Invasive plant management in Kenai Fjords National Park: 2016 summary report
Sniegocki RF and Kriedeman CL. 2016. Invasive plant management in Kenai Fjords National Park: 2016 summary report. Natural Resource Report. NPS/KEFJ/NRR—2016/1351. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado
Since 2004, the Kenai Fjords National Park Exotic Plant Management Team (KEFJ EPMT) has worked to monitor and control invasive plants on park lands. The 2016 KEFJ EPMT successfully surveyed 23.65 acres and treated 2.27 acres using both manual and chemical control methods. The team applied 66.95 gallons of herbicide solution containing 13.39 ounces of Milestone to 2.23 acres and manually treated an additional 0.043 acres. A total of 16 invasive plant species were documented within the park boundary and on NPS owned properties. Invasive plant management is generally split into 3 areas: the Exit Glacier area, the coast, and park properties in the Seward area. Though the Exit Glacier region of the park was the main focus of treatment efforts (figure 1), the team also worked extensively in the coastal areas – surveying 24 coastal sites and treating 8 infestations there. In the Seward area, the Maintenance Facility was the primary focus of control efforts. In the park, several new sites were surveyed for invasive plants; and 3 previously undiscovered populations of invasive plants were found and treated. A survey for Elodea (Elodea spp.), an aquatic invasive plant, was conducted on Delight Lake – a lake categorized as potentially high risk to infestation due to float plane access there. Both a visual survey and environmental DNA (eDNA) survey were conducted to sample for Elodea. No Elodea was found in the surface inventory and samples collected for the eDNA survey were sent to a lab for processing. Future KEFJ EPMT staff should continue monitoring and controlling known infestations and surveying for new infestations, focusing particularly on the eradication of high priority invasive species and infestations located outside of developed areas.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Sniegocki, Renee; Kriedeman, Christina
- Date of Issue
- 2016-12
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Units
- KEFJ , NRSS
- Keywords
- Alaska, alsike clover, annual bluegrass, big chickweed, common chickweed, common dandelion, common plantain, common sheep sorrel, common timothy, curly dock, Elodea, EPMT, exotic plant, foxtail barley, hemp nettle, Icelandic poppy, invasive, KEFJ, Kenai Fjords National Park, Kentucky bluegrass, management, meadow foxtail, narrowleaf hawksbeard, oxeye daisy, pineapple weed, prostrate knotweed, quackgrass, red clover, region, shepherd’s purse, smooth brome, tall buttercup, white clover, yellow toadflax
- Subjects
- Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Invasive Species | Invasive/Exotic plants
Series
See also
- Invasive plant management for Kenai Fjords National Park: 2010 Summary report
- Invasive plant management for Kenai Fjords National Park: 2012 summary report
- Invasive plant management for Kenai Fjords National Park: 2013 summary report
- Invasive Plant Management in Kenai Fjords National Park
- Invasive Plant Management in Kenai Fjords National Park
- Invasive Plant Management in Kenai Fjords National Park Seward, Alaska Summer 2006 Field Season Report
- Invasive plant management in Kenai Fjords National Park: 2011 Summary report
- Invasive plant management in Kenai Fjords National Park: 2014 summary report
- Invasive plant management in Kenai Fjords National Park: 2015 summary report