Final Comprehensive Conservation Plan - U.S. Fish and Wildlife ...

Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge
Comprehensive Conservation Plan
• Prevention. This is the most effective and least expensive long-term management option for
pests. It encompasses methods to prevent new introductions or the spread of the established pests
to un-infested areas. It requires identifying potential routes of invasion to reduce the likelihood
of infestation. Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) planning can be used
determine if current management activities on a refuge may introduce and/or spread invasive
species in order to identify appropriate BMPs for prevention. See http://www.haccp-nrm.org/ for
more information about HACCP planning.
Prevention may include source reduction, using pathogen-free or weed-free seeds or fill;
exclusion methods (e.g., barriers) and/or sanitation methods (e.g., wash stations) to prevent reintroductions
by various mechanisms including vehicles, personnel, livestock, and horses.
Because invasive species are frequently the first to establish newly disturbed sites, prevention
would require a reporting mechanism for early detection of new pest occurrences with quick
response to eliminate any new satellite pest populations. Prevention would require consideration
of the scale and scope of land management activities that may promote pest establishment within
uninfested areas or promote reproduction and spread of existing populations. Along with
preventing initial introduction, prevention would involve halting the spread of existing
infestations to new sites (Mullin et al. 2000). The primary reason of prevention would be to keep
pest-free lands or waters from becoming infested. Executive Order 11312 emphasizes the
priority for prevention with respect to managing pests.
The following are methods to prevent the introduction and/or spread of pests on refuge lands:
o Before beginning ground-disturbing activities (e.g., disking, scraping), inventory and
prioritize pest infestations in project operating areas and along access routes. Refuge
staff would identify pest species on site or within reasonably expected potential invasion
vicinity. Where possible, the refuge staff would begin project activities in uninfested
areas before working in pest-infested areas.
o The refuge staff would locate and use pest-free project staging areas. They would avoid
or minimize travel through pest-infested areas, or restrict to those periods when spread of
seed or propagules of invasive plants would be least likely.
o The refuge staff would determine the need for, and when appropriate, identify sanitation
sites where equipment can be cleaned of pests. Where possible, the refuge staff would
clean equipment before entering lands at on-refuge approved cleaning site(s). This
practice does not pertain to vehicles traveling frequently in and out of the project area
that will remain on roadways. Seeds and plant parts of pest plants would need to be
collected, where practical. The refuge staff would remove mud, dirt, and plant parts from
project equipment before moving it into a project area.
o The refuge staff would clean all equipment, before leaving the project site, if operating in
areas infested with pests. The refuge staff would determine the need for, and when
appropriate, identify sanitation sites where equipment can be cleaned.
o Refuge staffs, their authorized agents, and refuge volunteers would, where possible,
inspect, remove, and properly dispose of seed and parts of invasive plants found on their
clothing and equipment. Proper disposal means bagging the seeds and plant parts and
then properly discarding of them (e.g., incinerating).
o The refuge staff would evaluate options, including closure, to restrict the traffic on sites
with on-going restoration of desired vegetation. The refuge staff would revegetate
disturbed soil (except travel ways on surfaced projects) to optimize plant establishment
for each specific site. Revegetation may include topsoil replacement, planting, seeding,
G-4 Appendix G. Integrated Pest Management