Friday, February 03, 2012

Open Letter to Congress: Control of Asiatic Wavyleaf Basketgrass, Oplismenus hirtellus undulatifolius


Asiatic Wavyleaf Basketgrass, Oplismenus hirtellus undulatifolius
Habitat Conservation

Wildlife and Heritage Service
Maryland Department of Natural Resources



We, Alan Ford amford@acm.org 703.732.5291, Virginia Native Plant Society, and Marc Imlay, Conservation biologist, ialm@erols.com 301-283-0808h, 301-442-5657c Maryland Native Plant Society, on behalf of the organizations and their members listed below, request $5-10 million funding to detect and treat Asiatic Wavyleaf Basketgrass, Oplismenus hirtellus undulatifolius in Maryland and Virginia. The only hope we have to save 10% of the natural environment in 1/4th of the United States is emergency federal, state and county legislation and non-profit funding. It is spreading very rapidly this year and covers all our woodland habitats like astroturf, killing all the other herbaceous plants. It is far worse than Japanese Stiltgrass which already is a monoculture over 10% of the national parks in this region. It forms a dense carpet of hundreds of acres after 5-10 years if not controlled. So far it is only in Maryland and Virginia so we still have a chance to contain it. 

The funds could be administered by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, State of Virginia, and U. S. Department of the Interior for detection and removal of Wavyleaf Basketgrass by Federal, State and County agencies and on private lands such as Piedmont Environmental Council and The Nature Conservancy at the known sites and other sites in Maryland and Virginia.

We request that a portion of this funding be included in the current Virginia, Maryland and Federal omnibus spending packages. We request additional funding be included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The next stimulus package is a good option since the proposal is ready to go for work starting in April each year.  Please contact Alan Ford amford@acm.org 703.732.5291, Virginia Native Plant Society, and Marc Imlay, Conservation biologist, ialm@erols.com 301-283-0808h, 301-442-5657c Maryland Native Plant Society for more information,


Adkins Arboretum
Anacostia Watershed Society
Ancestral Knowledge
Appalachian Cherokee Nation
Chesapeake Natives, Inc
Community & Environmental Defense Services
Earth Charter
Earth Sangha
Friends of Lower Beaverdam Creek
Friends of Patapsco Valley & Heritage Greenway
Herring Run Watershed Association
Invasive Plant Control Inc
Maryland Academy of Science
Maryland Alliance for Greenway Improvement and Conservation (MAGIC)
Maryland Chapter of the Sierra Club.
Maryland Conservation Council, Inc. 
Maryland Native Plant Society
Mid-Atlantic Invasive Plant Council,
Patuxent Riverkeeper
Piedmont Environmental Council
Reston Association
Southern Maryland Audubon Society, Inc
Straughan Environmental Services, Inc.
Virginia Native Plant Society
Washington Quaker Workcamps
William Penn House

Please contact your local, state and federal senators and representatives for Maryland and Virginia and surrounding states from South Carolina to Massachusetts, west to Missouri and Minnesota.

Contact information for Maryland:

Senator Benjamin Cardin
PHONE: 202-224-4524 (DC office)
FAX: 202-224-1651 (DC office)

Senator Barbara Mikulski
PHONE: 202-224-4654 (DC office)
FAX: 202-224-8858 (DC office)

Phone: 202-225-2721
Fax: 202-225-2193
Phone:   202- 225-4741
Fax:   202- 225-3178
Phone: 202-225-8699
Fax: 202-225-8714
Phone: 202- 225-4131
Fax: 202- 225-4300
Phone: 202-225-2721
Fax: 202-225-2194
Phone: 202-225-3061
Fax: 202-225-3094
Phone: 202- 225-4016
Fax: 202- 225-9219
Van Hollen, Chris,8th







No comments: