Transcript No removal of live, dead, or downed trees within or near

This document is contained within the Fire Management Toolbox
on Wilderness.net. Since other related resources found in this
toolbox may be of interest, you can visit this toolbox by visiting the
following URL:
http://www.wilderness.net/index.cfm?fuse=toolboxes&sec=fire. All
toolboxes are products of the Arthur Carhart National Wilderness
Training Center.
Wilderness Fire Resource Advisor
Training:
Non-native Invasive Species
What Are Non-Native Invasive
Species and Why Be Concerned
About Them?
Not
indigenous to local area
Aggressive
Often
– displace native species
difficult to control or eradicate
Includes
plants and animals
Also
called exotics, alien species, invasives,
weeds, noxious weeds, aquatic nuisance
species (ANS), NNIS
Not
everything that is exotic is invasive
ARRIVE
10%
ESTABLISH
10%
PEST
10%
SERIOUS PEST
Invasives not caught early are
PERMANENT
Economic Impacts
• Recent estimates of cost = $120
billion/year in U.S.
• For example:
– Costs to fisheries
– Costs to rangelands and farmlands
– Costs to forestry
– Real estate costs
Native Plant Diversity
Including rare plants
Wildlife
Site Productivity
Watersheds and Aquatic Ecosystems
Recreation
Ecological Processes
Wilderness Values
“An area of wilderness is further
defined to mean in this Act an area
of undeveloped Federal Land
retaining primeval character and
influence, without permanent
improvements or human
habitation, which is protected and
managed so as to preserve its
natural conditions…”
Wilderness Values
There is a substantive argument
that invasives are not part of that
naturalness, they are aliens to
wilderness in North America.
They are also not a good thing for
the HEALTH of the land (flora and
fauna – ecosystem integrity).
What Authorities Do You Have?
• Noxious Weed Control and Eradication Act
2004
• Plant Protection Act 2000 (update of Federal
Noxious Weed Act)
• Non-indigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention
and Control Act 1990
• Salt Cedar and Russian Olive Control
Demonstration Act 2006
• Executive Order 13112
• Agency Direction
Effects of Fire on Invasives
• Create a disturbance – weeds colonize
disturbed areas
• Reduced competition from native species
• Nutrient flush in soil
• Increase in light, needed by some invasive
species to germinate
• In some cases fire may be used as a tool for
weed control
• FEIS Fire Effects Information System—a good
resource for fire effects on specific species
(http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/)
Effects of Fire Suppression on Invasives
•Dispersal – spread of
weed seeds, plant parts,
aquatic animals
Effects of Fire Suppression on Invasives: Dispersal
Effect of Fire
Suppression on
Invasives:
•Ground Disturbance
RA Toolkit:
INFORMATION RESOURCES
• Invasive Species List
• Invasive Species Identification Tools
• Invasive Species Locations
• Weed Ecological Risk Analysis
Invasive Species List
• Learn to recognize species
• Known species vs. watch out species
• Relative abundance
RA TOOLKIT
A few sites
Everywhere
Identification Tools
• Published field
guides
• Local field
guides
RA TOOLKIT
RA TOOLKIT
Weed Ecological Risk Analysis
• Tool that helps identify habitats susceptible
to weed invasion
For example, Ecological
Landtype (ELT) 13 on
Superior - not very
susceptible to spotted
knapweed or leafy spurge
RA TOOLKIT
ELT 6 - very susceptible
to purple loosestrife
ELT 18 - very susceptible to
spotted knapweed or leafy
spurge
RA TOOLKIT
RA Toolkit:
RULES OF THUMB FOR PREVENTION
• Minimize Ground Disturbance
• Equipment Cleaning
• Avoid ground disturbance in weed infestations
• Avoid placing spike camps, helipads, fire
camps, staging areas in weed infestations
• Avoid moving water from infested lakes to
uninfested lakes
• Prevention planning with invasive species
coordinator before fire season
Weed Treatment
Interaction with IMT
• Understand and respect the chain of
command—you have the potential to
significantly impact operations. Educate
with tact.
• Be prepared to defend your requests—at
shift briefings, team meetings, etc.
• Be prepared to follow up the next year(s)