Minutes of Olympic Knotweed Working Group Meeting, November 13 th, 2007, EOC Room, Clallam County Courthouse

Transcription

1 Minutes of Olympic Knotweed Working Group Meeting, November 13 th, 2007, EOC Room, Clallam County Courthouse Attendees: Bridget Simons (WSDA), Greg Haubrich (WSDA), Jen Andreas (WSU Extension, King County), (Dick Stumbaugh (private), Dave Lasorsa (Clallam County Public Works), Ryan Singleton (Green Crow Inc.), Bill Drath (Washington State Parks), Sean MacDougall (Pierce County Weed Control Board), April Boe (The Nature Conservancy), Shannon Kirby (Mason County Conservation District), Carrie Gaines (NRCS), Jim Poffel (NRCS) Jon Gallie (Makah Tribe), Jill Silver (10,000 Years Institute), Allison Fawcett, (Jefferson County Noxious Weed Control Program), Meghan Adamire (Clallam Conservation District), Joan Ziegletrum (US Forest Service), Deborah McConnell (U.S. Forest Service), Dorothy Davis (Quinault Indian Nation), Jim Plampin (Quinault Indian Nation), Mitchell Bumgarner (Quinault Indian Nation), Hilton Turnbull, (Jamestown S Klallam Tribe), Patricia Grover, (Mason County Noxious Weed Control Board), Kevin Aitkin (USFWS), Marshall Udo (Washington State Department of Agriculture), Frances Lucero, (private), Eve Dixon (Jefferson County Noxious Weed Control Board), Katie Krueger (Quileute Indian Nation), Frank Geyer (Quileute Indian Nation), Steven Rondeau (Quileute Indian Nation), Ron Wong (U.S. Fish and Wildlife, Quilcene Fish Hatchery), Mel Sampson (Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe), Floyd Cooke (Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe), Phillip Blackcrow (Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe), Raymond Moses (Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe), Dan Campbell (North Cascades/Pacific Coast Exotic Plant Management Team, Olympic National Park), Cathy Lucero (Clallam County Noxious Weed Control Board), Marsha Key (Clallam County Noxious Weed Control Board), Nancy Ness (Grays Harbor Noxious Weed Control Board), Janet Kearsley (DNR Natural Areas Program), Kevin Anderson (WSDA spartina program), Darcy Stumbaugh (private) 9:00 9:15 Introductions- Cathy opened the meeting by reiterating the reason for knotweed control was not for weed control in and of itself, but because of detrimental impacts to our land values, natural resources, and ecosystem. The goal of noxious weed control is to protect these values. She briefly described the purpose of the meeting which was to share experiences and information about knotweed control with not only other project leaders, but also management. Additionally, the meeting was to promote networking and new partnerships. Cathy urged attendees to take copies of various handouts available at the sign in table. Attendees introduced themselves and their affiliation or reason for attending. 9:15 10:30 Local River Updates Dickey, Sol Duc, Bogachiel and Calawah Rivers Frank Geyer, Quileute Indian Nation habitat biologist, reported that this was the fifth year controlling knotweed on the Dickey River. The upper five miles of the Dickey was looking very good. One particular success had been in a large wetland complex, where beaver had been spreading knotweed. The knotweed is gone and the use of the area by elk and deer has greatly increased. The beavers who utilized knotweed have moved elsewhere. The lower 5 miles had fewer years of treatment,

2 and small plants were returning. The crew used imazapyr this year in conjunction with glyphosate and will check results next year. The Quileutes again worked with Lauren Urgenson, a UW student pursuing her doctorate, who is doing research on knotweed impacts. Her patches will be treated once her project is finished. Knotweed along a nine-mile stretch of the Calawah was treated this year with glyphosate. Crew returned up to four times to look for plants that were missed or needed retreatment. The Tribe worked with Clallam County Noxious Weed Control Board (CCNWCB) on the Sol Duc river, Bear Creek, and some terrestrial sites, including the City of Forks and areas around Sapho. One landowner on the Sol Duc did not want to let county crews on his property, but Frank was able to arrange treatment with tribal crew. This was the only landowner on the Sol Duc who had refused treatment. Overall, the wet weather complicated treatments this season, causing delays or simply lost work days, as many applications needed to be foliar, not injection. A few sites on the Bogachiel were treated, but this river will be a tremendous challenge because of the level of infestation. The Quileutes are hoping to get a grant for work on the Bogachiel, and Cathy suggested holding our spring meeting early so we can discuss potential grants and collaboration to meet grant timelines. Katie Krugar mentioned the decline of BIA funding and the difficulty finding grants that will allow indirects costs that must be included in projects with tribal crews. La Push Dan Campbell, ONP s North Cascade/Pacific Coast Exotic Plant Management Team leader, reported that his crew had treated the same112 acres as last year, although using considerably less herbicide than in previous years. All treatments were foliar applications of imazapyr. He treated sites at La Push, and from the boundary of the Park to the mouth of the Quillayute River. Big River, Sekiu River, Hoko River, Sekiu/Clallam Bay and Highway 112 Jon Gallie, Makah Tribe wildlife biologist, reported on the Big River knotweed project, which in a few places, is going on its fourth consecutive year. All the big canes and large patches that were once present are gone, but there are many small sprouts. However, the crew is spending just as many man hours finding plants as they once did treating large patches. Returning crew members were extremely valuable because they knew exactly where knotweed was treated before, even though it may now be hidden under vegetation. For this reason, Jon s crew doesn t tend to re-gps sites when they treat, but simply adds treatment comments to known sites in shape files made at the beginning of the season or previous seasons. Jon noted the difficulty in defining a site as knotweed becomes increasingly dispersed. His crews were directed to consider plants separated by 50 feet, hidden by vegetation, or in some other way unique or difficult to spot, as separate sites.

3 Invasion by reed canarygrass after knotweed is removed is a problem. The Clallam Conservation District planted 8900 trees on the Big River to help discourage other invasives from moving into areas where knotweed had been removed, or where erosion might become a problem until native plants could re-populate a site. This was the first year of fully treating Bullman Beach, which Jon described as a mess. Only one mile of the Sekiu River was treated, due to problems with both physical and legal access and there was no treatment on Sekiu River Road because of county policy regarding the use of herbicide. Knotweed in that area there dates back to the 1930s and Jon described the situation as depressing. A previously untreated 1 ½ mile section of the Hoko was treated, leaving only about ½ mile untreated. The knotweed in this half mile belongs to landowners who signed an agreement, but have very mixed feelings about using herbicide. The landowners think they want to do manual treatments. It is unlikely that these landowners will have enough time or energy to adequately deal with their knotweed infestation in this manner, but Jon intends to continue helping the landowner learn why pulling alone is not a feasible method, while he protects downstream sites that have already been treated. Most of the knotweed on the Hoko is giant knotweed and appears to be responding very well to treatment. Follow up control continued in Sekiu and Clallam Bay, where there has been an overwhelmingly positive response from the community and good landowner involvement. In addition to re-treatments, a few new sites in people s backyards were discovered and treated this year. Sporadic infestations were treated all along Highway 112 from the Reservation to Clallam Bay (approximately 20 miles). Jon believes that the infestations on the Reservation and rivers in that general region came from Highway 112 sites. In all treated areas, Jon reported a tremendous drop in herbicide use a clear indication that knotweed biomass is decreasing. For example there was a 96% reduction in herbicide used to treat all the Big River area. The number of canes has certainly decreased overall, but few patches had no canes return. (The canes may be present, but are much smaller or tiny). The group briefly discussed the difficulty measuring project success. If the goal is to protect resources from knotweed impacts, all projects have been overwhelmingly successful by reducing knotweed presence, its biomass, and documenting recolonization by native plants. However, counting canes alone did not adequately demonstrate how much had been accomplished. Generally, the entire area needs to be re-surveyed to find remaining plants, an increasingly time consuming task. April Boe from the Nature Conservancy, had struggled with a similar dilemma, and had thought about measuring changes in cover class or canopy cover as a truer

4 benchmark. Mashall Udo agreed that this was a difficult issue and welcomed anyone s thoughts on how projects might best measure progress. Hoh River Jill Silver, watershed program manager from the 10,000 Years Institute, reported that knotweed control on the Hoh started in 2002 and treatments then were solely by injection. After seven years of work on 30 miles of river in partnership with the Hoh Tribe and Olympic National Park, large plants and clumps have been almost completely eradicated, and now there are mostly only a very few, small plants left. Most of the work involved is searching for them with a 10-person crew spaced 10 feet apart. This year and last she hired a community service crew from the Washington State Department of Corrections Olympic Correctional Camp. Only 1.23 gallons of herbicide were used in treatments over 910 acres this season. An example of reduction in plants is on Lindner Bar where in 2003, there were over 3,700 large canes in numerous big clumps, and this past year, there were only 303 mostly small single stemmed plants. She cautioned that Himalayan blackberry populations in the river corridor, which had previously been fairly limited, are starting to explode. Getting Landowner Agreements from private landowners on the Hoh had been difficult. Jill felt this was due in part to language in the standard agreement developed by WSDA. For example, a number of landowners did not feel comfortable with the length of agreement time period. She had had much greater success working with a less formal document in previous years, or with public agencies or non-profits. Jill wondered whether some modifications might be made. She was very worried that not getting treatment permissions from a couple of key upstream landowners imperiled all the hard earned success for miles downstream. Jill felt it is imperative to do more and better public education about our program. Filling the Gaps Eve Dixon, with Clallam and Jefferson Noxious Weed Control Boards reported that one of the CCNWCB s major roles had been managing and acquiring Landowner Agreements and the NPDES permit for several projects. CCNWCB also organized a training event in Forks in June, attended by about 70 people, many of whom tested for their licenses and participated in field training. CCNWCB also supplied a twoperson crew who at times worked with the Makahs or Quileutes. The CCNWCB crew re-treated the Big River and worked on new sites on Lake Creek, in Forks, on the lower Sol Duc and on Ennis Creek. They also helped the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe (LEKT) work on the Clallam River, through funding provided by a Clallam Conservation District NFWF grant and matched with CCD and CCNWCB funding. Mel Sampson, LEKT crew leader spoke a little about that project, the difficulty of the terrain, and the sheer scope of the infestations. Knotweed control continued in Jefferson County with new sites treated on the Dosewallips and Duckabush,Rivers and Snow Creek, as well as old sites (on the three above plus Salmon Creek) inspected and re-treated if necessary. Eve

5 reiterated the problem caused by Clallam and Jefferson County policy which does not allow herbicide use on county roads and therefore prevented effective knotweed treatment on some roadsides. The CCNWCB encouraged and helped several landowners treat their own terrestrial sites because landowners must become as involved as possible in maintaining knotweed free landscapes to achieve a meaningful long-term solution. Eve also discussed observations and conclusions from this year s treatments. For example, we need to consider re-vegetation when necessary, or ways to keep other non-natives from invading as we remove knotweed. Also, as knotweed infestations decrease in size and number there is concern that many will feel the crisis is over. It is imperative that we seek funding enabling us to search for and treat remaining knotweed plants, otherwise our work up to now will have been wasted. Copies of the CCNWCB 2007 report were available on disc. Revegetation Project on the Big River Meagan Adamire, with Clallam Conservation District (CCD) reported that 8900 trees (spruce, hemlock and cedar) donated by Green Crow and Merrill and Ring were planted in riparian areas on the Big River after knotweed was removed. Additional funding had supported the LEKT s work on the Clallam River. The CCD had reserved enough funds for a mailing to west end residents as part of an education effort. These activities were supported by a NFWF grant matched by the CCD and WSDA funds to Clallam County. 10:40 11:30 River\Program Updates Prairie Creek Jim Plampin from the Quinault Indian Nation (QIN) reported that the Quinault River is totally infested with knotweed and that his organization had grants from both the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) and the Salmon Recovery Funding Board (SRFB) for their work. This year they surveyed the entire Prairie Creek subwatershed, taking GPS points. This is an important salmon-spawning area where habitat needs protecting. Treating it will be a three-year project and people doing redd surveys will also look for knotweed. QIN treated 75 acres of giant knotweed on 4 + river miles, costing approximately $80K. In some cases, they made a first pass and came back 3 weeks later to work a site again. Access was difficult and occasionally water had to be packed to location. The work this year was complicated by a high-water event in July. The Tribe contracted with applicator Tim Wilson, (former Pacific County Noxious Weed Control Coordinator), who worked closely with QIN staff. QIN also worked with Nancy Ness (Gray s Harbor County Noxious Weed Control Board Coordinator), spraying knotweed in other sites. Jim also mentioned that the Bureau of Indian Affairs has money available to Tribes to control pests (such as knotweed). Katie Kruegar noted that it was difficult for invasive plant projects out here to compete because we lacked a large scale grazing (rangeland) component and the score calculation was often based on number of acres.

6 Carrie Gaines mentioned that there was a forest manager meeting at which scoring criterion were set and encouraged more tribes to attend to influence those decisions. Carrie was asked to let the group know where and when that meeting takes place. Jill commented that high water events may becoming more frequent due to climate change, which heightens the urgency to control knotweed as soon as possible, before flood events move fragments over a larger landscape. Lake Quinault Nancy Ness (Gray s Harbor County Noxious Weed Control Board Coordinator) reported that when knotweed was first found on Lake Quinault it could not be chemically treated because the required permits were not in place, so it was cut and dug with limited success. Injection began in 2006, with a crew from the QIN treatments were mainly foliar applications. It appears that plants in the sun responded well to treatment, but those in shade did not. Nancy showed pictures from an educational trip on the Quinault River, mentioned that there was giant knotweed on the Humptulips River that was setting seed, and that her program had injection guns available for loan to homeowners. If the homeowner s site was aquatic then Nancy, who has an aquatic license, would supervise. Mason County Pat Grover (Mason County Noxious Weed Control Board Coordinator) reported completion of two knotweed projects in One was at Lake Isabella State Park and the number of injectible stems there has been reduced to about a third of the original number. She had a steep learning curve. Both sites treated were riparian, necessitating going through the NPDES process. In addition to learning the ins and outs of the NPDES permit, she accommodated a Spanish speaking crew with Spanish MSDS and labels..treatment in 2008 will probably be just foliar. Pat reported that there is a lot of knotweed in Mason County and control work there is just getting started. Nisqually River Sean MacDougall, Pierce County Noxious Weed Control Board (PCNWCB) Coordinator, gave an overview of the Nisqually River which is unique in a number of ways. It is the only river system with its headwaters in a National Park and its mouth in a National Wildlife Refuge. Forty-four percent of the watershed is in agency-held land and it is sparsely populated. Two dams separate the upper and lower parts of the watershed and also the knotweed populations. The lower watershed has several restoration and enhancement projects for wildlife and fish, including the endangered Puget Sound Chinook. Degradation of the riparian area in the lower watershed would be a significant impact to salmon. Open space in the upper watershed is managed for elk and knotweed could impact this resource. Pierce, Thurston, and Lewis counties have jurisdiction over the Nisqually s riparian areas. Pierce County, working closely with the Nisqually Tribe and other partners,

7 served as the lead for the project. PCNWCB currently has two grants for knotweed control--$50k from a Community Salmon Fund and $15K from WSDA. PCNWCB has been developing an MOU between the three county weed boards, the tribe, and other watershed partners to form a working group whose mission would be to encourage collaborative projects, pool resources and expertise to tackle knotweed throughout the Nisqually watershed. Sean reported that most landowners on the Nisqually are willing to have their knotweed treated and that Tacoma Power and other agencies with land there have been good partners. A survey was conducted and the Nisqually Tribe helped the PCNWCB to treat all 88 knotweed patches in the lower watershed (38.4 miles). The initial survey in the upper watershed resulted in 352 acres infested with knotweed. Sean estimated that there is probably a total of 870 infested acres in the upper watershed, covering 16 river miles, of which 10 was surveyed this year. PCNWCB conducted 6 knotweed education programs this year. Education is an ongoing focus and more funding will be required. He has considered using the Washington Conservation Corps Dick Stumbaugh inquired whether Sean had heard of Mark Fisher who is working to create a Veteran s Conservation Corps. He urged Sean to look into the possibility of using veterans for this work which might help with SRFB funding. 11:30 12:00 What s New on the Herbicide Front? Cathy Lucero (Clallam County Noxious Weed Control Board Coordinator) reported information from Dr Tim Miller (who could not be present) on two knotweed field trial. The first trial consisted of using different herbicides, rates, and herbicide combinations on both bent and unbent knotweed stems to ascertain if bending stems before treatment affected treatment results. In all cases, after nine months slightly better results were observed on bent canes. However, the slight improvement may not justify the extra time needed to bend the canes. Milestone, especially in combination with glyphosate seemed quite effective, but is not yet formulated for aquatic use (contact Dr. Miller for results). The second trial averaged the effectiveness of herbicides, with different rates or combinations, and 2 or 3 different treatment methods to giant and Bohemian knotweed. After one month it appeared that giant was easier to kill than Bohemian, no matter which rate, or product combinations were applied with various treatments (cut, bent, or uncut). However, a month is a short time to assess effectiveness. Better information will be forthcoming in the 9 MAT evaluation. A question was asked about research presented at the recent Yakima Weed Conference, about the affect that water quality may have on herbicide effectiveness. Particularly, hard water may tie up certain chemicals and reduce effectiveness. Many members of the group were interested in hearing more about this potential and possibly testing ph and hardness to make sure water quality is in the correct range for maximum effectiveness.

8 12:30 1:00 Knotweed Impact Studies Update Lauren Urgenson, a doctoral candidate with the U of W, has been collaborating with Frank Geyer (QIN), studying the impacts of knotweed on tree regeneration, using the Dickey River watershed for her studies. She emphasized that this year s data was not published yet.. Before commencing her current study, Lauren had already ascertained that knotweeds resorb foliar nitrogen, reducing the amount of available nitrogen. When knotweed invades an area, native species decline; Lauren s study attempted to ascertain whether knotweed invasion CAUSED trees to decline, or if some other factor caused both knotweed to invade AND trees to decline. Another question was, if knotweed does cause trees to decline, is it by outcompeting, or by preventing seedling germination? Lauren established 25 plots and removed the knotweed from half of each one (using glyphosate) along a 4½ mile stretch of the Dickey. Alder, spruce and hemlock seedlings were planted. After one year the cover of herbaceous plants and shrubs had increased in the areas where knotweed had been removed and some tree seedlings had established. The planted seedlings did better than naturallyregenerated ones. Lauren mentioned that knotweeds are believed to have antifungal properties which may inhibit mycorrizal establishment or function. Lauren hopes that next year she will be able to draw some conclusions about the effects of knotweed and knotweed leaf litter on tree seed germination and establishment. She discussed the study s implications on management options. For example, since native plants appear to respond positively and immediately to knotweed removal, removing knotweed seems to be a better, less expensive option than active restoration. Scientific data showing knotweed s negative impacts on tree seedling establishment represents a good argument for knotweed control. 1:00 1:15 What s Happening Around the State? Permits, other knotweed programs, water quality monitoring. Marshall Udo, from Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) reported that last year the state increased knotweed funding to $650K per year and that $150K was to go to weed boards. The state spent $50K on herbicide for cooperators this year. There are currently 19 cooperators, mainly counties, but including one Tribal entity and three non-profits. Knotweed is present in most WRIAs in the state. Projects that were part of the original Southwest pilot, report control is approaching nearly 100% and native vegetation is re-establishing. Last year, over 1000 landowners had been assisted with knotweed control under the state funded program.

9 Marshall commented that although river-miles have been used to estimate amount of treatment, acres will probably be used in the future. He estimated that as control projects dramatically reduce level of infestations, acres treated will level off or decline as river miles go up. It will be hard to demonstrate this success. He is open to input on this topic. Marshall mentioned greater competition for the state funding, especially from nontraditional groups. He briefly touched on criteria for ranking projects. Projects that protect large, ecologically important areas, are cost effective, have multiple partnerships and provide matching funds, or lead entities committed to long term monitoring will all receive a higher ranking. He encouraged participation in the preproposal meeting in Olympia to help shape appropriate criteria that meets all stakeholder needs. A new NPDES permit is being developed and Marshall encouraged everyone to comment. The deadline is November 14 th. The knotweed web site will eventually be available as a clearing house for research and information. Also, people with knotweed will be able to use it to find their local contact. There was discussion about increasing Department of Natural Resources (DNR) involvement in knotweed control. Janet Kearsley from DNR was present but said she is not the right contact. She will discuss the matter with her supervisor and hopefully he will attend the next meeting. 1:15 2:00 Makah Tribe Invasive Species Management Plan Draft Jon Gallie commented that, unlike chemical pollution, bio-invasions increase over time. He perceives a need for active removal of invasive plants and does not want to see one invasive being replaced by another. Jon spent several months surveying the entire Reservation and inventorying weeds. He proposed a classification system a little different from the one used by the state, with Classes 1, 2 and 3. If the plan is adopted by the Tribal Council, control will be required for Class 1 weeds, but only in ecologically sensitive areas for Class 2. Class 3 consists of plants known to be invasive but not yet seen on the Reservation. Education about these plants is important. Key points of Jon s plan are prevention, monitoring, education, control (manual where possible) and partnerships. The plan contains profiles of all the weeds mentioned, with ID information, status, distribution, spread, ecology, impacts and control prescriptions. Jon would like to see the plan implemented in 2008, but it needs stable, long-term funding.

10 Joan Ziegltrum, (USFS) spoke about their policy of early detection rapid response and said that the Olympic National Forest EIS invasive plant management plan has completed consultation and is undergoing final edits..the Forest Service hopes to be able to move ahead with more knotweed treatments and increase partnerships with Tribes on other weed control projects. Bridget Simon, (WSDA), said that the State Weed Plan is complete and will be posted on the web site. Because there is no money for a full printing, she will make a 2-4 page summary handout. She had also adopted Jon s strategy of creating a basic IPM plan with weed profiles that could be updated. 2:00-2:45 Watching for Other Riparian Invaders Spartina Kevin Anderson from WSDA s Spartina Program, showed pictures and gave ID information about the four invasive Spartina species that have been seen in Washington. Spartina anglica was introduced deliberately to the Stanwood area in the 1960s, for cattle grazing and covered 2000 acres by the 1990s. Spartina was recently discovered near the mouth of Salt Creek, and on the Makah reservation. The only population of Spartina patens is in Jefferson County. As more of the large Spartina infestations are brought under control, the state is turning its focus to mopping up orphan or identifying new sites. (Laminated handouts with pictures were available at the check in table). Cathy hoped that crews would be on the lookout for Spartina while working on knotweed in marine environments. Kevin planned to do more work with more volunteers in our area next year. Phragmites Greg Haubrich, WSDA Noxious Weed Control Coordinator, told us that there are some native and some non-native Phragmites species. The only native plants in western Washington are at Lake Ozette. The non-natives are much more robust, growing to heights of 15 feet or more. The native usually has a reddish, smooth stem, whereas the non-native is green with ridges or rough. There is a great deal of non-native Phragmites on the east coast the battle there has been lost already. Ironically, one area the Winchester Wasteway, used to be full of purple loosestrife. Biocontrols took care of the loosestrife and now the area is full of Phragmites. Glyphosate or imazapyr, applied after tasseling, give good control. Phragmites is currently a Class C weed in Washington, but it may be moved up to B, with control required at least in parts of the state. There is one patch in Jefferson County, on Highway 104 and if the state does not require control in 2008, then Jefferson County will. 2:45-3:00 Biocontrols Jennifer Andreas, from WSU s biocontrol program, told the group that she works in all 19 counties of western Washington and supplies biocontrol agents free to land managers. Her program is funded by USFS. Biocontrol agents go through many

11 years of testing to ensure they will not feed on non-target plant species. Insects are mobile and move through a weed population, making them a cost-effective long-term control method. They are, however, slow to work, subject to predators and never eradicate the weed population. Also, the approval process for new agents is very slow. Biocontrol is appropriate in remote, inaccessible areas, especially if the area is environmentally sensitive. Jennifer urged us not to use non-approved biocontrol agents. There are now two seed-feeding beetles available for Scotch broom control, a stemgalling fly for Canada thistle and a root-feeding flea beetle for tansy ragwort. The cinnabar moth (Tyria jacobaeae), which has been a popular control agent for tansy ragwort, is NOT recommended because it also feeds on other Senecio species. However the two tansy agents together are often more effective. Some research is being done on biocontrols for knotweed, but agents are still years away from release. Shannon Kirby, from Mason County Conservation District, spoke about a pilot project using goats to control weeds, including knotweed. 3:00-4:00 General Discussion/Wrap up Research Needs? More research is needed for control of symptomatic plants. Water quality monitoring was not required by Ecology under NPDES this year because previous years of data showed no problems. More data about the connection between fish and knotweed, and other invasives is needed. More work is needed investigating the cost effectiveness of invasive species control versus large restoration projects that seek to restore ecosystem functions. Lauren s work is extremely useful in this regard. Her work needs to get heard by fishery experts. Greg mentioned that a couple of these topics have been mentioned as projects that might be funded by the FS soon. Funding? Any OKWG grants? Compile a list of all available grants, with their deadlines, and share it with the group. The group agreed to meet earlier next year for this purpose. Cathy will do her best to gather the information. Partner Gaps? DOT and DNR need to have greater presence and participation. Need to bring in higher level managers, policy makers and people in other natural resource fields. Information dissemination/education/outreach?- Meghan Adamire, from Clallam County Conservation District, said she has money left from a NFWF grant to do some outreach, such as a mass mailing in western Clallam County about knotweed. Jill Silver suggested compiling a Road Show, containing interviews with landowners whose knotweed has been controlled through our program and who are glad to have the assistance. Kevin Aitkin suggested that Lauren present her work to University of Washington School of Fisheries and grad students at the UW. Cathy will see if Chris Grue would consent to speak on his study of herbicide/surfactant effects on fish. It was suggested that the local newspapers be invited to hear about the activities of the OKWG. Positive publicity might help the Commissioners address noxious weed issues on county

12 roads. Presentations from the meeting can be had for the asking. Contact Cathy. We need to get more managers/policy makers to our meetings. Announcements/Other?- Hilton Turnbull, from the Jamestown S Klallam Tribe, said that knotweed on the Dungeness River is coming under control but butterfly bush is becoming an even bigger problem and is also showing up on the Sequim by-pass. Cut-stump treatment is the best control technique, but more research is underway. Reminder to comment on upcoming NPDES revision. Adjourn-Cathy thanked presenters and attendees for coming to the meeting. She reminded people to sign for license recertification credits at the check in table. The meeting adjourned at 4:00 p.m.