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Global Invasive Species Team listserve digest #072
Thu Nov 16 2000 - 17:30:55 PST
--CONTENTS--
1. Propane torches (Pennsylvania)
2. Herbicide impacts on damselflies (New York)
3. Burning reed canary grass (Pennsylvania)
4. New Sapium sebiferum Species Management Summary online (Nationwide)
5. Snow geese on preserves (Delaware)
6. New York workshop on invasives in December (New York)
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1. Propane torches (Pennsylvania)
From: George Gress (ggress(at)nbn.net)
Here in Pa, we have used a propane torch to burn small areas of invasives.
We use a model made by Flame Inc which we hook up to a 20 Lb propane tank.
The plants respond pretty much the same as for prescribed fire, but the
treatment can be done even when the vegetation is wet, as in early
morning, or after a rain, and you can just scorch them or really toast
them. It is probably not as precise as the one mentioned here, but the
price is only about $50 without the propane tank.
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2. Herbicide impacts on damselflies (New York)
From: Bruce Horwith (bhorwith(at)tnc.org)
We are planning to use Rodeo to control phragmites in a coastal plain pond
system that has one of the highest concentrations of rare plants and
animals in New York State. If anyone can point me towards information on
potential impacts of this herbicide (or others) on damselflies, it would
be much appreciated.
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3. Burning reed canary grass (Pennsylvania)
From: George Gress (ggress(at)nbn.net)
We own a wetland with large stands of reed canary grass (Phalaris
arundinacea) that we have been applying prescribed fire to for the last 3
years in the beginning of December. We burn at this time of year because,
not only is it presumed to have a greater effect on the Phalaris, but it
must be burned when it is sufficiently dry to carry the fire, but before
snow has compacted it. Presumably, by creating enough heat to damage the
young shoots, after 5 years of this treatment it will be knocked back
enough to allow for other plants to survive. Some years in the spring, it
seems like the phalaris comes up later, but not in others ( I am assuming
that this has to do with the intensity of the burn the previous fall).
We have done some experimentation with the propane torch on some very
small patches, and on some, the phalaris was eliminated, and on others, it
spread, but was less dense. Phalaris is tough to control, because of the
dense root mat that it creates, but on the upside, I've been told that it
is one of the few things that purple loosestrife cannot come up through.
Do you have any purple loosestrife in your Phalaris infestation?
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4. New Sapium sebiferum Species Management Summary online (Nationwide)
From: Barry Rice (bamrice(at)ucdavis.edu)
We at the Wildland Invasive Species Team have posted a new Element
Stewardship Abstract for Sapium sebiferum (tallowtree) at:
http://tncinvasives.ucdavis.edu/esadocs/sapisebi.html
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5. Snow geese on preserves (Delaware)
From: Susan Young (susan_young(at)tnc.org)
Native snow geese (Chen caerulescens) are wreaking havoc in their arctic
nesting grounds and in the marshes along their migration routes. Unlike
Canada geese, when they feed they pull plants up by the roots and/or break
them off below the ground surface. They can "eat out" a marsh in dramatic
fashion, and are blamed here in Delaware for accelerating the transition
of tidal marsh to mudflat and inland bay. Control efforts other people
have in place, in addition to hunting, include shooting over the flocks,
shooting off cannons around the marsh, and other auditory disturbances.
But these efforts must be done continuously (almost daily) to remain
effective. I am concerned that our (TNC's) marshes will become "refuges"
for the snow geese if we are the only landowners in the area that aren't
controlling them. They can really eliminate the vegetation rapidly.
Let me know if you hear of anyone else addressing this problem.
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6. New York workshop on invasives in December (New York)
From: Cris Winters (cwinters(at)tnc.org)
---Cris Winters sent us news about a workshop that is being held in New
York on 8-9 December. I have posted complete information about the
conference on our web site at:
http://tncinvasives.ucdavis.edu/meetings/120800.html
Contact Cris at cwinters(at)tnc.org for more information.