Invasive Plants Association of Wisconsin

Committee would like to have available variety of presentations that are tailored to various audiences and topics. Kelly has many such presentations already created in Power Point that she could share with IPAW, as does Jerry. **ACTION ITEM: Kelly will make list of Power Point presentations, send to Committee.**

Rolf verified that he could generate numerous CD-ROM copies of these presentations cheaply. Committee agrees that this would be helpful for mailing to speakers around the state. If possible, all presentations could go on one CD, then speakers can pick and choose as they please.

3. Speaker’s Bureau: David drafted letter to solicit speaker’s bureau ‘registrants’ from IPAW list serve. **ACTION ITEM: Amy will help David post on list serve.** He sent letter to UWEX horticulture list serve, and got three positive responses. He is also wondering if there is any way to find money to pay for a speaker’s expenses? Other than grants, no ideas were generated.

4. Resource List: Darcy has been working on this. **ACTION ITEM: She will save current version as a PDF file and post on website/mail to Committee members for revisions and additions.**

5. Collaborating with Governor’s Council on Invasive Species (GCIS) and Midwest Invasive Plant Network (MIPN): The GCIS would like to have an IPAW representative on their Education Committee to represent plant issues. Linda Parker has agreed to serve this position. Jim Reinertz is representing IPAW on the main Committee. Linda will serve as a link between the IPAW, GCIS and Midwest Invasive Plant Network Education Committees. Amy will make sure to copy all appropriate members from the various committees on IPAW Education Committee proceedings. Two events where IPAW and GCIS could collaborate is a legislative field day and a statewide invasive species awareness month.

6. State-wide Invasive Species Awareness Month:

Mandy Beall did research on Minnesota and Michigan events. Michigan planners indicated that one week is too short to have a significant impact. Minnesota planners discovered that it takes a lot of time to plan an event (they started one month before!).

Based on this information and our own opinions, we made the following recommendations:

i. Planning for this event should begin now!

ii. Due to phenological constraints, event should take place over the course of one whole month. This will allow for events that examine a good variety of species in the field. The designated month should be June.

iii. Several dozen agencies/organizations could play roles in this series of events. These may include:

· Natural Resource Foundation

· DNR Basin Educators

· State Parks

· Nature Centers

· Extension Agents

· NRCS

· Land Conservation Districts

· Conservation Non-Profits (Wild Ones, The Prairie Enthusiasts, WI Wetlands Assoc., WI Waterfowl Assoc., The Nature Conservancy, Kickapoo Reserve, Woodland Owners Cooperative)

· Wis-DOT

· Wisconsin Bureau of Tourism

· Regional Invasives Groups

· Land Trusts

· Military Ridge Prairie Heritage Area

· Native American tribes

· U.S. Forest Service

· U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

· County Organizations

· Local Municipalities

· Master Gardeners

· Green Industry Groups

· Botanical Gardens

· UW-Madison Inst. for Env. Studies, Dept. of Landscape Architecture

· Forest Industry/Forestry Council

· Ag. Industry

· APHIS

· DATCP

· Landowners who are actively managing weeds? (e.g., Tom and Kathie Brock/Pleasant Valley Conservancy)

iv. We envision a multitude of varied events occurring throughout the state throughout the month of June. Many of these events could fall under regular operations for agencies and businesses, to reduce need for volunteer coordination/commitment.

v. Specific audiences should be targeted with tailor-made events. The participating groups listed above may also constitute these target audiences, as well as the public at-large.

vi. Specific products/services that could be provided during the course of this month could include the following. The IPAW Education Committee can take an active role in producing and coordinating these.

· Field trips (perhaps NRF-type informational trips combined with actual weed-control work parties afterward)

· Field Workshops [something akin to what Jerry Doll (UW-Extension) has done with his landowner field days)]

· Field trips visiting/highlighting landowners who are actively managing their weeds and are securing funding sources for such work.

· Field trips visiting/highlighting institutional efforts in weed control [e.g., DOT/DNR collaboration along roadside in central WI (Jim Keir)]

· Press releases

· Inv. Spp. Awareness Month Website, with info on all events, their times and locations, and links to other pertinent websites

· IPAW Education Committee Invasive Spp. Resource List (in progress, Darcy Kind)

· IPAW Education Committee Power Point presentation on Invasive Species (currently downloadable from website – we may have multiple copies made on CD-ROM for distribution as well). Other target-audience-focused presentations will be coordinated and made available in the future (Kelly Kearns has many already).

· Printed materials?? Past discussions have de-emphasized hard copies to reduce waste of resources, emphasizing instead the website as a link to electronic copies.

The IPAW Education Committee is willing to commit at least one member to serve on any larger organizational committee that is formed.

7. Legislative Field Day: This may be an event that falls within Invasive Species Awareness Month next year. Amy, Darcy, Kelly and Jerry will work on this together.

8. Action Plans: Amy expressed importance of completing and implementing Subcommittee Action Plans. Lauren has not provided Amy with Action Plans that were passed on to her. **ACTION ITEM: Rolf will see if he has any Action Plans in his files/emails, and will send to Amy.** The Subcommittee structure is acknowledged as potentially ineffective in the long term, though a lot of great work was done initially in composing the Action Plans. We will work as a Committee to finalize and implement Action Plans following the prioritized order devised for the various target audiences.

9. Website Presence: Darcy will send wishlist devised by Website Committee for Education Committee. Amy also recommends posting current ongoing initiatives and volunteer needs on website.

10. Email Distribution List: Amy passed around current list and solicited additions. Tom Boos (attending meeting briefly) recommended speaking to Angie Ashley with TNC for further suggestions of possible Education Committee members.

11. Announcements and Requests for Volunteers:

Jerry’s Brush Management and Invasive Species Field Days a big success. Forty-five people attended during presentations in three counties. Handout shared.

Rolf had a fantastic response at Farm Technology Days. 80,000 people attended event, and probably 10,000 visited his booth.

There is a new DNR Forestry initiative to educate all state foresters on invasive species. They hired four work studies to develop an informational website, as well as booklet on endangered species of Wisconsin forests.

Meeting adjourned at 6:00 p.m.

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Committee Mission: “To identify, develop and provide educational resources about ecologically invasive plants in Wisconsin.”

Invasive Plants Association of Wisconsin

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