (Los Angeles
(Oakland), David Kelly (Garcia & Associates,
Conservation Corps), Brittany Woiderski (El
Auburn), Bruce Kidd (Dow AgroSciences,
Portal), Frank Wong (UC Riverside), Leslie
Murrieta), Diane Kodama (USFWS, Newark),
Woollenweber (San Dieguito River Valley
Lisa LaMond (Nature’s Image, Lake Forest),
Conservancy, San Diego)
Cara Lamoreux (Epsilon Systems Solutions,
Ridgecrest), Janice Lavallee (Mission Trails
Donors
Regional Park, San Diego), James Law (Santa
Stephen Batchelder (Crockett), Robert Berman
Ana Watershed Association, Redlands), John
(Pacific Grove), Peggy Berry (Carmichael),
Leonard (NPS, El Portal), Lisa MarkovchickCharlie Blair (Lompoc), Bob Case (Concord),
Nicholls (US Navy, San Diego), John Martin

John Copeland (Chico), Bruce Cowan (Pacific
Grove), Mary Lynn Cox (Oakland), Adrienne
Debisschop (Oakland), Joe Di Tomaso
(Davis), Meryl Faullkner (La Jolla), Dave
Gilpin (Livermore), Jim Hanson (Oakland),
Ken Himes (Belmont), John Holloway (Sea
Ranch), Ken Howard (Kentfield), Sarah
Jayne (Irvine), Barbara W. & Larry M. Jones
(Richmond), Drew Kerr (El Sobrante), Cynthia
Kondon (Rancho Palos Verdes), Mark Langner
(Bridgeport), Elizbeth Leger (Reno, NV),
Susan Mason (Chico), Lawrence Maxwell
(San Francisco), Tanya Meyer (Davis), Audrey
Miller (Ferndale), Charlie Moore (Sunnyvale),
Robert Noll (Vista), Greg Omori (Oceanside),
Mike Peters (Fallbrook), Pirosko Family
(Burney), Elizabeth Proctor (Pacifica), Tanya
Quinn (Thousand Oaks), Mary Shea-Vernal
(Brentwood), Jake Sigg (San Francisco), Lincoln
Smith (Albany), Joan Stewart (Springville),
Don Stiver (El Cerrito), Carl Thoelecke
(Kentfield), Donna Thompson (Crescent City),
Michael Thometz (Campo), Wendy Tokuda
(Oakland), Machiel Van Dam (Beverly Hills),
Jean Vandevort (Felton), D&E Vollmer (Santa
Cruz), Matthew Zlatunich (San Francisco)

Cape Ivy Biocontrol Donors
California Native Plant Society, San Diego
Chapter, Amy Huie (El Cajon), Patricia
Van Aggelen (San Francisco), Boz Williams
(Guerneville)

Raffle and Auction Donors
California Native Plant Society (Sacramento),
Charlie Blair (Lompoc), Bob Case (Concord),
David Chang (Santa Barbara), Chris
Christofferson (Chico), Janet Clark (Bozeman,
MT), Joanna Clines (North Fork), Sean
Clines Framing (Fresno), Sneed B. Collard III
(Missoula, MT), Earle Cummings (Geyserville),
Gina Darin (Davis), Jenn Erskine-Ogden (San
Francisco), Joe DiTomaso (Davis), Farella Park
Vineyard (Napa), Jason Giessow (Encinitas),
Hedgerow Farms (Winters), Steve Junak (Santa
Barbara), Mike Kelly (San Diego), Carolyn
Martus (Carlsbad), John Knapp (Avalon),
Marla Knight (Fort Jones), Ellen Mackey
(Los Angeles), Tanya Meyer (Woodland),
Bill Neill (North Hollywood), Bart O’Brien
(Claremont), Greg Omori (Oceanside), Chuck
Peck (Sierra Foothill Conservancy), Redding
Convention Center and Visitor’s Bureau, Bree
Richardson (Menlo Park), Mona Robison and
Becky Waegell (Sacramento), Rominger West
(Davis), Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, Target
Specialty Products, The Nature Conservancy
(Ventura), Wendy West and Kirk Taylor
(Placerville), Andrea Willams (Sausalito),
Hugh Willamson, Yolo Land & Cattle Co.
(Woodland)

Cal-IPC News Fall 2007

15

Ravennagrass continued from page 5…
now considered rare throughout the canyon.
This is a remarkable effort, given the size
of mature plants and that herbicides were
purportedly not used.
Clearly, a cooperative regional effort
between federal, state, and county entities as
well as concerned landowners is needed to
address the issue of spreading ravennagrass
along Cache Creek, as it will continue to
expand in the watershed without concerted
control efforts. Moreover, it could easily
move into the Sacramento River and BayDelta system.
To date, no control work has been done
in the upper watershed in Lake County,
although major efforts are underway along
Cache Creek in Rumsey Canyon and Capay
Valley in Yolo County. Along lower Cache
Creek, control efforts were first initiated by
John Watson, recipient of Cal-IPC’s 2006
“Golden Weed Wrench Land Manager of
the Year” award, who started work on this
weed back in 2001. He has found that a
3% glyphosate formulation sprayed in late
summer-early fall has proved effective in
killing plants.
Last fall, the Yolo County Resource
Conservation District, in cooperation with
Yolo County Parks, private landowners, and
contractors Joe Muller & Sons, working
with a grant from the state Wildlife
Conservation Board, began control efforts
on parklands and several private ownerships.
This work is continuing this year as part of a

larger, long-term program that also includes
work on other invasive plants. Special efforts
are made to avoid non-target plants through
careful herbicide applications, aided by
flagging non-target plants and using highly
trained crews.
Unfortunately, decisions about
controlling wildland weeds along waterways
are not always straightforward. Generally, it
is advisable to begin work upstream at the
source and move downstream from there.
This raises questions about the long-term
effectiveness of the control program on
Cache Creek since efforts began in the lower
sections of the creek, and ravennagrass will
continue to re-colonize downstream sites.
Yet, the precise source location has yet to
be identified and much of the upper creek
infestations occur in remote areas on BLM
property. As awareness of this plant grows
and better location information is obtained
in Lake County, we hope that control
programs will be initiated in this upper
watershed.
At this juncture, practitioners think that
downstream control efforts are warranted,
provided that follow-up measures are
included to eliminate seedlings that might
re-establish in future years. Moreover, in
many sites, infestations are at low levels
where effective containment measures could
be accomplished at a relatively low cost.
The alternative is to stand back and witness
a further degradation of Cache Creek’s
biologically-rich native plant communities.

Jose Luis Berber and Salvador Hernandez
of Muller & Sons treat ravennagrass with
herbicide. Photo by Tanya Meyer.
We encourage Cal-IPC’s members
to learn to distinguish this plant from
pampasgrass, and to be on the lookout for
ravennagrass in other wetland areas around
the state.
Contact the authors at cdthomsen@
ucdavis.edu and meyer@yolorcd.org.

Sean Kenady, Yolo RCD, roped in to work on a steep infested hillside above Cache Creek. Photo by Tanya Meyer.

16

Cal-IPC News Fall 2007

Readings & Resources…
Dodder Website
Japanese dodder is a parasitic plant recently
found in several California counties. A new
website has information on identifying and
reporting this pest. www.dodder.org

entitled, “An ounce of prevention:
How to stop invasive insects and
diseases from devastating U.S. forests.”
www.nature.org/initiatives/forests/files/
ounceofpreventionsingle1.pdf

is being conducted within a particular area.
Users can learn about ongoing and historic
monitoring according to the scales, targets
and objectives that are of interest to them.
http://nrmp.nbii.gov/portal/server.pt

Environmental Science News
Environmental Research Web includes
news and opinion on a wide range
of topics including climate change,
biodiversity, renewable energy, pollution,
economics, environmental legislation,
health issues and sustainability. http://
environmentalresearchweb.org

Native Plant Posters
Teachers, students and those working for or
with natural resource agencies may receive
two educational posters free when they
buy two from Good Nature Publishing.
Posters feature native plants and animals,
invasive plants and botanical art. www.
goodnaturepublishing.com/offer.htm

Aquatic Plant ID Key
Careless disposal of aquarium plants is
believed to be responsible for many of
their escapes into natural habitat. The
USDA with CDFA and North Carolina
State University has developed a key to
help quarantine inspectors and local land
managers correctly identify aquarium and
pond plants of the world. Order the free
CD at www.lucidcentral.org

Online Permit Guide
The Sacramento River Watershed Program
has posted an Interactive Online Creek
Restoration Permit Assistance Guide to
step the user through the process and
provides example projects to help the user
understand what types of permits apply to
various situations. www.srwp.org/watershed/
permitguide.

Animal Import Report
Defenders of Wildlife released “Broken
Screens: The Regulation of Live Animal
Imports in the United States,” detailing the
proactive steps that federal agencies charged
with overseeing wildlife trade could and
should take to reduce our risk. It is the most
detailed analysis ever done of this trade.
www.defenders.org/animalimports

Expert Directory
The Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force
website is building a directory that will
provide access to experts on taxonomic
identification as well as other aspects of
ANS prevention and control. The directory
is currently limited to the main state
contacts, but these individuals can provide
information on specific experts as needed.
www.anstaskforce.gov
Eurasian Watermilfoil Activity Book
A new book uses activities and coloring
pages to explain the effects of Eurasian
watermilfoil. Designed for elementary
school children. $2.00 each. www.
invasiveplants-edu-book.com/
Economic Research Report
The USDA Economic Research Service
has published a report describing research
undertaken from 2003-2006 on the
economics of invasive species management.
www.ers.usda.gov/Publications/AP/ap021/
Prevention Report
The Nature Conservancy’s Global Forest
Partnership has published a report

EDRR Report
The Environmental law Institute has
released a report reviewing state-by-state
early detection/rapid response activities for
invasive species management. www.elistore.
org/reports_detail.asp?ID=11223
Online Ecology Reference
Scientists have long complained about
the poor understanding of science by the
public and key policy makers. Earth Portal,
a new project by the Ecological Society of
America, provides free, timely, objective,
science-based information about the
environment from a global community of
experts. www.EarthPortal.org

Roadside Weed Book
The Federal Highway Administration
in partnership with the Environmental
Protection Agency and Natural Resources
Conservation Service has published Roadside
Weed Management,”a sequel reference to the
1999 Roadside Use of Native Plants. Order
a free copy by faxing your request for Pub.
No. FHWA-HEP-07-017 to (301) 3865394, Attn: Johnny Booze.

New Cal-IPC Gear!
New this year! Cal-IPC canvas
grocery tote for all your shopping and
carrying adventures. And the classic,
super stylish Cal-IPC short-sleeved
t-shirts are available in white, sage
green, and navy blue. Order at calipc.org or give us a call!

Oregon Weed Mapping Website
WeedMapper is a collection of spatial
information on the distribution of weeds in
the state of Oregon. Maps viewable at the
state or county level. www.weedmapper.org
Monitoring Library
The Monitoring Protocol Library is a
searchable database of monitoring protocols
and resource assessment methodologies.
The Monitoring “Locator” allows users to
identify what natural resource monitoring

Cal-IPC News Fall 2007

17

Publications Available from Cal-IPC
Order at www.cal-ipc.org or call (510) 843-3902.
CA tax and shipping costs will be added.

Weeds of California and Other Western States
(two volumes)
Joseph DiTomaso and Evelyn Healy
UC Agriculture & Natural Resources, 2006
Identification guide to 750 weed species, with 3000
color photos. Detailed descriptions of morphology
and biology. Includes a CD-ROM with all photos.
$103.00

Invasive Plants of California’s Wildlands
Carla C. Bossard, John M. Randall and Marc
C. Hoshovsky, Eds. University of California
Press, 2000
Biology and control information on 70 of the
state’s worst wildand weeds. Maps, photos,
illustrations. 360 pp. $25.00

The Weed Workers’ Handbook
Aquatic and Riparian Weeds of the West
Joseph DiTomaso and Evelyn Healy
UC Agriculture & Natural Resources, 2003
Comprehensive identification guide to the West’s
riparian weeds. Photos, identification keys. 440 pp.
$40.00

Cal-IPC and The Watershed Project, 2004
Biology and control information on 25 SF Bay
Area wildland weeds, plus background on organizing local projects. Illustrations. 120 pp. $8.00

Grass and Grass-like Weeds of California

California Invasive Plant Inventory

Joseph M. DiTomaso. California Weeds, 2004

Cal-IPC, 2006
Summarizes the impacts, potential for spread,
and distribution of more than 200 nonnative plants that invade wildlands in
California. 39 pp. Currently out of print.
Online pdf at www.cal-ipc.org.

Menu-driven CD-ROM identification guide
to more than 200 invasive grasses and native
perennials used in restoration. Requires Windows
95 or higher, 650 MB free hard-drive space.
$30.00
Broadleaf Weeds of California
Joseph M. DiTomaso. California Weeds,
2006
Expert computer-based identification guide
to 722 broadleaf weeds of California.
Requires Windows 95 or higher. $37.00
Buy both CD-ROMs for $60.00
Don’t Plant a Pest! brochures
Wildland-safe alternatives to invasive plants sold
at nurseries. 14 panels. Choose: San Francisco Bay
Area, Southern California, Central Coast, Central
Valley, Aquatic Plants in California, or Trees in
California. Central Valley and new Aquatic Plants
of California are free. Otherwise, $22.99/100
brochures [up to 10 free]
Biological Pollution brochure
Describes ecological and economic impacts of invasive
plants in California for a general audience. Tri-fold.
$12.00/100 brochures [up to 10 free]

18

Cal-IPC News Fall 2007

The Use of Fire as a Tool for
Controlling Invasive Plants
Joseph M. DiTomaso and Douglas W.
Johnson, Eds., 2006
Captures current state of knowledge on the
use of fire to manage invasive plants in
wildlands. 49 pp. $5.00

Yellow Starthistle Management Guide
Joseph M. DiTomaso, Guy B. Kyser, and
Michael J. Pitcairn, 2006.
Comprehensive overview of treatment methods
for yellow starthistle. Approx. 78 pp. $5.00

The WILDLAND WEED CALENDAR
California Association of RCDs Annual
Conference

Weed Science Society of America Annual
Conference

November 7-10, 2007
Rancho Cordova, California
www.carcd.org

February 4-7, 2008
Chicago, Illinois
www.wssa.net

April………….Santa Barbara

Monterey “War on Weeds” Conference

National Invasive Weeds Awareness Week

May……………Tahoe

November 16, 2007
CSU Monterey Bay
http://watershed.csumb.edu/wi/

February 24-29, 2008
Washington, DC

2008 Cal-IPC Wildland
Weed Field Courses
Basic Control and Weed ID
(on consecutive days)

June……………San Diego
July…………….SF Bay Area
Advanced Revegetation
October 1…….Chico
(day before Symposium)
Mapping
November…….Bay Area
The final schedule for 2008 field
courses will be posted on the Cal-IPC
website (www.cal-ipc.org) in early 2008.
For more information on field courses,
contact Cora Puliatch at cnpuliatch@
cal-ipc.org or 510-843-3902.

January 14-15, 2008
CSU Chico
csuchico.edu/biol/Herb/norcalbot/index.htm

Weed workers from across the U.S. come
to the Capitol to discuss invasive plant
policy with federal agencies and Congress.
If you are interested in going as part of the
California contingent, contact Cal-IPC.
www.nawma.org/niwaw/niwaw_index.htm

California Biodiversty Council Meeting on
California Wildlife Action Plan

California Invasive Weeds Day at the
Capitol

January 22
Sacramento, California
http://biodiversity.ca.gov/meetings.html

March 12, 2008
Sacramento, CA

Northern California Botanists Symposium

Bay-Friendly Landscape and Gardening
Conference
February 29, 2008
UC Berkeley
www.stopwaste.org/home/index.asp?page=787

Western Society of Weed Science Annual
Conference

Quotable

“It’s the tiger salamander
And the red-legged frog
Yellow-legged frog
And all the legged frogs

Join weed workers from around the state to
visit legislators in support of WMA funding
and other issues. Co-sponsored by Cal-IPC.
We encourage all members to consider
attending—the event has grown stronger
every year.
www.cal-ipc.org/policy/state/ciwad.php

March 11-13, 2008

For it’s them that I love
And it’s them that I owe
For it’s their getting by
That’s my getting by.”

Bruce Delgado, from the original song he performed acapella at the 2007 CalIPC Symposium upon receiving the 2007 Golden Weed Wrench Award.

“It gets in the water hyacinth and it hides, like it’s a thinking animal.”
Mike Turner, Caddo Lake, Texas, on giant salvinia. New York Times, July 30,
2007

plus special Arundo & Phragmites
Symposium
March 13-14, 2008
Anaheim, California
www.wsweedscience.org
National WMA Conference
April 15-17, 2008
Reno, Nevada
cipm@montana.edu
Weeds Across Borders Biennial Conference
May 27-30, 2008
Banff, Alberta, Canada
www.nawma.org

Cal-IPC News Fall 2007

19

Cal-IPC Membership Form
We’re working to protect California’s wildlands from invasive plants—join us!
Cal-IPC’s effectiveness comes from a strong membership that includes scientists, land managers, policy makers, and concerned citizens.
Please complete this form and mail with check or credit card number. Additional donations support our projects. We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, and donations beyond regular membership rates are tax deductible. Join or donate online at www.cal-ipc.org.
2008 Individual Membership
2008 Institutional Membership
Regular
$35
Regular
$150
Family $60
Small company
Contributing $75
or nonprofit
$100
Life
$1,000
Joint Cal-IPC/SERCAL $60 Donations
Joint Cal-IPC/CNGA $70
for Cal-IPC programs: $____
Cal-IPC/SERCAL/CNGA $100
for Cape Ivy Biocontrol: $____
Student/Volunteer $15
(info online at cal-ipc.org)
Mail this form with check (payable to “Cal-IPC”) or credit card info to
Cal-IPC, 1442-A Walnut Street #462, Berkeley, CA 94709, or…
Fax form with credit card info to 510/217-3500, or…
Phone us at 510/843-3902 with contact and credit card info.
Check here if you would prefer to receive the Cal-IPC News as a link
to a pdf file online rather than a paper copy.
Occasionally, we share our members’ addresses with like-minded
organizations. Check here if you do not want your information
shared.

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

Check
the mailing label
for your membership
status. Thanks!

Name
Affiliation
Address
City

State Zip

Phone
E-mail
Credit Card No.

Exp. Date

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