Type: Conference
Posted: 2007-08-08
Location:
Author R. Outlaw Mobile Convention Center
Mobile,
Alabama
Start:
11/07/2007
End:
11/08/2007
The Target Participants:
Land owners and managers, contractors and consultants, State and federal agency management staff, policy makers, researchers, citizens, commodity group leaders, lawmakers, equipment and herbicide manufacturers, distributors, and retailers.
Participation is particularly encouraged by State departments of agriculture, conservation, transportation, and forestry; State cooperative extension leadership, specialists and agents; State and County Highway and
Roads Departments; Soil and Water Conservation Districts and Resource Conservation and Development leadership and staff; USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, USDA Forest Service, USDI Park Service, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service leadership and staff.
The Growing Threat:
The region is in a crisis. Cogongrass continues to invade more lands and is widely regarded as the worst invasive plant threat in the Southern U.S. It infests hundreds of thousands of acres in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and Texas, with spread rates estimated at thousands of acres per year. The spread by windblown seed and rhizomes that are moved in fill dirt, pinestraw and by equipment mean that long-range spread to Tennessee, North Carolina, and Arkansas is imminent.
Most of the Eastern U.S. and Pacific Northwest states are vulnerable. Productivity losses to forestry, pasture, and orchards are evident but yet to be documented, while control costs are mounting for ROWs and
municipalities. Vast displacement of native plants and wildlife is underway, and is exasperated by the extreme flammability of the grass. This siege to our lands and their richness and productivity can not be
tolerated without a concerted attempt to stop its spread, and reclaim and secure the future of our lands from this and other invasive species. Cogongrass Task Forces have been formed in several states and these efforts need greater support, duplication in other states, tiered organization to counties, and interstate coordination to be successful for the region.
The Meeting purpose is to:
1. Assemble expert presentations by researchers and practitioners to convey the latest understanding in managing/controlling/eradicating cogongrass and rehabilitating infested sites in the Southeastern U.S.
Approaches for forestlands, preserves, rights-of-way, and pastures, which can also be used in cities and industrial lands, will be addressed.
2. Convey that understanding to the attending land owners, managers, and policy makers.
3. Convey that understanding in a handbook comprised of extended, management oriented summaries provided by expert presenters.
4. Identify gaps of information that need research and development.
5. Explore existing and needed future networks for coordinating agency, county, state, and regional strategies for successful cogongrass management.
Topics to be addressed:
· What makes cogongrass so invasive and difficult to control?
· Where are current infestations and where is it heading and how can we prevent the spread?
· What are the most effective integrated treatments and management regimens for forestry, preserves, pastures, and rights-of-ways? What do we not know about these?
· What is the value of burning and mechanical treatments when used with herbicide applications?
· How can herbicides be selected and applied to be most effective (herbicides, decoding generic formulations, timing, mixing ingredients, and application systems)?
· What have researchers found by comparing alternative treatments for rehabilitation and restoration?
· What have practitioners learned during operational treatments?
· What cost-share, incentive, and State programs are currently available?
· How can we organize ourselves and build cooperative programs at the local, county, state, and regional levels?
The registration form will be posted on the web soon.
Contact:
Jim Miller and Nancy Loewenstein
