SW Vegetation Management Association 2015 Annual Meeting Day 2 Wednesday, October 21, 2015 Speaker Bios and Abstracts 09:00 10:00 Fire History in Arizona and its Impacts Jeff Whitney, State Forester and Director, Arizona State Forestry Fires in Arizona are a natural part of ecosystem processes and occur on all landscapes in our country. Over the years we have seen shifts in the typical fire season, the size and frequency of fires on the landscape, and the resulting impacts of larger wildland fires. Communities and land managers are taking steps to reduce these impacts, but we must work toward more collaborative efforts to reduce impacts at a broad scale. Landscape-scale disturbances can have impacts beyond the immediate blackened trees that we see in the media from establishment and encroachment of nonnative invasive species to the run-off and flooding that compromises watershed health. An overview of the history of wildland fire in Arizona, management response to wildland fire, and its resulting impacts on our landscape and way-of-life will be presented, along with opportunities for future public engagement and better management for promoting ecosystem resilience. Jeff Whitney: Mr. Whitney possesses more than 40 years of professional experience in forestry and fire prevention. He is an experienced National Type 1 Incident Commander, and plays an integral role in advocating for the health of Arizona forests and the safety of Arizona communities. Mr. Whitney was appointed by Governor Ducey to his current role as Arizona s State Forester in January 2015. Prior to that, he served as executive director of the Fire Program Analysis for the U.S. Department of the Interior and the USDA Forest Service. He previously served the U.S. Forest Service in numerous capacities including as program manager; assistant director of planning and budget; and incident commander. Mr. Whitney also served as deputy forest supervisor in San Bernadino, California; natural resources group leader with the Tonto National Forest; desert fishes/listing and recovery coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service s Phoenix field office; regional fire management coordinator and southwest strategy coordination for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; and more. He began his career in 1972 as a seasonal firefighter, serving five seasons with hotshot crews and three seasons as a heavy engine captain. He earned a Bachelor of Science in botany from Northern Arizona University and holds a Master of Science in environmental resources from Arizona State University. 10:30 11:10 Managing Weeds at a Landscape Scale Laura Moser, Botanist and Pesticide Use Coordinator, Coconino National Forest Landscape scale restoration is an important tool to reduce the catastrophic loss of southwestern forests as seen in past summers. Restoration treatments to create growing space and re-introduce low severity fire will stimulate the native grasses and forbs, if invasive weeds can be prevented. These forests are also critical to protect our municipal water sources in the west. Currently insects, disease and wildfires are taking advantage
of our drought-weakened and resource-deprived trees. However, these watersheds will not be improved if invasive weeds that increase erosion, decrease wildlife habitat, and change the natural fire and flood regimes are allowed to dominate the landscape after the disturbance of restoration. The Coconino National Forest has used best management practices, survey, monitoring and an Early Detection Rapid Response policy to reduce and prevent invasive weed spread during the implementation of the first stage of the Four Forest Restoration Initiative. Laura Moser: Laura was raised in California in a farming and ranching family and worked at a pack station in the Southern Sierra Nevada for over 10 years. She graduated from the University of California Davis with a B.S. in plant genetics. After spending 3 years with Peace Corps in Bolivia, Laura attended NAU and received a M.S. in forest health and ecology from the Forestry School. In 1999 she was hired to build and coordinate a new Weed Management Area in Flagstaff. For over 15 years Laura has continued working for the Coconino National Forest as a botanist, invasive weed specialist and the forest pesticide use coordinator. She is currently working on two large collaborative projects: Four Forest Restoration Initiative and the Verde Watershed Restoration Coalition. 11:10 11:50 Tamarisk beetle and wildfire interactions in desert riparian systems Ben Bloodworth, Program Coordinator, Tamarisk Coalition, Grand Junction, CO and Dr. Gail Drus, Assistant Professor of Biology and Environmental Studies, Saint Francis University, Loretto, PA. The invasive shrub Tamarix is highly flammable and has altered the fire regimes of many western riparian systems, which were historically not as susceptible to wildfire as many other vegetative communities. When the tamarisk beetle (Diorhabda spp.), a biological agent for the control of Tamarix, was released into western riparian systems, it was postulated that beetle-induced herbivory could influence both short- and long-term fire behavior in tamarisk-dominated stands. This presentation will discuss the finding of Drus concerning changes in tamarisk and flammability as related to the presence of tamarisk beetles. Also discussed will be recommendations for riparian restoration and vegetation management as related to wildfire and tamarisk in systems both with, and without, the tamarisk beetle present. Ben Bloodworth: Ben obtained his M.S. degree in Environmental Science from Alaska Pacific University, in Anchorage, Alaska. In his professional career Ben has worked for the states of Alaska, Mississippi, and Utah. In Mississippi, he worked for two years in wetland mitigation and restoration, aiding in the development of functional assessment models for wetlands, which included working with the U.S. Corps of Engineers to create a hydrogeomorphic (HGM) assessment for tidal marsh wetlands, as well as developing a predictive GIS for wetlands in southern Mississippi, based on HGM classification. In this role, he also assisted in the preparation of wetland restoration plans and the establishment of mitigation banks,
including developing criteria for bottomland hardwood restoration. Ben then worked for eight years with the Division of Forestry, Fire, & State Lands in Utah. He spent this time in a diversified role working in wetland ecology, state sovereign lands, invasive species management, community wildfire planning, fuels reduction, and GIS, including serving as the Plans Section Chief on a local Type III Incident Management Team. Ben started with the Tamarisk Coalition two years ago and is the Program Coordinator for the Tamarisk Beetle Education program, actively working with more than 50 partners in eleven states and Mexico to track beetle populations across the western half of the country. He is also the lead for the organization s GIS program and associated online spatial resources. Dr. Gail Drus: Dr. Drus earned her Ph.D. at the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara. Her research focuses on effects of species invasions on plant community structure and function. She specializes in invasive plant biology, plant community and population ecology, fire ecology, and desert riparian ecology. She has experience developing burn plans, characterizing fire severity and post-fire recovery and utilizing plant physiology to characterize fire damage and to predict plant survival. She has ongoing research collaborations in the fields of plant invasion and riparian ecology. She has a background in ornithology, herpetology, and in the collection of biological specimens related to these disciplines. Dr. Drus has studied Tamarix invasion and fire issues since 2006 and has published in the International Journal of Wildfire, the Journal of Biological Control, was a contributing author to the book Tamarix: a case study of ecological change in the American West, has coauthored several government reports related to Tamarix invasion, and has several publications in prep. She has also shared her research through numerous invited presentations, posters, and professional meetings such as the Ecological Society of America, Tamarisk and Russian Olive Research Conferences, and Weeds Management Associations. The outcomes of her research have contributed to general ecological knowledge concerning the impacts and management of invasive plant species. She continues studying Tamarix and other invasive riparian plants at Saint Francis University. 1:20 1:50 Updating Arizona Rules: Regulated and Restricted Noxious Weeds (R3-4-244) and Prohibited Noxious Weeds (R3-4-245) John Brock, Past President of SWVMA and John Scheuring, Board member of SWVMA A committee of SWVMA has been working closely with the Department of Agriculture to rework the noxious weed rules. These 2 members of the committee will discuss what has been accomplished to date, and what we expect to be doing in the future. This project began as a request to the Department to add several new species to the state list in an attempt to bring it up to date. It has evolved into what we expect to be a complete rewrite of the rules. John H. Brock, Professor Emeritus, Applied Biological Sciences, ASU Polytechnic John Brock was born at Beloit, Kansas, June 12, 1944. He was raised on a wheat / livestock farm in north-central Kansas. He obtained his BS and MS degrees in Agriculture and Botany, respectively, from Fort Hays State University.From September 1968 through August 1977 he was a research associate with the Texas A&M Agricultural Experiment Station.
In 1975 he began course work and research leading to a PhD from Texas A&M in December of 1978 in Range Science. In 1977 he began his ASU career as an Assistant Professor in the Division of Agriculture and retired as a Professor Emeritus in the Applied Biological Sciences Department of ASU Polytechnic in 2008. During his ASU tenure he has completed two sabbatical leaves doing research on invasive plants in England and the Czech Republic. Over his professional career he and co-authors have produced 39 journal and peer review publications. He has authored/co-authored 57 miscellaneous publications/reports. One hundred and forty (140) papers have been presented at professional meetings, and he has served as editor or co-editor on 4 books of proceedings from international meetings concerning the ecology and management of invasive plants. In 1995 he hosted the 3 rd international workshop concerning the Ecology and Management of Alien Invasive Plants at ASU. John Brock holds memberships with the Society for Range Management, the Society for Ecological Restoration International, the Weed Science Society of America, and the Western Society of Weed Science. In 1986 he was awarded the Outstanding Achievement Award by the Arizona Section, Society for Range Management, and an award of the same title in 2003 from the Society for Range Management. He served on the Arizona Governor s Invasive Species Council, and is the current president of the Southwest Vegetation Management Association. John Scheuring, Volunteer in Invasive Plant Management with the Town of Oro Valley: John Scheuring has a MS from the University of Arizona in Plant Science/Agronomy and a PhD from Texas A & M in Plant Breeding/Genetics. He spent eight years plant breeding of field crops in West Africa with ICRISAT (International Crop Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics) followed by 19 years as research manager with Syngenta based at their headquarters in Basel, Switzerland. Retired and home in Tucson since 2005 with active volunteer land restoration work with BLM, rightof-way weed control with the town of Oro Valley and part time employment with RECON Environmental. 1:50 2:30 Shrub Encroachment, Brush Management and Competing Land Use Objectives: Tough Choices Dr. Steve Archer, Professor, School of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of Arizona Shifts from grass to shrub dominance are widely regarded as state-changes that present challenges to the conservation of grassland and savanna ecosystems, the plants and animals endemic to them and to livestock production in ranching systems and pastoral societies. Range management has historically focused on reducing the abundance of encroaching woody vegetation with the intent of reversing declines in forage production, stream flow or ground water recharge. However, more recent assessments illustrate that shrub proliferation and actions taken to reduce their abundance also affect a variety of other ecosystem services. This talk will review the consequences of woody plant proliferation on the functioning of rangeland ecosystems and the services they provide, and assess the extent to which management actions implemented in attempts to reverse these impacts are
achieved. A broad perspective on shrub encroachment-brush management is needed when making objective decisions regarding the many trade-offs and competing objectives that are at play in the conservation and management of our rangelands. Dr. Steve Archer Steve Archer is a Professor in the School of Natural Resources and the Environment at the University of Arizona. A Fellow in the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Dr. Archer received his BA from Augustana College (Sioux Falls) and his MS and PhD in Rangeland Ecosystem Science from Colorado State University. He spent 19 years at on the faculty at Texas A&M University before joining the University of Arizona in 2002. Trained as a plant ecologist and ecosystem scientist, Dr. Archer has worked in Arctic Tundra, Great Plains and Southwestern Desert ecosystems. His research has centered on grazing effects on rangeland ecosystems, with a focus on grass-shrub dynamics. 3:00 3:40 Systematic Review: Do Non-native Plants Invade Burned Ponderosa Pine Forests More Intensely After Prescribed Fire or After Wildfire? Judy Springer Plant Ecologist, Ecological Restoration Institute, Northern Arizona University Thinning and/or burning treatments are increasingly implemented in ponderosa pine forests with a focus on ecological restoration in addition to fuel reduction. While ecological restoration treatments are intended to reinvigorate all aspects of forest health, including the native understory plant community, there is concern among land managers, scientists, and other stakeholders about the risk of encroachment by non-natives into these systems following the disturbance caused during implementation of ecological restoration treatments. Prescribed fire and mechanical removal of excess trees are common restoration practices that can perturb the soil and disturb vegetation, creating conditions conducive to the invasion of highly competitive non-natives. For this systematic review we searched all types of available literature, including journal articles, government documents, conference proceedings, theses and dissertations and unpublished reports. Based on the selection criteria, literature searches produced 115 documents that were suitable for review between two independent reviewers for inclusion. A total of 63 documents were relevant for inclusion in the qualitative synthesis, with 24 suitable for inclusion in the quantitative meta-analysis. We posed these three questions: 1) Does prescribed fire (with and without tree thinning) or wildfire lead to greater increases in non-native plant cover, richness and/or biomass? 2) In sites that were invaded by non-natives after fire, are there consistent sitespecific factors (fire behavior, the pre- or post-fire vegetation community, soils, etc.) that are associated with non-native invasion? 3) Is fire type related to greater persistence of non-native plants as a dominant component of the understory? The results obtained from each question will be presented along with the management implications. Judy Springer Judy Springer has been a plant ecologist with the Ecological Restoration Institute at Northern Arizona University since 1994 and has a B.S. degree in agricultural economics
from The Ohio State University, an MS degree in forest science from NAU, and an MA in clinical mental health counseling, also from NAU. She specializes in research on rare plant conservation, revegetation, and effects of fire and ecological restoration treatments on southwestern native plant communities, including invasive plant species. She is the primary editor of "Field Guide to Forest and Mountain Plants of Northern Arizona" (2009). 3:40 4:20 Sediment Reduction and Watershed Restoration in Response to 2010 Schultz Fire, Flagstaff, Arizona Allen Haden, Aquatic Ecologist, Principal in Natural Channel Design, Inc. The Schultz Fire burned approximately 15,000 acres of ponderosa pine forest within the Coconino National Forest in June 2010. The vast majority of the area was severely burned with total loss of trees and ground cover on steep, high elevation slopes and volcanic soils. Nearly 1,000 residential properties within Coconino County are located immediately down-slope of the burned area on inactive alluvial fans. Initial flooding in the summer immediately following the fire caused debris flows that originated in the steeper portions of the watershed. The neighborhood was inundated with flooding and tons of sediment. Since the Schultz fire, properties downstream of the burned area continue to be impacted by flooding, erosion, and debris damages from storm generated runoff. Watershed surveys of channels, hillslopes, and roads indicated that the majority of sediment was derived from unstable channel banks. Fortunately, many opportunities for storage of sediment on, degraded alluvial fans existed. Natural recovery of the degraded channels would take decades. Restoration measures based on natural channel design methods have been undertaken to speed recovery of ephemeral stream channels that were damaged in major flood events immediately following the fire. Additional engineering analysis has been applied to insure that the channels and structural practices can accommodate the county-specified design storm for all project work. Restoration of channel morphology to predicted recovery dimensions has decreased the amount of sediment sourced and transported through these channels to private lands downstream. Additionally, restoration of alluvial fans in appropriate geomorphic settings is storing sediment otherwise transported from the watershed. The impacts of flooding and construction activities require that weed management and revegetation be an integral part of the planning process. Seeding with native grasses from approved seed sources has helped to stabilize the project area, and multifaceted weed management has helped to minimize invasion of weed species onto project areas. This project was funded by NRCS Emergency Watershed Protection program. Allen Haden: Allen is an aquatic ecologist and a Principal in Natural Channel Design, Inc. Allen has broad experience in stream systems and aquatic habitats of the arid southwest. He has been involved in research and management of human impacts on river ecosystems in the southwest for over 20 years. He has a broad understanding of the field of aquatic and riparian ecology and its applications to restoration/enhancement of streams to maximize ecosystem
services. He has extensive experience with habitat enhancement projects and has designed and managed construction of several projects throughout the southwest. He received a B.S. in Forestry and Wildlife from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, VA, a M.S. in Biology from Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff. Allen has completed Levels I - IV river short courses in the inventory, classification, assessment, and design of natural channels from David Rosgen at Wildland Hydrology. He has been responsible for the collection and analysis of ecologic and geomorphic assessment/reference data for many of Natural Channel Design's projects.