Alaska Invasive Species Workshop
“Invaders in our backyard”
October 27th-29th, 2015
Juneau, Alaska – Elizabeth Peratrovich Hall
The Alaska Committee for Noxious and Invasive Plant
Management (CNIPM) and the Alaska Invasive Species Working Group (AISWG) are
proud to announce the upcoming Alaska Invasive Species Conference in Juneau.
This is a call for speakers at the 2015 conference. The theme, “Invaders in our
backyard,”
represents the lurking threats from invasive species
across Alaska-both new and on-going efforts included. If you are interested in
presenting at the conference, please submit an abstract following the
guidelines listed below.
*Presentation Abstract Guidelines:* Please submit
abstracts by September 30th, 2015. Email abstracts as a Word document to Gino
Graziano at gagraziano@alaska.edu.
An example is included to refer to when preparing your abstract.
Please follow these instructions to prepare your
abstract:
· No more
than 300 words
· Use Times
New Roman, 12 point font· First line: Title in bold font
· Second line: List primary author *last name first*, then other
authors
· Third Line: Affiliation below author line
· Leave a space between the title, authors, affiliation, and
abstract body
· Single space abstract body
· Spell check and proofread carefully (we will not be editing the
abstracts)
After reviewing abstracts we will contact speakers that
make the final agenda by October 9th. If
you have any questions please contact Gino Graziano atgagraziano@alaska.edu, 907-786-6315
or Heather Stewart at heather.stewart@alaska.gov,
907-745-8721. Thank you! We look forward to seeing you in Juneau.
*Abstract Example:*
Purple Loosestrife in Alaska: An Action Framework for
Potential Invasion
Bella, Elizabeth M.1, Boldenow, Megan L.2
1 HDR Alaska Inc., 2525 C Street, Anchorage, AK 95616, elizabeth.bella@hdrinc.com.Purple loosestrife is a significant threat to the health of Alaska ecosystems, particularly wetlands, riparian zones, and coastal regions.
Infestations can negatively affect fish and wildlife
populations in Alaska, especially salmon and waterfowl. If left untreated,
purple loosestrife has the potential to spread to thousands of acres across the
state, causing potentially irreversible damage to critically productive areas
of Alaskan wildlands. We discuss the key findings from two recent projects to
outline an action framework for preventing potential purple loosestrife
infestations in Alaska. We analyzed distribution of three years of individual
plant occurrence data in the only known state population in Anchorage to
determine whether current hand-pulling methods are effective.
Although a decline was observed, unusual climate
conditions and flooding for restoration activity purposes in 2008 may have been
contributing factors. We investigated the history of invasions in North
America, as well as species life history, to determine the best control options
for the local infestation. We used predictive bioclimatic habitat modeling to
map current climate potential range, as well as future climate potential range
in 2020, 2050, and 2080, to quantify the area across the state at risk of
invasion. Our main finding is that eradication of current populations, future
prevention, and an early detection-rapid response (EDRR) system, will be the
key to keeping purple loosestrife from establishing in other locations or
spreading further in its current location. We also discuss our recommended
public education framework strategy to effectively reach the public and other
stakeholders to spread the message of the potentially devastating effects of
purple loosestrife infestation in Alaska.
*Heather Stewart*
Natural Resource Specialist IIIState of Alaska Division of Agriculture
907.745.8721
