National Park Service, Alaska Region Exotic Plant Management Team

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National Park Service, Alaska RegionExotic Plant
Management Team
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Program Objectives

• Regional strike team
• Prevention
• Detection
• Control
• Monitoring
• Restoration
• Inventory needed to prioritize particular species
  and sites

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Exotic Plants in Alaska
Spotted Knapweed (Centauria biebersteinii)

• gt100 species in early stages of invasion
• 54 million acres of NPS lands, mostly restricted
  to disturbance
• Early detection and rapid response
• Mapping essential for planning, execution,
  recording, and evaluation

Cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum)
Japanese knotweed (Polygonum cuspidatum)
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GPS Survey Protocol

• Trimble GeoXT units with custom data dictionary
• Observer chooses point, line, or polygon
• Spatial Fields
• Associated Park
• Location description
• Buffer width

• Ecological Fields
• Species, phenology
• Percent cover, stem count
• Disturbance type
• Action taken
• Control effort

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From GPS to GIS

• Pathfinder Office
• differential correction
• spatial editing
• export GIS shapefile
• ArcGIS
• Buffer using the Geoprocessing Toolbox
• Merge polygon shapefiles into 1 for all annual
  activity

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Data Utility

• Map generation for planning/prioritization
• Monitoring infestations and determining rate of
  spread
• Evaluating control success
• Relocating infestations
• Calculating acreages for reporting
• Precision is essential

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Statewide Databaseakweeds.uaa.alaska.edu

• Developed in partnership with Forest Service,
  Natural Heritage Program, and Alaska Science
  Center
• Track species distributions across boundaries
• Web-enabled data entry for exotic plant locations
  
• Share information on species biology and
  control/restoration strategies

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Summary

• Exotic plants are a rapidly growing threat to
  Alaskan ecosystems
• Appropriate management requires regular field
  surveys and mapping
• Modern GPS GIS tools enable greater range of
  data utility
• The more eyes (and GPS units) the better for
  finding and reporting these plants!

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The object of our conservation efforts
For further info Jeff_Heys_at_nps.gov or 644-3451