Wilderness Fire Resource Advisor Training:

1. This document is contained within the Fire Management Toolbox on Wilderness.net. Since other related resources found in this toolbox may be of interest, you can visit this toolbox by visiting the following URL: http://www.wilderness.net/index.cfm?fuse=toolboxes&sec=fire. All toolboxes are products of the Arthur Carhart National Wilderness Training Center.

2. Wilderness Fire Resource Advisor Training: Non-native Invasive Species

6. What Are Non-Native Invasive Species and Why Be Concerned About Them? • Not indigenous to local area • Aggressive – displace native species • Often difficult to control or eradicate • Includes plants and animals • Also called exotics, alien species, invasives, weeds, noxious weeds, aquatic nuisance species (ANS), NNIS • Not everything that is exotic is invasive

7. ARRIVE 10% ESTABLISH 10% PEST 10% SERIOUS PEST

8. Invasives not caught early are PERMANENT

9. Economic Impacts • Recent estimates of cost = $120 billion/year in U.S. • For example: • Costs to fisheries • Costs to rangelands and farmlands • Costs to forestry • Real estate costs

10. Native Plant Diversity

11. Including rare plants

12. Wildlife

13. Site Productivity

14. Watersheds and Aquatic Ecosystems

15. Recreation

16. Ecological Processes

17. Wilderness Values “An area of wilderness is further defined to mean in this Act an area of undeveloped Federal Land retaining primeval character and influence, without permanent improvements or human habitation, which is protected and managed so as to preserve its natural conditions…”

18. Wilderness Values There is a substantive argument that invasives are not part of that naturalness, they are aliens to wilderness in North America. They are also not a good thing for the HEALTH of the land (flora and fauna – ecosystem integrity).

19. What Authorities Do You Have? • Noxious Weed Control and Eradication Act 2004 • Plant Protection Act 2000 (update of Federal Noxious Weed Act) • Non-indigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control Act 1990 • Salt Cedar and Russian Olive Control Demonstration Act 2006 • Executive Order 13112 • Agency Direction

20. Effects of Fire on Invasives • Create a disturbance – weeds colonize disturbed areas • Reduced competition from native species • Nutrient flush in soil • Increase in light, needed by some invasive species to germinate • In some cases fire may be used as a tool for weed control • FEIS Fire Effects Information System—a good resource for fire effects on specific species (http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/)

21. Effects of Fire Suppression on Invasives • Dispersal – spread of weed seeds, plant parts, aquatic animals

22. Effects of Fire Suppression on Invasives: Dispersal

23. Effect of Fire Suppression on Invasives: • Ground Disturbance

24. RA Toolkit: INFORMATION RESOURCES • Invasive Species List • Invasive Species Identification Tools • Invasive Species Locations • Weed Ecological Risk Analysis

25. Invasive Species List • Known species vs. watch out species • Learn to recognize species • Relative abundance Everywhere A few sites RA TOOLKIT

26. Identification Tools • Published field guides • Local field guides RA TOOLKIT

27. RA TOOLKIT

28. Weed Ecological Risk Analysis • Tool that helps identify habitats susceptible to weed invasion For example, Ecological Landtype (ELT) 13 on Superior - not very susceptible to spotted knapweed or leafy spurge RA TOOLKIT

29. ELT 6 - very susceptible to purple loosestrife ELT 18 - very susceptible to spotted knapweed or leafy spurge RA TOOLKIT

30. RA Toolkit: RULES OF THUMB FOR PREVENTION • Minimize Ground Disturbance • Equipment Cleaning • Avoid ground disturbance in weed infestations • Avoid placing spike camps, helipads, fire camps, staging areas in weed infestations • Avoid moving water from infested lakes to uninfested lakes • Prevention planning with invasive species coordinator before fire season

31. Weed Treatment

32. Interaction with IMT • Understand and respect the chain of command—you have the potential to significantly impact operations. Educate with tact. • Be prepared to defend your requests—at shift briefings, team meetings, etc. • Be prepared to follow up the next year(s)