Keeping it Clean on Sandy Ridge Video

This video from Columbia Gorge Cooperative Weed Management Area highlights a new bike, boot, and tool cleaning and education kiosk that is installed near the main parking lot at Sandy Ridge. This kiosk has all the tools you need to make sure your wheels, shoes and tools aren't weedy! Similar kiosks have been installed at Powell Butte and Rocky Point trails, too!

Invasive Annual Grass Workshop

Harney County Wildfire Collaborative and SageCon Partnership hosted a two day workshop last month, during which the barriers and opportunities for addressing invasive annual grasses in Oregon and beyond the state were explored. If you missed the workshop or want to revisit the information that was covered, please click here. On this page provided by High Desert Partnership, you can find recordings of the December 14 & 15th sessions, graphic notes, and more!

How Non-Native Plants Are Contributing to a Global Insect Decline

How Non-Native Plants Are Contributing to a Global Insect Decline

By JANET MARINELLI published December 8, 2020 in Yale Environment 360

The impact of introduced plants on native biodiversity has emerged as a hot-button issue in ecology. But recent research provides new evidence that the displacement of native plant communities is a key cause of a collapse in insect populations and is affecting birds as well.

See the full article here.

Flowering Rush Webinar: Phenology, Genetic Variability, and Management

Flowering Rush: Phenology, Genetic Variability, and Management

Dr. John Madsen, USDA-ARS; Dr. Bradley T. Sartain, ERDC-EL; Dr. Nate Harms, ERDC-EL 4 November 2020

First Dr. Madsen presents the phenology of Flowering Rush in two case studies that informs long-term management. Then Dr. Sartain looks at field trials that evaluate water exchange processes and herbicide efficacy on the effective management of flowering rush. Lastly, Dr. Harms looks at genotype differences between introduced populations that may lead to variation in economic or ecological impacts between invaded areas and finishes with genotype-specific management.

View here: https://corpslakes.erdc.dren.mil/employees/invasive/exchange.cfm?Option=Webinar&Type=Past&CoP=invasive&Id=582&ICS=No

2020 Integrated Weed Maintenance Calendar

This calendar is intended to provide land managers and weed practitioners with the best treatment and timing options when controlling invasive plants in the Portland metropolitan region. The calendar was originally written by Metro for managing natural areas, but the 4-County CWMA Technical & Scientific Review Committee has updated it for a wider audience of land managers.

View/Download 2020 Integrated Weed Maintenance Calendar

If you have any suggestions for the calendar, please contact Mitch Bixby (Mitch.Bixby@portlandoregon.gov).

A Toolkit for Invasive Annual Grass Management in the West

The Western Governors’ Association (WGA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), under a Shared Stewardship Memorandum of Understanding, have been collaborating on efforts to meaningfully address the large-scale infestation of invasive annual grasses on western forests and rangelands. The result of this effort is a new toolkit for land managers to address the spread of invasive annual grasses in the West, including species such as cheatgrass, medusahead, and ventanata. WGA and USDA released the toolkit during a webinar, which featured presentations by members of the interagency committee that worked to develop the toolkit.

The toolkit is comprised of three elements:

  • A roadmap for invasive grass management in the West, with new best management practices for the identification and protection of relatively intact “core” areas;

  • Case studies highlighting the application of these practices in Idaho and Wyoming; and

  • A new geospatial data layer to help state and local officials manage invasive annual grasses at home, while also offering opportunities to identify new cross-boundary collaborative projects.

Watch the webinar

View/Download the Toolkit

Plant ID: Ventenata dubia vs. Deschampsia danthonioides

Deschampsia danthoniodes (native) and Ventenata dubia (invasive) grow in similar habitats, often right alongside each other and it can be very easy to confuse the two. Linked below is a one-page identification guide and a PowerPoint compilation of identification resources (Guide and Digital art by Bethany Reed, Malheur National Forest).

One-page Identification Guide

Identification Resources PowerPoint

Pacific Northwest Garlic Mustard Working Group

The Pacific Northwest Garlic Mustard Working Group is a collaboration between invasive plant managers and field staff working on surveying and control of garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata) in Oregon, Washington, British Columbia and Alaska. By coming together to share observations, identify challenges and discuss treatment strategies, the working group enhances the collective understanding of garlic mustard impacts and solutions across the region. In addition to improving and refining best management practices, the working group also seeks to develop a composite view of the current work being undertaken. Developing a platform for collaboration promotes timely sharing of key information and supports a region-wide effort to contain and decrease garlic mustard presence in the Pacific Northwest. In Oregon, garlic mustard is known to occur in fourteen counties, and includes population centers in Northwest Oregon, Umatilla County, and the Rogue River. See the Garlic Mustard Working Group's 2014 poster on the King County website, here. For more information, please check out the Garlic Mustard Working Group resources available through the 4-County CWMA website or contact Michelle Delepine at michelle@wmswcd.org.