October 24-27, Riviera in Palm Springs

View program and abstracts.

Congratulations to our 2017 Award Winners!

Links below are pdf files converted from PowerPoint presentations.

Training: Invasive Plant Management 101

• Principles of Invasive Plant Management.
  Gina Darin, Cal. Dept. of Water Resources
• Weed Identification and Impact.
  Steve Schoenig, Cal-IPC
• Strategic Approaches.
  Andrea Williams, Marin Municipal Water District
• Prioritization and Mapping.
  Gina Darin
• Funding.
  Jason Giessow, DENDRA, Inc.
• Policy and Agency Context.
  Steve Schoenig
• Permitting.
  Jason Giessow
• Outreach and Communications.
  Rachel Kesel, One Tam
• Tools and Techniques: Overview of Control Methods.
  Gina Darin; Henry DiRocco, Sage Environmental Group

Handouts:

• Model of strategic and adaptive invasive plant management
• Resources for the control of wildland invasive plants
• Broadcast Sprayer Calibration

Training: Calflora’s Weed Manager

• Calflora’s Weed Manager.
  John Malpas, Technical Lead and Cynthia Powell, Executive Director

DPR: Laws & Regulations: Updates on pest control regulations

• Is glysophate a human carcinogen?
  Joel Trumbo, CA Dept. of Fish and Wildlife
• Protecting surface water from pesticide contamination in California.
  Kean Goh, Dept. of Pesticide Regulation, Env. Monitoring
• Respiratory protection requirements for herbicides.
  Emma Wilson, Dept. of Pesticide Regulation
• What to expect from your pesticide inspection.
  Robert Mulherin, Deputy Agricultural Commissioner, Riverside Co. Agricultural Commissioner’s Office

Session 1. Invasive Plant Management in the California Desert

• Invasive plant management programs update.
  Doug Johnson, Executive Director, Cal-IPC
• California desert invaders: Threats and opportunities to conserve a vast ecosystem.
  Naomi Fraga, Director of Conservation Programs, Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden
• Not all weeds are equal: Effects of weeds on desert biodiversity.
  Cameron Barrows, Research Ecologist, UC Riverside Center for Conservation Biology
• Managing invasive plants at Joshua Tree National Park.
  Neil Frakes, Biologist, Joshua Tree National Park

Session 2. Biological Control

• New biocontrol releases and integrated control targeting Arundo in riparian areas.
  Ellyn Bitume, USDA-Agricultural Research Service
• New biocontrol releases and integrated control targeting Cape-ivy in riparian areas.
  Scott Portman, USDA-Agricultural Research Service
• Past, present, and future: Saltcedar (Tamarix spp.) and biological control in California.
  Nicole Norelli, Riparian Invasion Research Lab, UCSB
• Weed biological control in California: Review of the past and prospects for the future.
  Michael J. Pitcairn, Cal. Dept.  of Food and Agriculture

Session 3. Tools & Techniques

• The hoe isn’t the only thing scuffling: Testing non-chemical control techniques for Brachypodium distachyon in serpentine and non-serpentine grasslands.
  Andrea Williams, Marin Municipal Water District
• Aerial lifts and Arundo donax control in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
  Mark Newhouser, Sonoma Ecology Center
• Completing the knowledge cycle: Deriving IPM knowledge directly from practitioners on working landscapes.
  Tracy Schohr, UC Davis

Session 4. Biology

• Native and invasive in the same region: Determining the above and belowground impacts of invasion for Monterey pines in California.
  Briana Boaz, UC Berkeley (student contest)
• Restoration of invaded walnut woodlands using a trait-based community assembly approach.
  Sierra Lauman, Cal Poly Pomona
• Software systems to help predict invasive plant establishment.
  Cheryl Wilen, UC Statewide IPM Program

Session 5. Federal Programs

• Planning constraints to IPM adoption by National Forests in California.
  Philip Brownsey, Consulting Rangeland Ecologist
• BLM’s Mojave Desert native plant restoration following wildfires and weed treatments: The right seed in the right place.
  Judy Perkins, Bureau of Land Management
• Effectiveness of non-native plant treatments across the U.S. National Park system: A synthesis.
  Scott Abella, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Session 6. Soils

• Mycorrhizae, invasions, and the temporal dynamics of mutualism disruption.
  Sara Grove, UC Santa Cruz
• Restoring soil microbial conditions after grass invasion for improved restoration.
  Brooke Pickett, UC Riverside (student contest)
• Argentine ants may be significantly contributing to the spread of numerous invasive weeds.
  Greg Rubin, California’s Own Native Landscape Design

Session 7. Volutaria: Attempt at Early Eradication 

• Overcoming challenges: Managing the highly invasive Volutaria across California.
  Chris McDonald, UC Cooperative Extension
• Management of Volutaria tubuliflora at Anza-Borrego Desert State Park – A community effort.
  Mason Hyland, California State Parks.
• Volutaria detection and management at Upper Newport Bay, Orange County.
  Ron Vanderhoff, California Native Plant Society, Orange County Chapter

Session 8. SF Bay/Delta

• Mapping, prioritization, and eradication of Arundo donax in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
  Alex Young, Sonoma Ecology Center
• Assessing spatio-temporal changes of invasive Limonium ramosissimum in San Francisco Bay wetlands.
  Kerstin Kalchmayr, CSU San Francisco (student contest)
• Controlling Algerian sea lavender in San Francisco Estuary tidal marshes.
  Drew Kerr, Invasive Spartina Project

Session 9. Grasslands

• Weed management and habitat restoration in Southern California grassland and forbland.
  Travis Brooks, Land IQ
• Barb goatgrass management: Interactive effects of grazing, glyphosate rate, application timing, and restoration seeding.
  Travis Bean, UC Riverside
• Grassland restoration and invasive weed management in Southern California: Medusahead as a case study.
  Chris McDonald, UC Cooperative Extensions

Session 10: Posters

Note: PDF images are not scaled to print on letter-size paper

1. Joshua Tree National Park Invasive Plant Patrol. Rose Alvarez* and Neil Frakes, Joshua Tree National Park
2. Allelopathic impacts of Schinus molle on exotic and native plant communities in southern California. David Bañuelas, Cal Poly Pomona.
3. Northward expansion of invasive shot hole borers (Euwallaceaspp. nr. Fornicates [Curculionidae]) in riparian systems of central California. Shelley Bennett and Tom Dudley, University of California, Santa Barbara
4. They’re back: Discovery of an established nutria population in California’s Central Valley. Valerie Cook Fletcher, Invasive Species Program, California Department of Fish and Wildlife
5. Japanese Dodder, Cuscuta japonica, control and eradication efforts in Alameda County 2015 to 2017. Edmund Duarte, Alameda County Department of Agriculture/Weights and Measures
6. Assessing vegetation cover metrics through the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and image analysis software for use in habitat restoration. Alex Fromer, Mike Nieto, Karyl Palmer, and Frank McDermott, RECON Environmental
7. Competition from native perennial grasses decreases overall fitness in field bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis). Breahna Gillespie1, Helen Holmlund2, and Elise Gornish1. 1Restoration Ecology at University of California, Davis. 2 Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of California, Santa Cruz
8. Complexity, constraints and challenges of tamarisk treatment in the Mojave River watershed. Kenneth Lair1, Chuck Bell2, and Jackie Lindgren2, 1Lair Restoration Consulting, Apple Valley, CA and 2Mojave Desert Resource Conservation District
9. Development of desert panicgrass (Panicum urvilleanum Kunth.) for use in southwestern desert river channel and riparian restoration. Kenneth Lair 1, Matthew Huffine 2, Lyn Shirley 3, Heather Dial 4, and Chuck Bell 5. 1Lair Restoration Consulting, Apple Valley, CA, 2 Lewis Center for Educational Research, Apple Valley, CA, 3Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Victor Valley College, Victorville, CA, 4Tucson Plant Materials Center, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Tucson, AZ, 5Mojave Desert Resource Conservation District
10. Investigating allelopathy and soil moisture as factors determining community composition of a Southern California black walnut woodland. Jose Marfori and Dr. Erin Questad, Biological Sciences Department, California State Polytechnic University
11. Effects of ash and hard water on herbicide efficacy. Jessica Morrison1, Noreen Murano1, Sam Lantz1, and Laura Riege2, 1Resource Conservation Partners, Ventura, 2The Nature Conservancy
12. Implementing an Early Detection Program on Catalina Island: Prioritizing landscaped grasses. Julia Parish. Catalina Island Conservancy
13. Weed vs. crop differentiation using crop marking systems. HannahJoy Pheasant1, Steve Fennimore2, and John S. Rachuy2, 1UC Davis, Dep. of Plant Sciences, Davis, CA, 2UC Davis, Dep. of Plant Sciences
14. Facilitative effects of nurse shrubs on growth and survival of California sage scrub native plants. Lauren H. Quon and Dr. Erin J. Questad. Biological Sciences Department, Cal Poly Pomona
15. Managing Egeria densa and other invasive aquatic plants as part of the Delta Smelt Resiliency Strategy. Nick Rasmussen1*, Heather Green1, Shruti Khanna2, Jeffrey Caudill3, Eli Ateljevich1, and Louise Conrad1, 1California Department of Water Resources, West Sacramento, CA, 2University of California-Davis, Davis, CA, 3California State Parks, Division of Boating and Waterways
16. Effects of manual and mechanical Ammophila arenaria removal techniques on coastal dune plant communities and dune morphology. Monique Silva Crossman and Alison O’Dowd, Humboldt State University
17. Waste not, want not: A pilot study on direct seeding over straw mulch as a means of revegetation. Rachel Stump and Maria Alvarez, National Park Service, Golden Gate National Recreation Area
18. Pheno-com monitoring for management of Salsola tragus (Russian thistle). Noah Teller and Travis Bean, UC Riverside Cooperative Extension
19. Management of Bermuda buttercup (Oxalis pes-caprae) in the Peninsula Watershed of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission. Don Thomas, San Francisco Public Utilities Commission
20. Large-scale riparian restoration in the Santa Clara River. Jared Williams1*, Adam M. Lambert1, and Tom L. Dudley2., Marine Science Institute and Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration, University of California, Santa Barbara
21. Mapping, prioritization, and eradication of Arundo donax in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Alex Young and Mark Newhouser, Sonoma Ecology Center

Session 11. Engaging Diverse Communities in Invasive Plant Management

Chair: Antonio Solorio, Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area

Panelists: Ammy Baez, Bio-Science Tech & Youth Program, Santa Monica Mountains Nat’l Recreation Area
Fernando Villalba, Park Biologist & Youth Program, John Muir National Historic Site
Gaby Jimenez, Case & Transition Program Manager, Los Angeles Conservation Corps

Session 12. Coastal

• Invasive plant management on the Farallon Islands National Wildlife Refuge.
  Jonathan Shore, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
• Modeling the control of invasive fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) on San Clemente Island.
  Emma Havstad, CSU San Diego
• Carlsbad Hydrologic Unit Invasive Plant Species Control Program.
  Barry Lindgren, San Elijo Lagoon Conservancy

Session 13. Desert

• Native riparian revegetation success in controlled tamarisk and non-tamarisk sites in the Mojave River watershed, California.
  Kenneth Lair, Lair Restoration Consulting
• Effects of renewable energy development on demography of Brassica tournefortii.
  Karen Tanner, UC Santa Cruz (student contest)
• The good with the bad: When ecological restoration facilitates non-native plants.
  Scott Abella & Lindsay Chiquoine, Univ. of Nevada, Las Vegas

Session 14. Discussion Groups

1. Tools & Techniques: Ask the Invasive Plant Management Experts – Whether you’re curious about ways to control a particular plant, need to know how to plan for an unusual situation, or need guidance on strategy, come learn from your peers and get your specific control questions answered by our expert panel of seasoned land managers.
2. Aquatic and Estuarine Weeds –Water is precious in California, and not only to humans. Water supports wildlife, and aquatic and estuarine environments are especially rich habitats. Come discuss the latest invasive plant management efforts in the Delta, Lake Tahoe, San Francisco Bay and elsewhere. Led by Drew Kerr, Invasive Spartina Project, Gina Darin, Cal. Dept. of Water Resources, and David Kratville, Cal. Dept. of Food & Agriculture
3. UAVs and Helicopters – Come discuss what land managers need to know about incorporating these flying tools into their management programs. Led by Julia Parish, Catalina Island Conservancy and Morgan Ball, Wildlands Conservation Science.
4. Communications Strategies – Whether communicating with volunteers, decision makers, the media or the public, we need to ensure that our message is as effective as possible. Studies find some counterintuitive things about how people understand issues. We’ll talk about communication planning for invasive plant management programs, including hot-button issues like use of herbicides and tree removal. Led by Doug Johnson, Cal-IPC and Rachel Kesel, OneTam.
5. Non-Chemical Approaches to Invasive Plant Management – Much of invasive plant management is done without the use of herbicides, but there are few comprehensive guides to best practices for using the wide range of non-chemical approaches. Managers need to know which techniques work—and don’t work—in which situations, and so do decision makers who face public scrutiny. Come hear about the current effort to compile best practices for non-chemical approaches and share your expertise and perspectives. Led by Andrea Williams, Marin Municipal Water District, and Cheryl Wilen, University of California Cooperative Extension.

Session 15. Collaboration

• Building partnerships: Tribes and invasive plant management for habitat restoration.
  Kurt Broz, Pala Band of Mission Indians
• Erasing imaginary lines: Working collaboratively across state and national park lines to combat invasive plants.
  Tom Reyes, National Park Service- Golden Gate National Recreation Area
• Early detection of invasive plants across boundaries.
  Rachel Kesel, OneTam

Session 16. Botanic Gardens

• Thinking beyond the garden: How the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden confronts invasive plants via horticulture, education and research.
  Heather Schneider, Santa Barbara Botanic Garden
• Out of the garden and into the wild: Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden’s role in plant conservation and invasive species management.
  Naomi Fraga, Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden
• Re-introducing introduction: Renewed relevance of public gardens’ traditional role and preventing invasive plant introductions.
  Frank McDonough, Los Angeles County Arboretum & Botanic Garden

Session 17. Restoration

• Management of a coastal bluff community invaded by Oxalis pes-caprae with low concentrations of glyphosate.
  Lewis Reed, UC Davis, Bodega Marine Reserve
• Coastal strand enhancement, invasive plant management and restoration – North San Diego County.
  Shirley Innecken, San Elijo Lagoon Conservancy
• Forest health and watershed improvement through noxious weed management.
  Susie Urie, Tahoe National Forest

Session 18. State Programs

• 100 years of statewide coordination and eradication of Invasive weeds in California: A brief history.
  Steve Schoenig
• Utilizing California’s State Wildlife Action Plan 2015 Update (SWAP 2015) as a collaborative invasive species management tool.
  Junko Hoshi, Cal. Dept. of Fish & Wildlife
• Aquatic invasive plant management across California.
  David Kratville, Cal. Dept. of Food & Agriculture

Session 19. Invasive Plant Management in California and Hawaii

• New weeds in California: An update.
  Dean Kelch, California Dept. of Food & Agriculture
• Hawaii’s Interagency Biosecurity Strategy: Protecting what matters in a global invasion hotspot.
  Joshua Atwood, Program Supervisor, Hawaii Invasive Species Council

See our Symposia Archive for presentations, proceedings and discussion group notes for previous symposia.