MEETING MINUTES

Mid-Atlantic Exotic Pest Plant Council
Organizational Committee Meeting No. 3
Thursday, August 12, 1999
10:00 - 4:00

Meeting was held at National Park Service, Harpers Ferry, WV.

In attendance were:

1.       Jil Swearingen (NPS, National Capitol Region) facilitated
2.       Robert Trumbule, MD Department of Agriculture
3.       Carole Russell, USDA/APHIS/PPQ (Maryland)
4.       Carole Bergmann, Maryland National Capital Park & Planning Commission
5.       Betsy Lyman, The Nature Conservancy (Pennsylvania Chapter)
6.       Louisa Thompson, Irvine Natural Science Center, Maryland Native Plant Society
7.       Carol Jelich, Maryland Native Plant Society
8.       Faith Campbell, American Land Alliance, Washington, D.C.
9.       Mark Zankel, The Nature Conservancy (Delaware Chapter)
10.    Dale Nisbet, National Park Service (Harpers Ferry)
11.    Lisa Smith, Western Pennsylvania Conservancy
12.    Kent Schwarzkopf, National Park Service (Appalachian Trail, Harpers Ferry)
13.    Nancy Benton, Association for Biodiversity Information (ABI) at The Nature Conservancy (Home
         Office)
14.    John Beckman, West Virginia DNR
15.    Donald Cober, Maryland State Highway Administration
16.    Joseph Calzarette, National Park Service (Antietam, NRM)
17.    Nancy S. H. Richwine, Pennsylvania Dept. of Agriculture
18.    Gary Clement, USDA/APHIS/PPQ (Harrisburg, PA)
19.    Sarah Bishop, Partners in Parks
20.    Donnelle Keech, The Nature Conservancy (Maryland/DC Chapter) took minutes

I.            Introductions & Announcements

Several members had announcements/ information about projects or upcoming events:

• Louisa Thompson: Is going to apply for grant(s) through the MD Native Plant Society to support the volunteer-driven weed mapping and control project at Patapsco Valley State Park (Maryland).
• Betsy Lyman: Distributed a draft brochure re: conference, Nov. 3-4 at Swathmore College [folks should have received more info on this meeting since then].  A Pennsylvania Noxious Plant Task Force has just been formed, with help from Randy Westbrooks - anyone who would like to be on their mailing list, contact Betsy.
• Carole Bergman: Has started a Weed Warriors program in Montgomery County (Maryland) Parks.  Has also developed a manual on weed control for Park Managers.
• Bob Trumbule: Is working w/ the nursery industry, and has new job responsibilities in the area of biocontrol.
• Nancy Benton: Is now representing both The Nature Conservancy and ABI (Association of Biodiversity Information)
• Mark Zankel: Is now Vice Chair of the newly formed Delaware Invasive Species Council (DISC). They were founded w/ help from Randy Westbrooks, and have been meeting for about 1 year.  They are organized as a non-profit, and have four committees: 1) Bylaws, 2) Education and Outreach, 3) Research and Special Projects, 4) Inventory and Data Management.

II.       Update on Executive Order and National Invasive Species Council (NISC)

A National Invasive Species Council has been formed per the Executive Order.  There are plans to create and fill 5 staff positions.  Jil passed out some information which included a list of the working groups for NISC.

III.     Review and Discussion of Mid-Atlantic EPPC's committees/working groups

There was no action taken by any of the committees we discussed and established at the May 13, 1999 meeting.

Discussion of committees focused mostly on inventory and monitoring.  Points included:

• "weed alerts" will fit under activities of inventory and monitoring; "early detection" is usually going to be noticing species that are already present in the region or area
• inventory data: what's available is limited, incomplete, and often with poor resolution (by county or state)
• EPPC's role in data collection should be coordination among data collecting entities, so that data from different states and/or agencies is compatible and can be aggregated to create a region-wide database.
• Association for Biodiversity Information (ABI) is a new nonprofit organization that is forming in cooperation with The Nature Conservancy.  ABI will be representing the Heritage programs and managing and disseminating Heritage data at the national level.  ABI is starting to branch out and incorporate invasive species information into the Heritage system.  TNC and ABI are also working on a ranking system.

IV.     Strategic Focus and Mission Statement

Discussion continued on the appropriate focus/mission for the MidA-EPPC.  Ealy discussion included suggestions to develop a clear charter or mission statement, and to have a facilitated strategic planning session.  In response, a strong case was made by Faith Thompson to begin action on a few things that we all agree are important, while continuing to ruminate on the larger purpose of EPPC in the Mid-Atlantic.  Mark Zankel strongly seconded this suggestion, sharing his experience with the Delaware Invasive Species council - if we can focus our limited resources on a couple of relevant projects we will then have something to build on.  He also encouraged us to tie these early projects to the needs of the fledgling state-based groups.

The group formed general consensus on this idea, although there was some support for developing and agreeing upon at least a general mission statement early on.

We decided to spend the afternoon working in two break-out groups, one focused on drafting a mission statement and another focused on identifying a few start-up projects.  The break-out groups then reported back to the entire meeting, and general approval was given to the following products:

Mission Statement

The Purpose of the Mid Atlantic Exotic Pest Plant Council (MA-EPPC) is to address the problem of invasive exotic plants and their threat to the Mid-Atlantic region's economy, environment, and human health by providing leadership, facilitating information development and exchange, and coordinating regional efforts.

Projects

The group assembled on 8/12/99 agreed that the three projects listed here are the most urgent and most strategic for addressing the invasive exotic plant issue and building the visibility, credibility and relevance of the MA-EPPC.  Leaders for each project volunteered, and those present signed up as a team members or contributors.

1.     Regional Plant List

Goal: To develop a list of invasive (exotic?) plants that covers the entire Mid-Atlantic region.  A "master list" will be the first product, but more specialized lists may then be developed for targeted audiences.  The group felt that the list should include agricultural weeds.

Team Leader:  John Beckman

Team Members/Resources:  Chris Firestone, Faith Campbell, Carol Jelich, Betsy Lyman, Carol Russell, Robert Trumbule

2.     Technical Outreach

Goal: Provide support for volunteer weed removal projects, in the form of a) demonstration project(s), and b) resources and training in volunteer coordination and weed management methods for project leaders.

Team Leader:  Louisa Thompson

Team Members:  Lisa Smith, Jil Swearingen, Betsy Lyman (will send field guide from Friends of Wissahickon Park) Carole Bergmann, Sarah Bishop, Don Cober

3.     Regional Data Coordination

Goals: a) inventory the relevant or applicable databases, and the types of data currently being collected; b) identify options for format to standardize data region wide (w/ an eye towards national picture); c) educate and encourage states to use common format.

Team Leader:  Nancy Benton

Team Members:  Lisa Smith (PA info contribution), Mark Zankel (DE contact/liaison), Nancy Richwine, Louisa Thompson (will send data collection forms she has, would like to consult later about what volunteer program could use), Betsy Lyman (will work with Lisa Smith on PA info)

Arranging field trips for the media and/or policy makers (state and national) was suggested as a forth project.

V.       Election of Co-Chairs

Faith Campbell and John Beckman accepted 6 month terms as Co-Chairs of the MA-EPPC.  It was agreed that they would begin preliminary checking into incorporating as a non-profit, but that most of their EPPC-energy during their current terms would be spent on Projects.