Southern Regional Workshop
–Greenville SC
Terrestrial Plant Invasions
in the Temperate South:
The Problem, Consequences,
and Taking Control
Objective: Inform participants of the multi-resource
and social problems caused by the invasion of nonnative invasive plants in the
South on forests, right-of-ways, pastures, and the wildland-urban interface;
Provide pertinent details on national, agency, and state responsibilities and
programs developing to address the problem; Teach identification of 36
prevalent invaders; Provide details on current control strategies and methods;
Present basic monitoring and restoration approaches; and Point to needed future
developments and currently-available information networks.
Audience: Land managers and
administrators for forestry, rights-of-way, natural areas, parks, and wildlife;
Landowners; Herbicide applicators; Horticulturist, arboriculturists, retail and
wholesale nurseries, and landscape architects; Golf course managers and greens
keepers; Consultants and Contractors; Extension Specialists; Plant Science
Educators and Researchers; and Federal, State, and County Regulators.
Hosts and Organizers:
Clemson University and USDA Forest Service
Co-Sponsors: USDA Animal and
Plant Health Inspection Service
USDA Natural
Resources Conservation Service
USDI Geological
Survey
USDI Fish &
Wildlife Service
Southern Appalachian Man and the Biosphere Program (SAMAB)
University
of Georgia’s Warnell School of Forest Resources
Workshop Learning Aid: Each participant will receive the booklet Nonnative
Invasive Plants of Southern Forests: A field guide for identification and
control by James Miller, Southern Research Station, USDA Forest
Service---details identification and control for the 36 invasive plants covered
by workshop
Detailed Program Agenda
9:00-9:30
Opening, Welcome, and The Problem
– Larry Nelson
and Jim Miller, Clemson University and USDA Forest Service
Welcome address; Outline of Program and Objectives; and
Overview Statement of Problem and Solutions.
9:30-10:15
Invasive Pest Plants: How Did We Get in This Mess? –
- Randy Westbrooks, US Geological Survey, Invasive
Plant Coordinator
The breadth of the problem of
invasive species; Natural plant ranges; The history of plant importation and
global commerce; The development of laws and policies; An introduction to a
program of successful management (i.e., prevention, detection, monitoring,
control and containment, restoration, research, and education); A social and
biological problem requiring a collaborative management solution; The Federal
Noxious Weed Law and List; Recent developments in regulations and programs);
The need for an early detection and rapid response system; Development of a new
biological protection ethic on the use and spread of invasive plants and
animals (a new idea).
10:15-10:45
Roles and Responsibilities of
the Federal Government– Current and Projected
- Gordon Brown, US Department of Interior, National Invasive
Species Council
Encapsulated overview (per
outline in National Plan) of specific responsibilities of Homeland Security;
USDA (APHIS, ARS, NRCS, & FS); USDI (GS, F&WS & Park Service);
CSREES; Federal Highway Administration;
10:45-11:00 - BREAK
11:00-11:30
Roles and Responsibilities of
State Governments – Current and Projected
- Don Schmitz, Florida
Department of Environmental Protection
Encapsulated overview of
specific responsibilities of State departments of plant industries and
agriculture, departments of natural resources, and departments of
transportation; Overview of “Halting the Invasion, State tools for invasive
species management” by the Environmental Law Institute; The National Plant
Board.
11:30-12:00
Roles and Responsibilities of
Horticulture and Arboriculture Industries – Current and Projected
- Peter White, North
Carolina Botanical Garden and UNC-Chapel Hill
Past
practices and current strategies; Economic factors that drive the
industry; The St. Louis Declaration on Invasives; Development of native plant
trade and use; The promise of transgenics for producing sterile varieties; and Public
education.
12:00-1:00 LUNCH
(on your own)
1:00-2:00
Prevalent Invasive Trees and
Shrubs
- Jim Miller , USDA
Forest Service
Introduction to identification
guide provided to attendees; USDA Forest Service FIA monitoring program of
invasive plants on forestlands; Detailed four-season identifying features
presented for 14 tree and shrub taxa and fresh specimens passed along rows.
2:00-2:45
Prevalent Invasive Vines
– Larry Nelson, Clemson
University
Detailed four-season
identifying features presented for 11 taxa and fresh specimens passed along
rows.
2:45-3:15 BREAK
3:15-4:00
Prevalent Invasive Grasses,
Forbs, and Ferns
– Jim Miller, USDA Forest
Service
Detailed four-season
identifying features presented for 11 taxa and fresh specimens passed along
rows.
4:00-4:45
The Problems these Species
Cause and Ultimate Consequences
– Robert E. Eplee, USDA
Retired
Present impacts on
productivity, aesthetics, diversity, ecological functions, fire-fuel issues,
and human health; The issues of scale and ownership; Projected trends and
future consequences.
4:45-5:00 Q & A’s and Daily Wrap-up – All
Speakers
6:00-8:00 Social
8:00-8:45
Gaining Control: Integrated
Vegetation Management Strategies
- David Moorhead, University of Georgia Warnell
School of Forest Resources, and Jim Miller, USDA Forest Service
An overview of prevention and
control (identifying and controlling pathways of entry for right-of-ways and
lands); Details on the uses of mechanical, prescribed fire, grazing, manual,
motor-manual, biological control (both augmentative and classical), and
introduction to herbicide control; Strategies for combining treatments.
8:45-9:15
Safe Herbicide Use,
Environmental Consequences, and Addressing Social Concerns
– Max Williamson,
Environmental Science Consultant
Overview of toxicity of
herbicides to humans, wildlife, and aquatic organisms; Primer on environmental
fate; Dealing with societal concerns.
9:15-9:45
Herbicide Control Treatments
for Invasive Vines
- Jim Miller, USDA Forest
Service
The application approaches,
overview of woody and herbaceous vine control herbicides, and specific
prescriptions (integrating other treatments) with safeguards for cohort native
plants.
9:45-10:15 BREAK
10:15-10:45
Herbicide Control Treatments
for Invasive Trees and Shrubs
– Max Williamson,
Environmental Science Consultant
The application approaches,
overview of woody plant control herbicides (foliar vs soil active), and
specific prescriptions (integrating other treatments) with safeguards for
cohort native plants.
10:45-11:30
Herbicide Control Treatments
for Grasses and Forbs
Wilson Faircloth,
Department of Agronomy and Soils, Auburn University
The application approaches,
overview of herbicides for control of grass and forb invasives, and specific
prescriptions (integrating other treatments) with safeguards for cohort native
plants.
11:30-12:00
Q&A and Discussion on
Prescriptions – Panel of Speakers
12:00-1:00 LUNCH
(on your own)
1:00-1:30
Monitoring and Mapping
Invasive Plant Infestations –
- John K. Buck, Civil and
Environmental Consultants, Inc.
Approaches for mapping and
monitoring on a specific land base and rights-of-ways covering sampling
approaches (amount vs exact locations) including GPS and GIS methods and visual
surveys.
1:30-2:00
Planning and Enacting a
Control-Restoration Program
- Lee Patrick, Invasive
Plant Control, Inc.
Prioritizing treatment areas
and treatment approaches; “Working with” natural succession; Reestablishing
native species; Restoring natural functions.
2:00-2:30
Learning as we control: The use
of information networks in invasive management.
David Moorhead, Keith Douce, and
Chuck Bargeron. The Bugwood Network,
The University of Georgia
Present and provide listings
of learning resource tools, e.g., books, tech bulletins, periodicals, and
websites; The Bugwood Network (bugwood.org,
invasive.org, and forestryimages.org); Information
networks as a key to successful invasive management.
2:30-3:00
Where do we go from here?
- Don Schmitz, Florida
Department of Environmental Protection
Pending federal cost share
programs; Grant programs (Pulling Together Initiative, etc.); Working through
exotic pest plant councils, vegetation management societies, and crop
management societies; Coordinating efforts on the landscape; Gaining public
support; A vision for the future.
3:00 Adjourn
3:15- 4:15
Discussion on organizing a
South Carolina Exotic Pest Plant Council (EPPC)
-Robin Roeker, USDA Forest
Service; Brian Bowen, SE EPPC; and Larry Nelson, Clemson University
Tree-of-heaven,
Ailanthus Ailanthus
altissima
Silktree,
Mimosa Albizia
julibrissin
Princesstree,
Royal Paulownia Paulownia
tomentosa
Chinaberrytree Melia
azedarach
Tallowtree,
Popcorntree Triadica
sebifera (Sapium sebiferum)
Russian
olive Elaeagnus
angustifolia
Silverthorn,
Thorny Olive Elaeagnus
pungens
Autumn
Olive Elaeagnus
umbellata
Winged
Burning Bush Euonymus
alata
Chinese
and European Privets Ligustrum
sinense and L. vulgare
Japanese
Privet Ligustrum
japonicum
Bush
Honeysuckles Lonicera
spp.
Sacred
Bamboo, Nandina Nandina
domestica
Nonnative
Roses Rosa
spp.
Oriental
Bittersweet Celastrus
orbiculatus
Climbing
Yams Dioscorea
bulbifera
Air Yam, Chinese Yam D. oppositifolia
and Water Yam D. alata
Wintercreeper Euonymus
fortunei
English Ivy Hedera
helix
Japanese
Honeysuckle Lonicera
japonica
Kudzu Pueraria
montana
Vincas, Periwinkles Vinca spp.
Chinese
and Japanese Wisterias Wisteria
sinensis and W. floribunda
Giant
Reed Arundo
donax
Tall
Fescue Lolium
arundinaceum
Cogongrass Imperata
cylindrica
Nepalese
Browntop Microstegium
vimineum
Chinese
Silvergrass Miscanthus
sinensis
Bamboos Phyllostachys
spp. and Bambusa spp.
Japanese
Climbing Fern Lygodium
japonicum
Garlic
Mustard Alliaria
petiolata
Shrubby
Lespedeza Lespedeza
bicolor
Chinese
Lespedeza Lespedeza
cuneata
Tropical Soda Apple Solanum viarum