Workshop on Early Detection and Rapid Response of Invasive Plants

The Montana State University Urban Integrated Pest Management Program, in conjunction with MSU Extension, will present a workshop on Early Detection and Rapid Response (EDRR) of Invasive Plants.

The workshop will take place on Friday, April 8, from 1 to 4:30 p.m. in the Bozeman Public Library. The event is free and open to the public. Registration is suggested to guarantee a copy of the class workbook and use of a computer.

Prevention should be the highest priority in invasive plant management. Actively watching for new invaders and acting quickly to remove them before they can establish and spread is the foundation of an early detection and rapid response (EDRR) network. A well-developed EDRR program can potentially save the citizens of Montana a great deal of time and money. Too often management of an invasive species does not begin until the plant is more visible in the landscape, meaning it has had a number of years to establish, develop a seed bank and expand into adjacent areas. As time passes and the invasive plant increases, the potential for eradication decreases. Eventually, control is unlikely without massive resource inputs that also have large impacts on the environment.

Successful EDRR networks have been developed throughout North America and around the world. Successful programs depend on at least four critical ingredients: a large network of observant people, or “weed watchers,” who are looking for new invaders; training workshops that include species to look for and characteristics to accurately identify them; a protocol for weed watchers to report new invaders; and a notification or ‘weed alert’ system to communicate observations of new invaders to relevant stakeholders.

Workshop participants will be trained in plant identification (noxious weeds and similar-looking plants) and in the use of the INVADERS Database as a tool for submitting weed-find records and receiving weed-find alerts. The workshop is free and open to the public. For more information on the workshop and to RSVP, please contact Linnea Skoglund at 994-5150 or email to urbanipm@montana.edu.