[MAIPC] Fwd: REMINDER: Wild Spotter: Mapping Invasives in America's Wild Places Webinar

Wed Jul 25 06:01:24 PDT 2018

Hi,

If you're not outside tomorrow afternoon, you might want to watch this
webinar announcing "Wild Spotter" - a new project out of Chuck Bargeron's
Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health. See his email below for
more details and please spread the word.

Thank you,

Jil

.......................
Jil Swearingen
Invasive Species Consultant
*In the Weeds*
410-200-7085

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Chuck Bargeron <cbargero at uga.edu>
Date: Tue, Jul 24, 2018 at 1:36 PM
Subject: REMINDER: Wild Spotter: Mapping Invasives in America's Wild Places
Webinar
To: NAEPPCBOARD at listserv.uga.edu

Register for Wild Spotter: Mapping Invasives in America's Wild Places on
Jul 26, 2018 3:00 PM EDT at:

https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8187228954700337155

The University of Georgia – Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem
Health and Wildlife Forever partnered with the USDA Forest Service for the
50th anniversary of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act and the National Trails
System Act to recruit, train, and empower volunteers to provide critical
scientific support with a new program to better address the expanding
threat of aquatic and terrestrial invasive species. “Wild Spotter” is a
nationwide effort to complete a comprehensive survey, inventory, and
mapping of a prioritized set of aquatic and terrestrial invasive species
across the 193-million acre National Forest System (NFS) to help meet the
Forest Service’s restoration objectives and stewardship mission. This
program’s initial focus is in specific high-value NFS areas: Wilderness
Areas and Wild and Scenic Rivers. Wild Spotter promotes a citizen science
approach and creates partnerships to expand local capacity to gather
accurate data on the location and spatial extent of high-risk populations
of invasive species in remote areas. Wild Spotter aims to empower unique
audiences, including individuals or groups, to have a diverse array of the
visiting public and local communities mapping invasive species using a
mobile application based data collection tool to provide resource managers
a broad cross section of data. The information gathered will quantify the
extent and impact of all targeted invasive species to improve effectiveness
at preventing, controlling, and eradicating invasive species and ultimately
aid in restoring invaded areas to desired conditions.

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing
information about joining the webinar.

More information about the new program is provided below.

*WILD SPOTTER™*
*A New National Effort to Increase Citizen Science Capacity to Map Invasive
Species in America’s Wild Places.*

In partnership with Wildlife Forever, USDA Forest Service, and other
organizations across the United States,  the University of Georgia - Center
for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health has launched a nationwide citizen
science volunteer capacity-building program called *Wild Spotter*.
Designed to help locate and map aquatic and terrestrial invasive species
in Wilderness Areas, Wild & Scenic Rivers, and other wild places across the
193 million-acre National Forest System,

[image: Press Release Image 300x300lf2 4]this new program engages and
empowers the public, local communities, states, tribes, and many other
groups to help the Forest Service confront the threats from harmful exotic
plants, animals, and pathogens that invade America’s beautiful and
economically important wild places.  The *Wild Spotter* program provides
the tools these volunteers need to help locate, quantify, map, and report
invasive species infestations in a simple and effective manner, while
raising public awareness about invasive species and promoting
collaborations across the landscape.

“We started the collaboration with these great partners to design and build
the *Wild Spotter* program to expand citizen science volunteer capacity on
12 pilot National Forests and Grasslands distributed from East to West
across the U.S., primarily to gather important occurrence data on invasive
species and how they are impacting Wilderness Areas, Wild & Scenic Rivers,
and other Natural Areas”, said Mike Ielmini, National Invasive Species
Program Manager in the USDA Forest Service headquarters in Washington,
D.C.  The first set of National Forest System units participating in the
*Wild Spotter* program, includes the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest
(Idaho), Lincoln National Forest (New Mexico), Santa Fe National Forest
(New Mexico), Bridger-Teton National Forest (Wyoming), Payette National
Forest (Idaho), Wallowa-Whitman National Forest (Oregon), Siuslaw National
Forest (Oregon), Ozark-St. Francis National Forest (Arkansas), Daniel Boone
National Forest (Kentucky), Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest
(Wisconsin), Monongahela National Forest (West Virginia), and Shawnee
National Forest (Illinois).  Additional National Forests and Grasslands and
other wild places across America will be added annually.

“As many new partners and groups scrambled to join this effort, and the
demand increased for more places to be added to the *Wild Spotter* effort,
we quickly realized the potential this program had to rapidly accelerate
citizen-science support nationwide to address the invasive species threat,
not just for National Forest Wilderness Areas and other wild places, but
across the entire landscape. We have designed the program to benefit
everyone across the landscape and boost citizen science capacity while
raising public awareness and action”, Ielmini added.

The elements within the *Wild Spotter* program provide adaptable tools and
technologies for engaging a diverse array of public stakeholders and user
groups, including natural resource agencies looking for community
engagement opportunities. Utilizing a targeted list of “most wanted”
species, volunteers receive information and support to get started as a
* Wild Spotter* volunteer; all free.  Once a *Wild Spotter* volunteer
identifies and reports a species, the data is verified by experts and then
made publicly available through a networked invasive species inventory
database hosted by the University of Georgia.

“The invasive species identification and mapping technology of
*Wild Spotter* is based on the national Early Detection and Distribution
Mapping System – EDDMapS for short”, said Chuck Bargeron, Associate
Director of the University of Georgia’s Center for Invasive Species and
Ecosystem Health, and one of the principal partners working on the
project.  Bargeron noted that by using EDDMapS as a platform for the
*Wild Spotter* program, it allows everyone to help locate, quantify, and
map invasions anywhere in the country.

“We are very proud that *Wild Spotter* is expanding citizen science
volunteer capacity against invasive species by capitalizing on the outdoor
activities of millions of people who are already enjoying some of the most
beautiful places in America, to help us gather information on the locations
of these harmful exotic invaders in any ecosystem.  Like the idea of
‘see-something, say-something’ the Wild Spotter greatly enhances the early
detection and rapid response capabilities of agencies like the Forest
Service”, said Bargeron.  “Mapping, quantifying, and reporting new
infestations early helps our biologists and other land managers to
implement better strategies for prevention, control, and eradication”, said
Allen Rowley, Director of the Forest Management, Rangeland Management, and
Vegetation Ecology Units for the Forest Service in Washington, D.C.

Invasive species threaten access, productivity, and ecosystem health to
millions of acres of public and private lands and waters.
Congressionally-designated Wilderness Areas, Wild & Scenic Rivers, and
other natural areas are extremely vulnerable to invasion, and represent
some of America’s best intact landscapes that must be maintained in their
natural state for native plants and animals to flourish. “The *Wild
Spotter* program
expands our ability to accomplish mandated Wilderness stewardship
responsibilities against invasive species, with the help of the public, and
ultimately protect these wild places from the associated degrading effects
of aquatic and terrestrial invasive species.  This is especially exciting
to launch the Wild Spotter program in the same year as we celebrate
the 50th anniversary
of the Wild & Scenic Rivers Act”, said Sue Spear, Director of the USDA
Forest Service’s Wilderness and Wild and Scenic River Resources.

*Wild Spotter* utilizes a free mobile mapping app for Apple and Android
devices including a comprehensive website that boosts volunteer capacity
and training to help increase capacity.  “This program has tremendous
appeal and ability to engage citizen scientist volunteers, friends’ groups
and the entire conservation community into taking action against America’s
greatest threat to our public lands - invasive species”, said Pat
Conzemius, Executive Vice President for Wildlife Forever, “and don’t forget
to check out the new* Wild Spotter* Facebook page.”, Conzemius added.

If you want to become a *Wild Spotter *or learn more about the program,
visit the website: *www.wildspotter.org <http://www.wildspotter.org>*.
Like us on Facebook.  Join the effort to Map Invasives in
America’s Wild Places.

 [image: UGA Logo 2][image: WF Logo 2][image: USFS Logo 3][image: Wild and
Scenic Logo][image: National Trails Logo 2]

Thanks,

Chuck

Chuck Bargeron

Associate Director for Invasive Species and Information Technology

Center for Invasive Species & Ecosystem Health

University of Georgia – Tifton, GA

Phone (229) 386-3298

Cell (229) 402-0412

www.bugwood.org
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