[MAIPC] MAIPC 2105 conference

[Marc Imlay]

10:30am The Ecology and Control of Wavyleaf Basketgrass (Oplismenus
undulatifolius) -Vanessa Beauchamp, Associate Professor, Department of
Biological Sciences, Towson University
In her talk Dr. Beauchamp will cover habitat, seed production, dispersal and
competitive ability of wavyleaf basketgrass, a relatively new forest
understory invader in the mid-Atlantic. She will also talk about an ongoing
herbicide control study and a new citizen-science initiative to map the
distribution of wayleaf basketgrass.

 

Mid-Atlantic Invasive Plant Council 2015 Conference 
Advances in Invasive Plant Science: Applying research outcomes to management
and restoration at the species, community, and landscape levels

Tuesday, August 4 & Wednesday, August 5, 2015
Juniata College, Ellis Hall Ballroom
Huntingdon, PA

 

 

Registration for the Mid-Atlantic Invasive Plant Council's 2015 conference
"Advances in Invasive Plant Science," August 4th & 5th at Juniata College,
is now active.  Please go to
http://www.business-services.upenn.edu/arboretum/ed_conference_ipc.shtml to
register and view the full agenda.  

 

Breakfast, lunch, and snacks during break times and the poster session are
included in the registration fee, but dinner will not be covered and will
not be available at the campus cafeteria.  Dorm room housing is available on
campus for about $40-$50 per night.  There is a link to Juniata's room
reservation website at the bottom of the registration page.

 

There will be a poster session and reception after the plenary sessions on
the first day of the conference.  Posters relating to invasive plant
projects, research, and restoration will be accepted on a first-come
first-served basis.  The session will be curated by the MAIPC Board.
Sponsorship opportunities are still available as well.  Send inquiries to
Jenn Truong at invasivegirl at yahoo.com <mailto:invasivegirl at yahoo.com> . 

 

Finally, many thanks are due to the Morris Arboretum for handling
registration and other logistics for our conference again this year.

 

Thank you,

 

Damien P. Ossi

Wildlife Biologist

Fisheries and Wildlife Division

District Dept. of Environment

1200 First Street NE; Fifth Floor

Washington, DC 20002

202-741-0840

damien.ossi at dc.gov <mailto:damien.ossi at dc.gov> 

 

 

Join researchers and invasive plant managers as they come together to
discuss the latest invasive plant research and how it can be used to
increase the effectiveness of invasive plant management strategies.

Managing invasive plants in the Mid-Atlantic region can be complicated.  The
area encompasses urban lands and wilderness areas, stretches from coastal
swamps to high mountain forests, and includes numerous well-established
invasive species.  Adding to the complexity are the threats of
newly-emerging invasive species, the recent addition of biocontrol vectors,
and the role of restoration in recently-managed areas.   With all of these
factors, a scientific approach to managing invasive plants is critical to
success.

Through a number of case studies our invited speakers will present their
recent applied research on invasive plants.  Research topics will cover
applied management at the species, ecosystem, and landscape levels.  We will
cover effective control strategies: biocontrol vectors, pre-emergent
herbicides, early detection of new species, and cooperative weed management
areas.  Restoration projects in wilderness areas and urban habitats will be
discussed along with information on re-vegetation, weed risk assessment, and
impacts on pollinators.

We will also have a field session to cover species identification, mapping
tools, and chemical techniques.

Time will be available for questions, discussion, and networking with
speakers and attendees. We invite you to join us for this 9th Mid-Atlantic
Invasive Plant Council Conference. It will be an exciting and informative
two-day meeting.

*         Day One, August 4

8:15am Registration and Continental Breakfast

 

9:00am Welcome and Introduction -Damien Ossi, President, Mid-Atlantic
Invasive Plant Council

 

9:10am Keynote Talk: Invasive Plants Are NOT for the Birds-Johnny Randall,
Director of Conservation Programs, North Carolina Botanical Garden, The
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The co-evolutionary relationship between birds and the dispersal of fleshy
fruits has gone bad. The bird/plant mutualism benefits multitudes of plants
(for the effective dispersal of fruits/seeds) and birds (that receive a
nutritious "reward"). Non-native plants (both invasive and benign) have
"spoiled" this relationship by facilitating invasive plant spread, competing
with native plants for fleshy fruit dispersal, and altering bird nutrition.
In this presentation I will discuss the relationship between and among these
separate but related phenomena for some of the common and incipient invasive
plants in our region.

 

10:10am Break

 

10:30am Ecological Restoration of Invaded Urban Forests: What Is Possible?
-Lea Johnson, Assistant Professor at the University of Maryland
More than half of humanity now lives in cities. Municipalities are
increasingly turning to ecological restoration of urban forests to provide
ecosystem services that cannot be outsourced. These forests are subjected to
ongoing human-caused disturbances that provide challenges to restoration,
from extreme fragmentation and local atmospheric warming to frequent
introduction of non-native, invasive species. Studies of the effects of
restoration treatments after 15-20 years in New York City Park forests
invaded by non-native woody plants indicate both successes and a need for
possibility-based approaches to setting targets for urban ecological
restoration.

 

11:00am Using Research to Guide Invasive Plant Management Efforts in the
Anacostia River, a River in the Nation's Capital -Jorge Bogantes Montero,
Natural Resource Specialist, Stewardship Department, Anacostia Watershed
Society
For the last 10 years, the Anacostia Watershed Society (AWS), an
environmental non-profit organization in the Washington, DC area, has been
tackling the threat posed by invasive plant species in the wetlands,
forests, and meadows of the Anacostia River watershed, an urban watershed in
the Mid-Atlantic region. Throughout these years, AWS has been looking for
ways to prioritize its invasive plant management efforts to make them more
successful. As a small non-profit organization, scientific research has not
been a top priority for AWS. However, as a way to make invasive plant
removal efforts more beneficial and cost effective, AWS has started to
measure the efficacy of its invasive plant management efforts by conducting
applied field research. This research has made a difference in measuring
removal success, recovery of native plant community, and also to determine
what removal techniques work best.

 

11:30am Prioritizing Early Detection Species in the National Capital Region
-Mark Frey, Exotic Plant Management Team Liaison, National Capital Region 
Invasive plants are found throughout the mid-Atlantic and no one has the
resources to attack all plants impacting all areas. One important component
of an effective invasive plant control program is target species
prioritization. This presentation will discuss the qualitative and
semi-quantitative prioritization systems in use or development for the
National Parks Service's National Capital Region.

 

12 noon Lunch

1:15pm The Linville Gorge Wilderness: A Case Study in Adaptive Management
-Ben Prater, Director of Conservation, Wild South
The 1964 Wilderness Act called for preservation of "natural" conditions in
wilderness areas.  For wilderness managers, preserving natural conditions
has historically meant to do nothing or to actively prevent the destruction
of the resource by disturbance. In recent years, wilderness managers have
begun to see that this is a contradiction especially when it comes to
"natural" disturbances like wildfire. To further complicate matters we now
have threats to our wild places such as the invasion of exotic pests that
have drastic impacts on the "natural" conditions and wild character of
wilderness areas. Ben will use the Linville Gorge Wilderness, a fire-adapted
12,000 area with rare endemic plants, as a case study in adapting our
management strategies as our ecological knowledge expands, threats grow, and
our value for wilderness deepens. He will discuss the combined problems of
the ecological degradation due to fire suppression and the invasion of
non-native invasive plant species.

 

1:45pm Managing Co-Invaded Forest Ecosystems: Lessons from Research on
Co-Occurring Invasive Woody Shrubs -Sara Kuebbing, Postdoctoral Fellow, Yale
School of Forestry and Environmental Studies 
It is now common to find multiple nonnative, invasive plant species growing
side by side in invaded habitats. Yet, a disproportionate amount of research
has focused on understanding the effects of single rather than multiple
invaders. This is true for eastern deciduous forests, which can be invaded
by multiple woody shrub species. I discuss how interactions between invasive
shrubs can alter their impacts on native plant communities and ecosystem
function, and how co-occurring shrubs may indirectly promote the presence of
other nonnative plants.

 

2:15pm Forming a Landowner-Centric Cooperative Weed Management Area (CWMA)
-Rod Walker, One of the founders of the Blue Ridge PRISM; landowner in
Albemarle County, VA
A brief introduction to CWMAs will be followed by an update on the Blue
Ridge PRISM (Partnership for Regional Invasive Species Management). The Blue
Ridge PRISM is the first CWMA to be headquartered in Virginia. It covers 10
counties (almost 3 million acres) including the entire Shenandoah National
Park. This update will cover the strategies and plans for pulling together a
large number of diverse landowners to work toward common goals.

 

2:45pm Break

 

3:00pm  Mechanical and Biological Controls Methods for Japanese Stiltgrass
(Microstegium vimineum) -Samantha Nestory, Graduate Research Assistant at
the University of Delaware
Japanese stiltgrass (Microstegium vimineum) is an invasive grass that poses
a major threat to the biodiversity of many natural areas throughout its
introduced range. While there are recommended control methods, few studies
have scientifically quantified the efficacy of these control methods. A
study conducted through the University of Delaware evaluated the effect of
mowing height on regrowth, reproductive output, and the resident plant
community.

 

3:30pm Halt! Who Goes There? Maryland's Weed Risk Assessment Process -Kerrie
Kyde, Invasive Plant Ecologist/ Regional Biologist Natural Heritage Program,
Maryland DNR - Wildlife and Heritage Service
In 2011, Maryland created an Invasive Plant Advisory Committee, and adopted
a formal risk assessment and ranking system for plants, largely those
introduced through ornamental horticulture, This session explains the
background of the law, the assessment tool and its use, and the current
species rankings of invasive plants within the state. The need for and
development of the new Statewide Eyes program is also described.

 

4:00pm Adjourn

5:00pm Poster Session and Reception

 

Day Two, August 5

8:15am Registration and Continental Breakfast

 

9:00am Mid-Atlantic Invasive Plant Council Business Meeting -Damien Ossi,
President, MAIPC

 

9:45am Sustaining Native Pollinators: Beyond the Butterfly Garden -Deborah
Delaney, assistant professor of entomology in the Entomology and Wildlife
Ecology Department at the University of Delaware 
If our native landscapes are to be "sustainable," our native flora needs to
be able to self-perpetuate. This requires seed production and, in turn, the
services of pollinators. This presentation will discuss pollinators found in
the northeast and their nutritional requirements; the effect of land use on
pollinator health and diversity; and new data on pollinator preferences of
different plant cultivars within specific genera.  Deborah will also cover
invasive Plants and their impacts on native pollinators.

 

10:15am Break

 

10:30am The Ecology and Control of Wavyleaf Basketgrass (Oplismenus
undulatifolius) -Vanessa Beauchamp, Associate Professor, Department of
Biological Sciences, Towson University
In her talk Dr. Beauchamp will cover habitat, seed production, dispersal and
competitive ability of wavyleaf basketgrass, a relatively new forest
understory invader in the mid-Atlantic. She will also talk about an ongoing
herbicide control study and a new citizen-science initiative to map the
distribution of wayleaf basketgrass.

  

11:00am Hits and Misses: Managing Japanese Stiltgrass with Preemergence
Herbicides-Art Gover, Research Support Associate with the Roadside
Vegetation Management Project of the Department of Horticulture at the Penn
State University
This talk will review the specifics of using pre-emergence herbicides to
manage stiltgrass, compare this approach to postemergent methods, and
consider how this approach integrates with other management tools and
management of other species in the same setting.

 

11:30am Source materials for ecological restoration and the role of local
adaptation -Norris Muth, associate professor of biology at Juniata
College-Managing the invasive species in a site is but one important aspect
of the larger goal of restoration. Whether the goals of a project include
restoration of function, aesthetics, or a particular community composition,
it is always necessary to consider what might come after the weeds are gone
(if we should be so fortunate). In the most promising of cases, native or
desirable plants may colonize a site at an acceptable rate, unassisted. In
other cases it is often necessary to play a more active role towards shaping
the future vegetation by intentional introduction or reintroduction of
selected species. This type of management leads to a number of potentially
non-trivial decisions, including, from where should our restored plants be
sourced? Addressing this question carefully is important as it will affect
the ultimate success of the effort, the price tag and logistical ease of the
project, and the ecological and evolutionary future of the site and the
species therein. Our presentation here aims to address some of the major
concerns about revegetation provenance choices with a particular focus on
the role and scope of local adaptation.

 

12 noon Lunch

 

IPC Strike Team Field Demonstration
During this session participants will take a 15 minute stroll to the Peace
Chapel Natural Area.  The Peace Chapel occupies 14 acres just east of the
Juniata College campus, off Warm Springs Avenue in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania,
and is part of the larger 315-acre Baker-Henry Nature Preserve. The preserve
was originally donated to Juniata by John C. Baker and C. Jewett Henry as a
bird sanctuary and land preserve. The crew from one of Invasive Plant
Control, Inc's  (IPC) Mid Atlantic Strike Teams will be onsite to
demonstrate the tools, equipment, and various methods used to treat some of
the common invasives in the Mid Atlantic including Ailanthus and spotted
knapweed.   IPC's strike teams travel thousands of miles each year
selectively treating invasives in natural area and are currently developing
a model EDRR Strike Team for the Department of Defense.

 

3:30pm Return to Conference Room and Adjourn 

 



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