http://www.ucsusa.org/invasive_species/solutions/NECIS-action-plan.html

More about NECIS is at www.necis.net

Focus On

Japanese stiltgrass (Microstegium vimineum)

Photo by Luke Flory, Indiana University, Department of Biology www.lukeflory.com

Microstegium vimineum (Japanese stiltgrass) is an exotic annual grass that was introduced to the southeastern U.S. from Asia in the early 1900s and first identified in Tennessee in 1919. Following a lag period of more than 60 years, it became highly invasive and is now found throughout the eastern U.S. Microstegium is listed as an invasive species in more than 20 states from New York to Florida, from the eastern seaboard to Missouri. It is often found invading along roads, trails, and streams but can colonize a variety of habitats including sunny, open ridgetops and bottomland riparian habitats. Areas that have recently been naturally or anthropogenically disturbed (e.g. windthrows or timber harvests) are especially vulnerable to invasions. Microstegium produces abundant seed, spreads quickly, and can require years of management to eradicate. Natural areas managers should be diligent in locating and eradicating new populations.

For information about management of Microstegium vimineum click here.

To report a sighting in the Midwest, contact your regional representative.

For additional information, go to:       
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=MIVI

http://www.ct.nrcs.usda.gov/invas-factsheets.html

http://www.nps.gov/plants/alien/fact/mivi1.htm

Japanese stiltgrass fact sheet (MIPN)

Frequently Used Resources:

New - AQUATIC INVASIVE PLANTS in the Midwest flyer

• Download the PDF
• Report sightings of plants described in the flyer - Instructions
• Need large quantities of the flyer for distribution? Click here

New - MIPN Weed Management Planning PowerPoint Presentation

New INVASIVE PLANTS in the Midwest flyer (PDF)

• Download the PDF (High resolution copy)
• Lower resolution copy (faster download time)
• Need large quantities of the flyer for distribution? Click here
• Report sightings of plants described in the flyer - Instructions
• One of the plants on the flyer, Giant hogweed, is frequently mis-identified as cow parsnip. For more information and identification tips for Giant hogweed, click here.
• Fact sheets about each plant listed on the flyer. Go to Early Detection and Rapid Response to view.

Invasive Plants Brochure - Why Should I Care About Invasive Plants?

MIPN Quarterly Newsletter

• Current Issue - Fall 2008
• Back Issues

Conference Presentations

Landscape Alternatives for Invasive Plants of the Midwest:

Download the PDF Companion to the Brochure - Nursery Wallet Cards - take these with you when you shop for plants and record where you find invasive species being sold. Need large quantities of the flyer for distribution? Contact info@mipn.org

The Weed Science Society of America has just started publishing the "Invasive Plant Science and Management" Journal. The first issue is for January-March 2008.

This issue has articles on western juniper, common reed, perennial pepperweed, leafy spurge, invasive knotweed, Invasive species assessment protocol, sulfur cinquefoil to name a few.

The web site is. http://wssa.allenpress.com/perlserv/?request=get-toc&issn=1939-747X&ct=1&SESSID=cf2e3125a978edecd77f09e2ee10c6eb

New Invasive Plant to Watch For:

Sonchus palustris (Marsh sow-thistle)

Photo by Stephen Darbyshire, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, 2002.

The Indiana Cooperative Agricultural Pest Survey (CAPS) program, which is a collaborative effort between Purdue, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service division of Plant Protection and Quarantine, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, and the Indiana chapter of The Nature Conservancy, recently launched a new Web site highlighting Indiana's "most unwanted" invasive plant pests, http://extension.entm.purdue.edu/CAPS.

The list is determined yearly by the Indiana CAPS state survey committee and identifies exotic species, invasive species and pests regulated by state or federal laws that could affect Indiana . The list is also used by officials to determine how resources for surveys and outreach and educational programs are best spent to protect Indiana .

People can search the site by the pest's name, the commodity it attacks or by its habitat. The Web site reports the pest's known distribution and whether it is currently present in Indiana . Visitors also can learn which invasive plant pests are found in specific Indiana counties.

There are some great articles in the most recent issue of Diversity and Distributions that are available on-line for free from http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/toc/ddi/14/2 . MIPN members may be particularly interested in the paper by Ashton & Lerdau on herbivory and invasive vines and the two papers on giant hogweed (Nielsen et al. and Pysek et al.). Also, there is a special feature on "Fifty years of invasion ecology - the legacy of Charles Elton"

Chicago Botanic Garden launching $65 million expansion 

Declaring "save the plants, save the planet," the Chicago Botanic Garden  Thursday announced a $65 million expansion, 
including a new laboratory to  study the effects of the changing environment.  For the full article text:

http://www.suntimes.com/lifestyles/gardening/466972,CST-NWS-plant13.article

The Duluth News Tribune ran a story July 19 about leafy spurge in northern Minnesota.

http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/articles/index.cfm?id=46331&section=homepage

Strategies for Effective State Early Detection/Rapid Response Programs for Plant Pests and Pathogens

The Environmental Law Institute announces the publication of “Strategies for Effective State Early Detection/Rapid Response Programs for Plant Pests and Pathogens,” a report by attorney Read Porter that assesses the utility of state early detection and rapid response (ED/RR) laws for identifying and stopping the spread of invasive plant pests and pathogens.  The report focuses on invasive forest pests, which are often poorly controlled by agriculture-centric response laws and which may infect or infest suburban or urban areas, raising the specter not only of environmental damage but also significant economic and aesthetic costs. 

The report describes components of a successful ED/RR regulatory structure, explains federal regulations that affect state action for each component, examines the strengths and weaknesses of specific laws in fourteen states that have responded to invasive pathogens, and examines the performance of ED/RR laws in practice via in-depth case studies from New York and Texas.  Porter concludes that states must enact laws that balance the need for broad state agency authority to act against the need to preserve private property rights, respect landowners’ privacy, and sustain public support. 

This report was produced by the Environmental Law Institute with funding and guidance from The Nature Conservancy.  The report is available free of charge from ELI’s website, at http://www.elistore.org/reports_detail.asp?ID=11223.  Contact Read Porter directly at (202)939-3810 or porter@eli.org.

Story in the New York Times about the effects of global warming on plant ranges.  Invasive species are mentioned, and there is an interesting map showing a comparison of horticultural zones between 1990 and 2006.

The Midwest Invasive Plant Network (MIPN) would like your help to evaluate research priorties and foster interactions between researchers and land managers working on invasive plants. If you work on invasive plant issues in the Midwest, please click on this link to complete the Midwest Invasive Plant Network (MIPN) survey on research needs for invasive plants:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=37222162906 MIPN is composed of people from government agencies, universities, industry, non-profit organizations, and the general public who are working to address the threats of invasive plants in the Midwest. Results of this survey will be used to help direct our activities , focus research, and strengthen the community of people working together to reduce the impact of invasive plants.Thank you for help,John Cardina, Ohio State University & Chair of the MIPN Research CommitteeKate Howe, Coordinator for the Midwest Invasive Plant Network

"Invasive Plants Field & Reference Guide: An Ecological Perspective of Plant Invaders of Forests and Woodland", by Huebner, Olson and Smith. Supplements are now available that add five new plant species to this guide. These include Canada thistle, lesser celandine, sheep sorrel, black swallow-wort, and winged burning bush. This is the first of what is intended to be an on-going series of additions to the field guide.

If you are not familiar with this field guide, you can view it on the web here: http://www.na.fs.fed.us/pubs/misc/ip/ip_field_guide.pdf
Note that the on-line version does not yet include the supplement material.

To request a copy or quantities of the supplement to distribute, please contact: Dennis N. McDougall, Forester, USDA Forest Service, Northeastern Area State & Private Forestry, Saint Paul Field Office, dmcdougall@fs.fed.us

For those who use the USDA PLANTS Database website, click here for information about some exciting new updates.

Congress passes bill for research on eradicating invasive plants. The U.S. Senate last week gave final approval to legislation developed by New Mexico Sens. Pete Domenici and Jeff Bingaman and Rep. Steve Pearce to establish a federal program to find the best means of eradicating salt cedar and Russian olive vegetation . nonnative plant species that have overtaken most western riparian areas. Click Here for the full article text.

"Giant hogweed nipped in the bud; Two of the noxious plants discovered in Lake Forest." Click here for text of an article that appeared in the News-Sun, Lake County, Illinois. It highlights the importance of early detectionprograms and quotes Debbie Maurer, MIPN Vice-President and Chair of the Early Detection/Rapid Response Committee.

The June 16, 2007 St. Louis Post-Dispatch ran an article on invasive plants, including information on alternatives to invasive plants provided by MIPN's Green Industry Commitee and a mention of the Midwest Invasive Plant Network.  To view the article, go to:

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/lifestyle/stories.nsf/garden/story/A6B5D7851AF91B13862572FB0057A5CF?OpenDocument

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