Update on the sixth annual Mid-Atlantic Exotic Pest Plant Council WEED

BUSTERS Invasive Plant Workshop at Frelinghuysen Arboretum,

Morristown, New Jersey, August 9, 2006

 

The Demolition Derby Field Session of the WEED BUSTERS Invasive

Plant Workshop at Frelinghuysen Arboretum, Morristown, New Jersey,

August 9, 2006 will provide practical experience with sites where it is

best to use mechanical control and sites where it is efficacious to employ

chemical control of Japanese Stiltgrass, Wineberry, Garlic Mustard,

Oriental Bittersweet, Multiflora Rose, Japanese Barberry, and Tree of

Heaven.  Other invasive species include Porcelain-berry, Mile-a-Minute

and Japanese Knotweed.  Meet other professionals and volunteers who are

concerned about and involved in invasive plant management. The brochure

link is below, as well as the MA-EPPC link. Cheers.

 

 http://www.arboretumfriends.org/20060809Invasives/brochure.pdf

  http://www.ma-eppc.org/

 

Marc Imlay, PhD

 

SAVE THE DATE: August 9, 2006

The Frelinghuysen Arboretum

53 East Hanover Avenue

PO Box 1295

Morristown, NJ 07962-1295

 

 

WHO SHOULD ATTEND:

Nursery and Landscape Professionals

Natural Resource Specialists

Managers of Parks, Preserves and Conservation Districts

Invasive Plant Management and Restoration Specialists

Extension Agents and Environmental Educators

Public and Botanic Garden Managers and Supervisors

Researchers, Students and Gardeners

Garden and Outdoor Writers

Golf Course and Recreational Land Managers

Home Gardeners/Garden Club Members

 

 

overview

9:00-9:30am Registration / Continental breakfast

9:30-9:45am Welcome

9:45-10:10am Keynote Address, Jil Swearingen

“ War of the Weeds: Fighting for Native Species and Natural Habitats”

We begin with an overview of invasive plant species affecting natural

areas in our region, some impacts and threats, and some policies and

organizations like MA-EPPC that are trying to address the problem.

 

10:10-10:30am Carole F. Bergmann - “32,500 Acres:

Mobilizing Citizens to Battle Invasives in a Large County Park System”

Learn from our 8 years of experience of reaching out to educate,

encourage and train 480 citizen volunteers to direct their time and effort

towards forest stewardship as WEED WARRIORS.

 

10:30-10:50am Mary Travaglini - “Educating Volunteers to Be Confident,

Efficient & More Effective Than You”

Educated volunteers are committed & enthusiastic. They effect positive

change and educate others. Learn the tips and tools that worked to

educate WEED WARRIOR volunteers in the Potomac River Gorge.

 

10:50-11:10am Marc Imlay -“How Our Monthly Invasive Plant Removal

Project Restored Habitats in 40+ Maryland Sites”

This non-native invasive plant removal reaches maintenance phase

following major work efforts at each site through a 5 year long combination

of mechanical and carefully targeted chemical control.

 

11:10-11:30am Jan Ferrigan “Complementary Invasive Plant Control”

How to encourage volunteers & staff to work together and build a successful

urban invasive plant control program? Jan will discuss challenges and success

stories from Arlington, VA’s invasive plant program at work in more than 35

urban parks.

11:30-12:00pm Panel Discussion

12:00-1:00pm Lunch

1:00-1:30pm Form groups for Demolition Derby

1:30-4:30pm Invasive Plant Demolition Derby

4:15-4:30pm Return to Auditorium

4:45-5:00pm Conference ends - certificates issued

5:30-8:00pm Post Conference Activities (optional)

5:30-6:00pm Cocktails & Games

6:00-7:00pm Dinner

7:00-8:00pm Business meeting

 

 

 

Staying Safe When Managing Invasive Plants.

A number of safety issues face the invasive plant

manager – from sharp instruments to chemicals to

environmental hazards like bees and poison ivy. You

will learn how to recognize potential hazards, take

precautions to protect yourself and the environment,

and respond to accidents.

 

Please note: due to the hands-on nature of this conference,

please wear walking shoes and bring sunscreen. You may

wish to bring along a change of clothes and some insect

repellent as well. The optional dinner is on site, and the

dress code is entirely casual.

 

 

Mary Travaglini is the Potomac Gorge Habitat

Restoration Manager for The Nature Conservancy for

which she is responsible for control of invasive exotic

plants and restoration of rare groundwater invertebrate

habitats in one of the most biodiverse land holdings of

the National Park Service. Ms. Travaglini holds degrees

in Natural Resources from Cornell University and

Landscape Architecture from the University of

Michigan. She draws from experiences working in

conservation and landscape architecture on public and

private lands throughout the country.

 

Jil Swearingen is Regional Invasive Species

Coordinator for the National Park Service’s National

Capital Region in Washington, D.C. She has been Chair

of the Plant Conservation Alliance’s Alien Plant

Working Group since 1995 and created and maintains

the Weeds Gone Wild web page (http://www.nps.gov/

plants/alien). For the web page, Jil produces fact sheets

and other materials, maintains a national list of invasive

plant species, and provides links to groups and

resources. She is lead author of “Plant Invaders of Mid-

Atlantic Natural Areas” published in 2002 and “Weed

Busters Handbook” (2006). Jil is Vice President of the

Mid-Atlantic Exotic Pest Plant Council and has an M.S.

in Biology (Systematics, Evolution and Population

Ecology) from George Mason University, Fairfax VA.

 

 

Carole F. Bergmann serves as Forest Ecologist/Field

Botanist for the Maryland-National Capital Park &

Planning Commission (M-NCPPC) in Mongomery

County, MD. She founded the citizen volunteer based

WEED WARRIOR Program in 1999—480 citizens now

work to remove non-native invasives from this 32,500

acre park system. Carole is president of the Maryland

Native Plant Society and a Board Member of MAEPPC

and the Maryland Invasive Species Council. Carole

holds a Masters degree in Environmental Biology from

Hood College in Frederick, Maryland.

 

Jan Ferrigan is Coordinator for Arlington Virginia's

Invasive Plant Control Program under the Virginia

Cooperative Extension and Arlington County Parks,

Recreation and Community Resources. Jan coordinates

volunteer and staff invasive plant control work in

Arlington county parks and develops and produces

educational materials related to invasive plants for use in

Arlington. The http:www.invasiveplants.org website, a

site devoted to invasive plant control news in the

Washington DC area was co-created by Jan. President of

the Mid-Atlantic Exotic Pest Plant Council, Jan has a

MS in Wildlife Biology from Frostburg State University

in Maryland and a B.A. from Queen's University in

Kingston, Ontario.

 

Marc Imlay, PhD, Conservation Biologist, Anacostia

Watershed Society. In addition to being a Board

Member for the Mid-Atlantic Exotic Pest Plant Council,

Marc is Vice President for the Maryland Native Plant

Society, and Chair for the Biodiversity and Habitat

Stewardship Committee for the Maryland Chapter of the

Sierra Club. Marc is working with these organizations to

recruit and train volunteers to assist with invasive plant

removal projects on parks and preserves in Maryland

and elsewhere.