Invasive plant management in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve: 2014 summary report
Weidman MB and Frank P. 2015. Invasive plant management in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve: 2014 summary report. Natural Resource Data Series. NPS/WRST/NRDS—2015/748. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado
This report summarizes work conducted by the Exotic Plant Management Team (EPMT) in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve (WRST) during the 2014 field season. This summer marked the tenth consecutive year WRST staff have monitored and controlled exotic plants in the park, preserve and adjoining gateway communities. The 2014 WRST EPMT consisted of one National Park Service (NPS) Biological Science Technician and one Chicago Botanical Garden Conservation Land Management (CLM) Intern stationed at Park Headquarters in Copper Center. Field work was focused on the following objectives: Monitor and control known infestations; survey for and documented new infestations; and prevent the spread of invasive species through NPS activities. EPMT staff devoted approximately 595 field hours toward managing invasive species found in and around the park. A total of 80.1 acres were surveyed by EPMT staff during the 2014 field season, of which a total of 4.6 acres were found to be infested. Of the 4.6 acres found to be infested, a total of 1.4 acres were treated by means of manual, chemical and mechanical control resulting in 170 bags of plant material with a combined weight of 5,073 pounds. In total, 33 invasive species were documented by the WRST EPMT. No new species were documented on park lands in 2014, but one species, reed canarygrass (Phalaris arundinacea), was found in the gateway community of Glennallen which represents the first documentation of this high priority species in the upper Copper River Basin. Throughout the season, seed from 24 native species was collected resulting in a combined weight of 5.4 pounds. The collection efforts included 14 new species which were added to the parks seed bank for the first time. Seeds collected this season will be used for restoration projects within the Kennicott Valley.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Weidman, Megan; Frank, Peter
- Date of Issue
- 2015-01
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Units
- CAKN , NRSS , WRST
- Keywords
- Alaska, Alaska EPMT, alsike clover, annual bluegrass, black bindweed, Black medic, Chitina, common chickweed field pennycress, common dandelion, common lambsquarter, common pepperweed, common plantain, common tansy, Common Timothy, Copper Basin, Copper Center, EDRR, EPMT, European stickseed, Exotic, exotic plant management, flixweed, Flora, Icelandic poppy, Invasive, Kentucky Bluegrass, McCarthy, Nabesna, narrowleaf hawksbeard, night-blooming cockle, oxeye daisy, pineapple weed, Plants, Prostrate Knotweed, quackgrass, red clover, reed canarygrass, sanddune wallflower , scentless false mayweed, shepherd's purse, Siberian peashrub, Smooth Brome, Vascular Plants, Vegetation, Vegetation Management, white clover, white sweetclover, Wrangell-St. Elias, WRST, Yellow sweetclover, Yellow toadflax
- Subjects
- Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Invasive Species | Invasive/Exotic plants