Arundo donax Eradication and Coordination
a project of Team Arundo del Norte
Primary Contact:
Richard Dale
Sonoma Ecology Center
205 First Street West
Sonoma, CA 95476
phone: (707) 996-9744
fax: (707) 996-1744
email: sec@vom.com
Participants and Collaborators
Team Arundo del Norte
CERES
UC Davis Information Center for the Environment (ICE)
USDA Agricultural Research Service
Department of Water Resources
San Francisco Estuary Institute
University of California, Berkeley
CA Department of Fish and Game
US Environmental Protection Agency
Sonoma Ecology Center
City of Chico
Friends of the Creeks
San Francisquito Creek CRMP
Napa RCD
Putah Creek Council, Putah Creek Steering Committee
Napa Agricultural Commissioner
California Conservation Corps
Type of Organization and Tax Status: non-profit 501c3
Tax Identification Number: 94-313-6500
Team Arundo del Norte (TAdN) was formed in response to the urgent threat that Arundo donax (giant reed or giant cane) presents to the riparian and stream ecosystems of northern and central California. There are two pressing needs regarding Arundo: prompt on-the-ground eradication, and coordination of a region-wide effort. Sonoma Ecology Center (SEC), as a member of TAdN, proposes a three year umbrella project that would carry out CALFED’s work with regard to the eradication and control of Arundo, the state’s most invasive riparian weed. This project will direct funds to eradication partners in six watersheds that are prepared to immediately carry out Arundo eradication. These sites are on Putah Creek, Big Chico Creek, Sonoma Creek, Walnut Creek, Napa River, and San Francisquito Creek. The project will also provide much needed information exchange and coordination to other groups in the CALFED region, so that many more potential Arundo eradication and prevention efforts can proceed. We have strong interest already from several watersheds including Stony Creek, Petaluma River, and San Joaquin tributaries, as well as land management agencies wrestling with Arundo infestations.
This proposal will create an umbrella that will reduce the need for CALFED to administer numerous individual projects while providing a stucture for long term eradication and monitoring of this NIS throughout the CALFED solution area. This approach is more efficient than funding many separate uncoordinated eradication efforts. It will prevent small infestations from ballooning into disasters, will consolidate project funding applications to reduce agency workloads, and will focus Arundo related efforts where they will be most effective. Through TAdN’s close links to watershed groups, agencies, and universities, information gathered by this project on Arundo’s distribution patterns, ecological impacts, and eradication methods will be widely and immediately useful. TAdN members have collectively spent years addressing the Arundo threat, and are highly qualified to provide guidance and to carry out project objectives.
Through region-wide coordination and an acceleration of new project start-up using the best information available, Team Arundo del Norte seeks to address what we believe to be the single most damaging process for many CALFED streams. The objectives are to reduce Arundo’s negative impacts to valuable riparian and aquatic habitats, water supply, natural stream geomorphology, fire risk, and flood risk.
The cost for three years of funding for immediate eradication and monitoring, technical coordination and planning of future eradication work, and organization and dissemination of Arundo-related information is $818,045. This cost is matched by $305,036 in in-kind contributions.
Minimum requirements of the PSP have been met. Besides a short-term spike in downstream fine sediment supply, there are no adverse effects of Arundo donax eradication.
Project Description
PROJECT STRUCTURE
Project Administrator: Sonoma Ecology Center, a non-profit and founding TAdN member, will administer finances, CALFED reporting, and record keeping.
Advisory Committee: Team Arundo del Norte is a multi-stakeholder partnership dedicated to the reduction and eventual elimination of Arundo donax, where it threatens rivers, creeks and wetlands in central and northern California. The Team meets quarterly and communicates actively using an email listserv (tadn@ceres.ca.gov) and an informative website (http://ceres.ca.gov/tadn), providing a forum of communication for those conducting current and planned research and eradication projects, and for the identification and discussion of issues involved in addressing the problem of Arundo invasion. A wide range of geographic representation and expertise has organized within its membership (see Applicant Qualifications). TAdN will prioritize eradication sites, advise on eradication, monitoring, and revegetation methods, address regional permitting issues, and identify further opportunities for complementary projects, cooperative agreements, and funding.
Coordinator Position(s): Hired by Project Administrator with approval by TadN Advisory Committee, will act as liaison(s) beween Advisory Committee, eradication partners, and other Arundo-related efforts. Will provide technical assistance to support development, implementation and monitoring of eradication plans, coordinate resources, and oversee projects.
Eradication Partners: Local groups who are planning Arundo removal projects but who need resources and assistance to effectively address the problem.
PROJECT LEVELS: CALFED MAY FUND THIS PROJECT AT ONE OF THREE LEVELS.
LEVEL 1: Focuses strictly on accomplishing eradication implementation and monitoring on 26 sites in 6 watersheds (see map and Location for specifics). These sites have watershed groups or agencies (eradication partners) that are completely prepared to eradicate Arundo on their streams. They have provided informed cost estimates for eradication, and require only labor and/or funding to begin immediately. The project would deliver funds and expertise to Level 1 groups to immediately carry out eradication, and follow up with monitoring and re-treatment.
A half-time Coordinator will oversee eradication and monitoring, and handle monitoring data. Information generated by eradication and monitoring efforts will be made available via existing data repositories.
Arundo eradication itself is fairly simple. The Coordinator may hire the CCC or other contractor as man-power. Typically, a crew with loppers cuts the canes to 18" or less. Others haul the canes toward disposal. Common disposal methods include burning onsite, hauling to a dump, or processing for various biomass uses. Lastly, a licensed pesticide applicator works with a lopper to make a fresh cut on each cane which is immediately daubed or painted with full-strength RodeoÔ or RoundupÔ . Some landowners may choose to avoid use of herbicide. On large sites, spraying instead of painting with herbicide may be more economical. Some groups will re-vegetate eradication sites after Arundo is removed. Follow-up treatments are usually necessary in the year or two after eradication, in addition to monitoring eradication and re-vegetation success (see Monitoring).
Deliverables: Eradication projects implemented at 26 sites in six watersheds by local partner and/or contractor. Monitoring plans written, monitoring programs established. Yearly progress reports to TAdN. Final report.
LEVEL 2: In addition to implementing the eradication proposed in Level 1, Level 2 would also address the urgent need for coordination and expertise among potential eradicators throughout the CALFED area. This Level of funding allows TAdN to take on CALFED’s need for a regional strategy against Arundo. A full-time Coordinator will deliver strategy, information, fund-raising help, and stakeholder organization at sites needing eradication. TAdN expertise will prioritize eradication sites. Primary control over onsite eradication and monitoring activities will rest with the partner. This Level of funding provides a mechanism to train stakeholders to do their own eradication, and will position them to receive eradication funding.
Level 2 partners are not ready to begin eradication, but are strongly interested. They include both groups exploring eradication projects and sites needing eradication but lacking a constituency. Potential eradication partners typically go through a sequence of activities including site assessment, planning, finding funding, permitting, and finally eradication and monitoring. The Coordinator and TAdN will provide technical expertise, information transfer, stake-holder coordination, assistance with fund-raising and permitting, and planning advice to partners. Partners will be assisted in producing an Eradication Plan and Monitoring Plan (see Monitoring). Many groups or agencies have contacted TAdN eager for help in organizing and funding Arundo eradication work (see Local Involvement).
Deliverables: A dossier on at least 20 potential eradication partners, including detailed Eradication Plan (see Monitoring), funding possibilities, justification in the context of the regional Arundo problem, and monitoring plan. Yearly progress reports from Coordinator to TAdN. Final Report.
LEVEL 3: In addition to tasks proposed in Level 2, Level 3 will consolidate the mass of Arundo-related information available and make it readily available via the Internet. This project proposes to provide a comprehensive information clearinghouse for the exchange of data generated by ongoing eradication, research, and education projects, using Internet communications along with the efforts of the Coordinator to construct a framework for information sharing. In addition to the full-time Coordinator needed for Level 2, Level 3 requires a half-time person proficient in information technology and website design.
Task 1: Provide one-stop access to project descriptions and contacts, experiments, methodologies, and reports of results and data.
Deliverables: Web-accessible and updatable Arundo eradication/prevention project description database with instructions for participation. Online database based on the CERES Environmental Information Catalog and the ICE Natural Resource Projects Inventory that allows uploading and updating of Arundo project information. Project areas will be dynamically displayed on a map of California, with project information linked.
Task 2: Arundo prevention and eradication project planning support.
Deliverables: Web-based searchable, downloadable library of surveying and project planning methods, eradication techniques, monitoring protocols, results of herbicide studies, educational materials, literature searches, permitting procedures and contacts, eradication cost estimates, and funding sources. Links to GIS mapping and remote sensing techniques from UC Berkeley and SFEI will be made as these become available. Information available on the Web will be especially useful to watershed groups or landowners who, for various reasons, prefer not to work directly with this project.
Level 1 sites (see map). Coordinates are in minutes and seconds, or in decimal degrees.
Levels 2 and 3 address all areas within the PSP Geographic Scope that have or could have Arundo infestations. This scope excludes areas with cold winters, but includes most of the Central Valley floor and coast range streams.
Ecological/Biological Benefits
The primary objective of this project is the same as that of Team Arundo del Norte: to protect remaining native riparian habitat from destruction by the non-native invasive plant, Arundo donax. The alien grass known as Arundo is, in some watersheds, possibly the greatest biological threat to dwindling riparian resources. Arundo rapidly and catastrophically alters ecological processes in riparian systems, ultimately moving formerly diverse ecosystems towards pure stands of Arundo through a regime of intensified flooding and fire (Bell 1997).
This project has several secondary biological and ecological objectives:
This project will stop the advance of the invasive species Arundo donax through direct, intensive eradication in infested sections of selected waterways of the Bay Area and Sacramento Valley. It will also provide support and coordination for all Arundo control projects in the region through a network of expertise, new information, educational materials, and streamlined procedures.
The timing and locations of this project are optimal for returns on financial and human resource investment. The project area is the San Francisco Bay, Delta, and Central Valley, where streams and rivers are now showing early to mid-successional stages of infestation. Many of this project’s Level 1 eradication sites are in watersheds where the Arundo infestation still constitutes a small percentage of the riparian vegetation. It is imperative that these and other watersheds receive funding to control these small infestations before they become ecological crises. Arundo spreads very rapidly. A minor colony can quickly become a major threat to fire safety, aquatic and riparian habitat quality, and water supply. Removing Arundo early is the only way to avoid expensive, disruptive large-scale eradication efforts. Lessons learned from experience with the weed in streams of Southern California, where there is estimated to be tens of thousands of acres infested by Arundo donax (Bell 1997), indicate that early prevention of the spread of this weed is the most cost-effective approach. Once Arundo becomes heavily established and habitat value is destroyed, the problem shifts from biodiversity conservation to one of economics and public safety.
The best opportunities in the CALFED area for the conservation of native stream fish in terms of cost, logistics, and effectiveness are in those streams supporting the most diverse and intact natural systems, particularly the smaller streams around the San Francisco Bay (Leidy, 1998).
The threat posed by Arundo donax is causing widespread concern among local watershed groups and state and federal environmental management agencies, and there are many individual Arundo-related projects (eradication, research, prevention, and education) throughout the Bay Delta and Sacramento Valley. Through TAdN’s meetings, website, and email listserv there has already been an increase in coordination and communication between these disparate efforts that would otherwise be isolated. Coordination with others attempting Arundo control and those studying control methods and their effects greatly improves the information resources available to a project and its opportunities to share costs involved in planning and implementation. Production of outreach materials and guidance publications for use across Northern California will prevent duplication of these efforts and allow local projects to concentrate on educating their community and eradication in their streams. The Coordinator funded by this project, particularly the Arundo information system (Level 3 funding) will enhance this communication and resource-sharing, and build the resource base available to those seeking guidance and assistance in their efforts. Projects collaborating with Team Arundo del Norte are:
Eradication efforts:
Mapping/Monitoring:
Research:
Education:
in print and video for landowners, watershed groups, and the general public, for use in Northern California.
This project directly addresses goals set forth by the CALFED NIS Strategic Plan and the ERP.
The project addresses Goal 5 of the Ecosystem Restoration Program to "reduce negative biological and economical impacts of established non-native species," by addressing Objectives 6 to "halt the introduction of invasive aquatic and terrestrial plants into Central California" and 7 to "focus control efforts on those introduced species for which control is most feasible and of greatest benefit." Project objectives correspond with Goals I, II, and III of the NIS Plan to prevent and control the spread of NIS through appropriate management, and reduce their negative ecological and economic impacts. This project addresses the issues (NIS Plan) of leadership, authority and organization, coordination, cooperation and partnership, and education and outreach by providing the following:
Eradication of Arundo donax in the CALFED area will positively address objectives of other CALFED Common Programs:
Watershed–Empower local eradication partners and stake-holders in watersheds to act on their informed assessment of watershed needs, with the backing of the best expertise from TAdN. Provide watershed groups with the latest information and expertise on issues involved in Arundo eradication.
Long-Term Levee Protection–Remove Arundo from streambanks and levees, where it can compromise levee integrity and prevent access for maintenance.
Water Use Efficiency–Arundo removal will decrease the loss of water through excessive transpiration. Arundo is a prodigious consumer of water, far beyond the normal usage of native vegetation (Iverson 1994).
References: Gary P. Bell. 1997. Ecology And Management Of Arundo donax, and Approaches To Riparian Habitat Restoration In Southern California.
Mark E. Iverson, 1993. Effects of Arundo donax on Water Resources. Arundo donax Workshop Proceedings. Team Arundo. Riverside, CA.
Robert Leidy. 1998. Historical Distribution and Current Status of Stream Fishes of the San Francisco Estuary: Opportunities for Protection and Restoration of Native Fish Assemblages. State of the Estuary conference, March 17-19, San Francisco. San Francisco Estuary Project. Technical Feasibility
Arundo eradication work often requires permits, sometimes several of them. They may include US COE 404 or 401, DFG 1603, as well as permits from the county for grading, fire district burn permit, air quality district burn permit, water district permit, and county agricultural commissioner permit for herbicide application. There are no accounts of any sensitive species using Arundo, but they may live nearby or in the stream. Particularly if Endangered Species (FWS/NMFS) are involved, the permitting burden can easily stymie a watershed group’s ability to remove Arundo. Nationwide or regional permits would greatly ease the burden on these local partners. TAdN member Paul Jones (EPA) has approached the San Francisco and Sacramento Corps of Engineers offices about issuing a Nationwide Permit 27 similar to the San Diego office’s permit for southern California Arundo eradication work. We will continue the push for general permits from various agencies to cover Arundo eradication work in the rest of the state.
Level 1 sites either have permits in-hand or have already consulted with permitting agencies at length. Therefore, no permitting obstacles are foreseen with Level 1 funding. Further levels of funding will incorporate permitting help for eradication partners.
To assure lasting success of eradication work, efficient use of eradication funds, and maximum efforts toward prevention versus repair of invasions, work done through this project will strongly encourage Arundo control efforts that:
Timing of Proposed Work:
All three levels of funding entail a three-year project.
Level 1: Year 1, 2: eradication implementation. Year 2, 3: monitoring and re-treatment of sites.
Level 2: At least 5 partners per year poised to implement sound eradication projects, for 3 years.
Level 3: Year 1: Plan information system structure, assemble available information resources. Year 2: collect new information and encourage contributions by projects generating data.
TAdN, the Coordinator, and the eradication Partners will describe and implement a protocol for monitoring and reporting the success of Arundo removal and revegetation efforts. A common reporting system will be developed and reports posted to a website to disseminate the information. Monitoring protocols will be adapted and refined over time.
Eradication site monitoring will relate to local watershed issues and any existing watershed plans. Monitoring protocols will derive from existing protocols such as those developed by Tom Dudley (UC Berkeley) for pre-eradication assessment and Karen Gaffney (Circuit Rider Productions, Inc.) for after eradication. Monitoring requirements are reasonably simple, so as not to impose a prohibitive burden on local partners. Data will be regionally integrated by other workers (see Linkages).
Eradication partners, working with the Coordinator, will develop an Eradication Plan, to include:
In addition to monitoring eradication site success (see table below), this project will collect data of regional strategic importance. Information gathered on potential eradication projects will serve to assess the scope of the Arundo problem regionally and help secure future funding for eradication. Collectively, partners’ Eradication and Monitoring Plans will provide TAdN and CALFED with invaluable information on the distribution, spread, control, and ecological effects of Arundo, the most invasive riparian weed in the state. This information will be disseminated to the public and agencies via TAdN’s website and TAdN’s work with related projects, especially through tasks associated with Level 3 funding.
Monitoring Information
|
Hypothesis |
Monitoring Parameters, Data Collection |
Data Evaluation |
|
The techniques used effectively eliminate Arundo infestations. |
Measure Arundo kill-rate according to standards established by DFG (1998 Grey Lodge pesticide trials); photodocumentation for 2 yr, aerial if possible; amount of re-sprouting and re-treatment for two years after eradication; cost break-down |
Compare kill-rate and cost of various methods. Compare rates of Arundo (re)-growth on treated and untreated sites. |
|
Native riparian vegetation improves after Arundo removal. |
photodocumentation for 2 yr, aerial if possible; if there is active revegetation after eradication, provide follow-up photos and success data for 3 years; qualitative description of riparian vegetation |
Estimate value of riparian vegetation onsite before and after eradication. |
|
Stream geomorphology normalizes after Arundo removal. |
geomorphic assessment, including cross-sections if possible; monitor sand bar deposition and bank movement |
Compare dynamics and geomorphology before and after treatment. |
|
Many eradication sites will revegetate on their own. |
photodocumentation for 2 yr, qualitative description of riparian vegetation |
Compare actively and passively revegetated eradication sites on similar reaches or streams. |
|
This approach to the Arundo issue in the CALFED area significantly reduces Arundo’s presence (as funding allows). |
extent of area treated, estimate of region-wide Arundo acreage |
Estimate region-wide reduction of Arundo that could be expected under alternative program or with no treatment. |
|
Some eradication partners may have additional hypotheses and monitoring parameters. |
||
There is very strong interest on the part of watershed stake-holders of all kinds to remove Arundo from CALFED area streams. This project, and TAdN itself, grew directly out of the urgent desire of many local groups to remove Arundo from their properties and watersheds. The direction of TAdN has also been guided by many highly committed academic and agency personnel. All eradication work will occur with the support of willing partners and landowners, many of whom have contacted TAdN over the last few years.
Notification letters:
San Francisquito Creek: Sam Hertzberg, San Mateo County Department of Environmental Planning, 590 Hamilton, Redwood City, 94063. Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, County Government Center Building, 70 West Hedding, 10th floor, San Jose, CA 95110.
Putah Creek: Lois Wolk, Yolo County Board of Supervisors, 625 Court Street, Room 204, Woodland, CA 95695.
Napa River: Board of Supervisors, 1195 Third Street Napa CA 94559.
Big Chico Creek: Butte County Board of Supervisors, 25 County Center Drive, Oroville, CA 95965.
Sonoma Creek: Board of Supervisors, 575 Administration Dr., Room 100A, Santa Rosa, CA 95403.
Walnut Creek: Donna Gerber, Supervisor, 309 Diablo Rd, Danville, CA 94526. Mitch Avalon, Contra Costa County Flood Control District, 500 Glacier Dr, Martinez, CA 94553
Examples of potential eradication partners who have expressed interest in getting assistance from TAdN or working with us: Big Chico Creek Alliance (Suzanne Gibbs), Little Chico Creek Watershed Group (Jeff Mott), Chico area State Parks (Woody Elliott), Stony Creek (John Benoit, John Merz), Coyote Creek (Gary Nolan), Vallejo Sanitation and Flood Control District (Jack Betourne), Napa River watershed (Napa RCD, landowners), Corte Madera Creek, Battle Creek Watershed Conservancy (Laurie Aumack), Petaluma River (Southern Sonoma County RCD), Black Butte reservoir (Corps of Engineers), Deer Creek (Rich Holman), Mount Diablo Creek, Santa Clara Valley Water District (Rick Austin).
The project will particularly encourage eradication projects that grow out of local needs, that include multiple stakeholders with significant local landowner involvement, and that employ local volunteer and/or landowner labor.
See Budget Table for project costs. Costs for Level 1 are based on input from the Eradication Partners and the experience of CCC and other groups. Eradication costs per acre vary depending on method of disposal, accessibility of site, source of labor.
The value of donated labor, supplies, and information system infrastructure is $305,036, which equals 37% of the total project cost. Landowners, citizen volunteers, agencies, and other stake-holders will supply all or part of the labor and equipment required for many sites. This is a strong claim, but experience bears it out (see budget forms). In addition, agencies such as US FWS, Santa Clara Valley Water District, City of Chico have expressed interest in or commitment to sharing costs (see support letters). Other water districts, flood control districts, cities, wildlife organizations and agencies, and land-owners are expected to share costs at all levels of funding. CERES, the California Environmental Resources Evaluation System, has pledged its ongoing web and email listserv administration services worth $30,000 over three years. CERES technical and systems support for designing the comprehensive Arundo information system adds a cost-share value of $120,000.
See Project Description for project structure and responsibilities.
The Project Administrator, the Sonoma Ecology Center has had five years experience in coordination of local Arundo eradication effort, starting with its successful completion of a DWR Urban Streams Program grant project in 1994-95 to carry out eradication using volunteer labor in Sonoma Creek. This project led to the formation of Team Arundo, when, as the culmination of the project, SEC held a workshop to educate Northern California environmental management organizations in the ecological hazards of Arundo donax invasion. Richard Dale, Executive Director, is a veteran of local and regional environmental project management. Under his ten years of leadership the SEC has become a pivotal community organization with efforts in local planning, organic agriculture, environmental education, native habitat restoration, and watershed assessment.
Project Coordinator: Caitlin Cornwall, a biologist and project manager at Sonoma Ecology Center, is the prospective Coordinator for this project. She has a Masters degree in plant biology focused on riparian ecosystems. She co-wrote this proposal. Her experience in riparian ecology and working with watershed stake-holders will help the success of the project.
Team Arundo del Norte Advisory Committee: The Advisory Committee for these efforts is comprised of the following members, who are highly qualified to provide comprehensive guidance and carry out project objectives
Janice Alexander, San Francisco Estuary Institute. Graduate student, UC Berkeley.
Co-author of the SFEI Exotics Species Report, research in NIS issues.
Lois Battuello, Napa River Landowner, Vintner.
Neighborhood stewardship and Arundo eradication with vineyardists and Conservation Corps
Gary P. Bell, The Nature Conservancy of New Mexico.
Research on Arundo ecology, management, and approaches to riparian restoration in Southern California
Mary Bettiga, MA. Agricultural Biologist, Napa County Agricultural Commissioners Office
Weed control and eradication programs, pesticide use enforcement
Ann Brice, Ph.D. Executive Director, Cache Creek Conservancy
Coordination of Cache Creek effort in partnerships with others to approach the problem on a larger scale
Raymond I. Carruthers, Research Leader, USDA-Agricultural Research Service, Western Regional Research Center, Exotic and Invasive Weed Research Unit
Biocontrol research.
Josh Collins, San Francisco Estuary Institute
Geographic information systems; spatial data integration and analysis for conservation and planning applications
Julie Cunningham, Environmental Specialist III, California Department of Water Resources
Technical and administrative staff to Sacramento River Riparian Habitat (SB1086) Program.
Mike Dannenberg, Deputy Agricultural Commissioner, Napa County Agricultural Commissioners Office
Agricultural pest management, control and eradication, bio-control, pest detection.
Deanne DiPietro, Technical Projects Coordinator, California Resources Agency, CERES
Liaison to CERES and ICE (UC Davis); experience in landowner and volunteer coordination for Arundo eradication in Sonoma Creek; TAdN administrative coordinator, webmaster, and listserv manager
Tom Dudley, Ph.D. Research Associate, Dept. of Integrative Biology & Environmental Sciences Program, UC Berkeley. Member, CalEPPC Board of Directors
Research in ecology and impacts of non-native species in western streams and riparian areas; science and technical issues advisor to TAdN
Karen Gaffney, Restoration Ecologist, Circuit Rider Productions, Inc. Past President, Society for Ecological Restoration, California Chapter
Research on extent and impacts of Arundo on riparian ecosystems, native plant restoration.
Paul Jones, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Streamlining permitting process, coordinating funding opportunities, eradication in South Bay Area watersheds
Jan Lowrey, Cache Creek Conservancy Projects Manager, Cache Creek farmer/landowner
Research and implementation of NIS and erosion control options on Cache Creek
Kent Nelson, Recreation and Wildlife Resources Advisor, Environmental Services Office, CA Department of Water Resources
DWR’s liaison to TAdN.
Mark Newhouser, Restoration Project Chair, Sonoma Ecology Center
Landowner permission procedures, community project planning, volunteer coordination
Dr. David Spencer, Ph.D. USDA-Agricultural Research Service, Exotic & Invasive Weed Research Unit, Weed Science Unit, UC Davis
Research in applied ecology of Arundo donax in Northern California.
Joel Trumbo, California Dept. of Fish and Game
Managing EPA grant to compare eradication methods, investigate impacts of herbicide on amphibians and invertebrates, and produce educational materials for local projects
Ron Unger, Vegetation Management Specialist/Restoration Ecologist, Jones & Stokes Associates. Restoration Coordinator, Putah Creek Council Board.
Liaison to Putah Creek Council, TAdN technical advisor, Arundo
growth studies and ecology in southern California, riparian invasives
abatement and habitat restoration.