Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Invasive ...

<strong>Proceedings</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Third</strong> <strong>International</strong> <strong>Conference</strong> on Invasive SpartinaChapter 4: Spartina Control and ManagementCOMMUNITY SPARTINA EDUCATION AND STEWARDSHIP PROJECTK. O’CONNELLRestoration Ecologist, People For Puget Sound, 911 Western Ave., Ste. 580, Seattle, WA 98104; koconnell@pugetsound.orgPeople For Puget Sound’s Community Spartina Education and Stewardship Project is a communitybasedSpartina control program targeted at small groups <strong>of</strong> private property owners and select publicbeaches. The goals <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> program are to: 1) educate and mobilize shoreline property ownersthrough stewardship to eradicate Spartina from <strong>the</strong>ir beaches, and 2) educate and involve all citizensin <strong>the</strong> Puget Sound-wide Spartina control effort through participation in large, organized communitySpartina-removal dig events. This project includes a strong component <strong>of</strong> monitoring and long-termstewardship driven by property owners and partnering organizations/agencies.Keywords: Community, stewardship, educationINTRODUCTION:In Washington State, Spartina is an invasive, salttolerantweed that threatens our natural shorelineecosystems. It aggressively displaces native habitat, and leftuntreated could cause irreversible damage to <strong>the</strong> nearshoreenvironment <strong>of</strong> Puget Sound. State agencies andorganizations involved in Spartina control agree thateducation <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> public is key to <strong>the</strong> weed’s eradication fromPuget Sound. The goal <strong>of</strong> People For Puget Sound’sCommunity Spartina Education and Stewardship Program,launched in 2004, is to enhance community education,involvement and stewardship in <strong>the</strong> Puget Sound bytargeting areas <strong>of</strong> small Spartina infestations, generallyunder one acre, in sites with multiple private shorelineproperty owners.Research indicates that if eradication <strong>of</strong> Spartina is tooccur in an effective manner, individual infestations must betreated simultaneously and in a coordinated effort. Inaddition, <strong>the</strong> monitoring <strong>of</strong> sites post-eradication isnecessary to ensure that re-invasion <strong>of</strong> Spartina does notoccur. This education and stewardship project will act as aninvestment in <strong>the</strong> future <strong>of</strong> Spartina-free beaches in PugetSound, by focusing on community involvement andhighlighting <strong>the</strong> importance <strong>of</strong> stewardship. The projectenhances our own current programs, o<strong>the</strong>r local stewardshipprograms, and builds <strong>the</strong> key link between <strong>the</strong> agenciescommitted to Spartina removal and <strong>the</strong> citizens who dependon <strong>the</strong> health <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> sound.The project works in close partnership with variousregional, state, local and tribal agencies in Puget Sound tomaximize <strong>the</strong> effectiveness <strong>of</strong> our efforts. Washington StateDepartment <strong>of</strong> Agriculture (WSDA), Skagit and IslandCounty Noxious Weed control boards, <strong>the</strong> Northwest StraitsCommission, Washington State University “BeachWatchers” program, and tribal communities assist inbuilding connections with <strong>the</strong> wider community and instaging large public dig events to raise awareness <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>Spartina problem.METHODSThree to five priority shoreline communities aretargeted for outreach each year <strong>of</strong> this project. The projectmanager works with <strong>the</strong> state agencies, especially WSDA, toprioritize sites for outreach, and works with o<strong>the</strong>r localpartners to identify an interested neighbor in <strong>the</strong> target areato act as a community steward. The manager <strong>the</strong>n assists <strong>the</strong>steward in hosting a ‘Spartina Social’ with neighbors toeducate <strong>the</strong>m on Spartina’s environmental impacts, controlmethods, eradication strategies, monitoring and stewardship,as well as roles community members can play in <strong>the</strong> project.Generally two to six additional neighbors are also interestedin becoming stewards for <strong>the</strong> community following thisinitial meeting.Community stewards are trained to conduct baselinesurveys and monitoring at <strong>the</strong> site twice a year, and areequipped and supported in hopes that <strong>the</strong>y will continuemonitoring for up to 15+ years. We opted to use <strong>the</strong> protocolfor photo-point monitoring and photo-plot monitoringoutlined by Portland State University’s EnvironmentalSciences and Resources Program Student WatershedResearch Project (www.swrp.org). Photo-point monitoringinvolves taking landscape photos <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> area <strong>of</strong> concern tomonitor overall changes at <strong>the</strong> site each year, including <strong>the</strong>presence <strong>of</strong> Spartina. In addition, one or two photo plotswere established in each site to capture an area <strong>of</strong> one squaremeter (1 m 2 ) <strong>of</strong> Spartina to monitor <strong>the</strong> percent coverage peryear in those plots. Baseline monitoring was conducted ineach community between August and October 2004.Community stewards will continue monitoring each year inlate May and again post-control (September or October).Community stewards were provided with all necessarymonitoring materials. Each community received a photomonitoringinstruction manual, including monitoringguidelines, data entry sheets, photo marker tags, monitoringequipment, a copy <strong>of</strong> People For Puget Sound’s SoundStewardship native and invasive plant ID guide, and contactinformation for <strong>the</strong> Island County Noxious Weed ControlBoard. In addition to <strong>the</strong> manual, stewards received a 1 m 2- 265 -