[APWG] CONFERENCE: Regional Cogongrass Conference, Mobile, Nov 7 & 8

[Olivia Kwong]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: james miller [mailto:jmiller01 at fs.fed.us]
Sent: Wed 8/1/2007 5:47 PM
To: Subject: Regional Cogongrass Conference, Mobile, Nov 7 & 8
Dear Colleagues:

We are organizing a critically needed conference aimed at arming everyone
with the most current information on stopping the spread of cogongrass and
restoring infested lands. The conference, Confronting the Cogongrass Crisis
Across the South,  will be convened in Mobile, November 7 and 8, at the
Author R. Outlaw Mobile Convention Center (see attached announcement).
The conference will cover the most effective and efficient cogongrass
management strategies and treatments for forests, preserves, rights-of-way,
and pastures, and with direct utility for municipalities and parks.

We would ask that you support and aide this effort by announcing and
promoting this event through your network.

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?

Your invaluable contributions are critical for making this conference a
turning point in our struggle with cogongrass.  Please encourage
participation at all levels and send the announcement to all appropriate
outlets.

Thanking you in advance for your invaluable help and let us know how we can
assist you in anyway in furthering this effort,

Jim Miller and Nancy Loewenstein, Conference Co-chairs

P.S.- The registration form will be posted on the web soon.  Also, you will
notice that no hotels are mentions as each attendee will be responsible for
reserving their own suitable lodging, which there are many in Mobile.


James H. Miller, Ph.D., Research Ecologist
Insect, Disease, and Invasive Plant Research
USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station
520 Devall Drive, Auburn, AL  36849
334-826-8700 ext. 36    Fax: 334-821-0037
email:   jmiller01 at fs.fed.us
http://www.srs.fs.fed.us/4105