John Peter Thompson Interview - Ornamental Invasives - Nursery Management

 We spoke with John Peter Thompson of the National Invasive Species Council Advisory Committee (ISAC) about stalwart ornamental plants you may be growing that have invasive characteristics. Part one of a series. This podcast focuses on problem plants east of the Mississippi, excluding Florida.

ORNAMENTAL INVASIVES

Mt Rainier, Maryland, Faces Wickedly Inconvenient Invasive Bamboo Problem

Yellow groove bamboo, Phyllostachys aureosulcata invading a natural area
image by Caryn Rickel, Institute of Invasive Bamboo Research, Bugwood.org

               For each community there comes a time when the invasive impact of a charismatic mega species finally causes an epiphany and an interest in one century of concern takes hold. Most of us are comfortably landscape illiterate and cannot be bothered with an invasive species especially if it is a plant, because most of us identify a plant as a tree or shrub, flower or grass and, then, quickly move on to our morning coffee.  We no longer know the common names, and sure enough cannot deal with the impossible to pronounce alien-exotic sounding names such as Phyllostachysaureoculcata McClure (1945) at any time of the day.

               Mount Rainier, a small town in Prince George's County, Maryland, my county, has found itself under attack from past landscape practices of its own doing, and now wants action and proposes a ban on all invasive plants. The immediacy of the idea obscures the question as to what exactly is an invasive plants, but oppressed homeowners and beleaguered politicians seldom let actual context interfere with well-meaning intentions. The press, of course, does not have the time or resources to actually talk to people who know a little or much about invasive species, but rather focus on factoids that sell news by fanning the flames of simplistic thinking.

               Invasive species issues are seldom, if ever, linear. They are not solved by direct line thinking. Simple solutions like a city ban will not solve the existing problem. This is the wicked inconvenience of invasives. Simple solution will inevitably cause unintended consequences and more problems. Invasive species impacts are wicked problems because they involve many vested interests, ill-defined definitions, limited resources  and short, near term frame of mind goals (interest is lost easily). For example, a land manager invests the money and time to remove a weed from a play ground but does not have a long term plan for what comes next, resulting in a new species quietly establishing because there was no EDRR plan put in place as part of the original plant removal. 

               Mount Rainier has a bamboo problem. Which bamboo exactly is causing the problem? This is a trick question because almost assuredly they have no idea that there are 26 species in the genus. Most likely, they are dealing with one of two possibilities, but what reference are they using to establish that identification. More worrisome is the idea that a ban will solve the problem. A ban will solve tomorrow's neighbors' incursion but today's property owners will still be left with the financial burden of mitigating the damage to get back full use of their land. The real issue is how to make existing property owners whole. Who is responsible for the loss of the use of my land when a neighbor's invasive species jumps the fence?

               There is little doubt that some species of invasives especially certain bamboos can rip part patios, chew through foundations, uproot asphalt, grow through concrete, and otherwise make practicable use of a property impossible for any reason. And these few specific bamboos are not alone in the invasive category  - just ask the Confederacy about kudzu, fire ants and pythons to name a few. It is good to remember that in spite of these facts, bamboo, as of now, mostly impacts managed gardens, properties, and landscapes. Because the term of art invasive species comes out of ecological and natural land management investigations, the labeling of bamboo as 'invasive' causes definitional problems.[1] It would be better, perhaps,  if historically we had not separated the idea of weeds and invasive plants, but we have. The so-called 'running' bamboos are destructive, aggressively harmful,'noxious' landscape weeds that do not fit well into classic invasive species categories especially those that require harm to natural areas and that require seeding pressure (something these bamboos do not do - yet). 

               For over thirty years a generation of dedicated volunteers and professionals has been trying to get the rest of us to notice that we have a problem, but until the problem costs us personally, we do nothing preferring to be ecological ostriches.

               Mount Rainier needs a plan before a law. It needs to put a cutting edge comprehensive program together that involves sustainable landscaping practices (SITES). The town needs an outreach program to its citizens on what the problem is and what they can do about it personally.  The town needs to support through information web sites best management practices for new installation and old landscape maintenance strategies (integrated pest management practices: IPM). The town should be putting together an early detection and rapid response (EDRR) program do ensure they never have this kind of problem again. And finally, Mount Rainier should be advocating for a county-wide policy, for every community is part of an ecosystem, and invasive species issues must be managed holistically at the ecosystem level.

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[1] As per Executive Order 13112 an "invasive species" is defined as a species that is:

1) non-native (or alien) to the ecosystem under consideration and

2) whose introduction causes or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health.

http://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/whatis.shtml#.UMSl2oM8CSo

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)

Bartlett, Roscoe, 6th

Phone: 202-225-2721

Fax: 202-225-2193

Cummings, Elijah, 7th

Phone:   202- 225-4741

Fax:   202- 225-3178

Edwards, Donna F., 4th

Phone: 202-225-8699
Fax: 202-225-8714

Hoyer, Steny H., 5th

Phone: 202- 225-4131
Fax: 202- 225-4300

Kratovil, Jr., Frank M., 1st

Phone: 202-225-2721

Fax: 202-225-2194

Ruppersberger, Dutch, 2nd

Phone: 202-225-3061

Fax: 202-225-3094

Sarbanes, John P., 3rd

Phone: 202- 225-4016
Fax: 202- 225-9219

Van Hollen, Chris,8^th

Phone: 202- 225-5341
Fax: 202- 225-0375

Invasive Species follow up: Basket Grass Removal in Maryland and the MidAtlantic
Invasive species: wavyleaf basketgrass - Oplismenus
Invasive Species are eating your lunch; and change
Oplismenus Menaces the Mid Atlantic

List of NAPPRA Candidates for Host Plants of Quarantine Pests - USDA APHIS

List of NAPPRA Candidates for Host Plants of Quarantine Pests

NAPPRA: Importation of Plants for Planting - new rules from USDA APHIS

For the associated Federal Register Notice and pest datasheets go to

http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2011-0072

Quarantine Pest:

Anoplophora chinensis

Host plant genus	Countries from which importation is not authorized
Acacia	All except Canada
Acer	All except Canada, Netherlands
Aesculus	All except Canada
Albizia	All except Canada, Israel
Alnus	All except Canada
Aralia	All except Canada, Costa Rica, Guatemala
Betula	All except Canada
Broussonetia	All except Canada
Cajanus	All except Canada
Camellia	All except Canada
Carpinus	All except Canada, Netherlands
Carya	All except Canada
Castanopis	All except Canada
Casuarina	All except Canada
Catalpa	All
Celastrus	All
Cercis	All except Canada, Netherlands, Israel
Chaenomeles	All except Canada
Cornus	All except Canada, Netherlands
Corylus	All except Canada, Netherlands
Cotoneaster	All except Canada, Costa Rica
Crataegus	All except Canada
Cryptomeria	All except Canada
Cydonia	All except Canada
Elaeagnus	All except Canada
Eriobotrya	All except Canada
Fagus	All except Canada
Ficus	All except Canada, China, Costa Rica, Dominican republic, Guatemala, Mexico, Netherlands, Taiwan
Grevillea (=Stylurus)	All
Hedera	All except Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Kenya, Mexico, Netherlands
Hibiscus	All except Canada
Ilex	All except Canada, Netherlands
Juglans	All except Canada
Lagerstroemia	All except Israel
Lindera	All
Liquidamber	All
Litchi	All
Maackia	All
Mallotus	All
Malus	All except Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Netherlands
Melia	All
Morus	All except Canada
Olea	All
Ostrya	All
Parrotia	All except Canada
Persea	All
Photinia	All except Canada
Pinus	All except Canada
Platanus	All
Polygonum	All except Canada
Populus	All except Canada
Prunus	All except Canada, Netherlands
Psidium	All except Canada
Pyracantha	All
Pyrus	All except Canada
Quercus	All except Canada
Rhododendron	All except Canada
Rhus	All except Canada
Robinia	All except Canada
Rosa	All except Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Netherlands, United Kingdom
Rubus	All except Canada
Sageretia	All except China
Salix	All except Canada
Sapium	All
Sophora	All
Sorbus	All except Canada
Styrax	All
Toona	All
Ulmus	All except Canada
Vernicia	All
Viburnum	All except Canada
Ziziphus	All

Quarantine Pest:

Bursaphelenchus cocophilus

Styrax	All
Toona	All
Ulmus	All except Canada
Vernicia	All
Viburnum	All except Canada
Ziziphus	All

Quarantine Pest:

Ceratocystis maginecans

Mangifera

All

Quarantine Pest:

Chrysomyza abietis

Picea

All except Canada

Quarantine Pest:

Lachnellula willkommii

Larix	All except areas of Canada not regulated for L. willkomii
Pseudolarix	All except areas of Canada not regulated for L. willkomii

Quarantine Pest:

Phytophthora alni

Alnus

All except Canada

Quarantine Pest:

Pseudomonas syringae pv. actinidae

Actinidia

All

Quarantine Pest:

Pseudomonas syringae pv. aesculi

Aesculus

All except Canada

Quarantine Pest:

Rhynchophorous ferrugineus

Brahea	All
Butia	All
Calamus	All
Euterpe	All
Manicaria	All
Metroxylon	All
Oncosperma	All
Roystonea	All

Quarantine Pest:

Rynchophorous palmarum

Acrocomia	All
Attalea	All
Bactris	All
Euterpe	All
Manicaria	All
Metroxylon	All
Roystonea	All
Sabal	All
Syagrus	All
Washingtonia	All

Quarantine Pest:

Tomato severe leaf curl virus

Solanum (including syn. Lycopersicon)	All except Canada
Capsicum	All except Canada

Quarantine Pest:

Tomato torrado virus

Solanum (including syn. Lycopersicon)	All except Canada
Amaranthus	All except Canada
Atriplex	All except Canada
Chenopodium	All except Canada
Halogetum	All except Canada
Lepidium (syn. Senebiera, Coronopus)	All except Canada
Malva	All except Canada
Polygonum	All except Canada
Nicotiana	All except Canada
Spergularia	All except Canada

Quarantine Pest:

Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. punicae

Punica granatum

All