Invasive plant species early detection monitoring plan: A tiered approach for the Mojave Desert Network

Hupp, Nicole; Lehman, Mark; Gundlach, David; Moret, Geoffrey; Tallent, Nita

The Mojave Desert Network Inventory and Monitoring Program (MOJN I&M) is one of 32 National Park Service (NPS) inventory and monitoring (I&M) networks nationwide. These networks use vital signs monitoring to assess the condition of park ecosystems and to “improve the ability of the NPS to provide state-of-the-art management, protection, and interpretation of and research on the resources of the NPS” (NPS 1998). MOJN I&M monitors natural resources in nine park units in Arizona, California, and Nevada that comprise the Mojave Desert Network (MOJN): Castle Mountains National Monument, Death Valley National Park, Great Basin National Park, Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument, Joshua Tree National Park, Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Manzanar National Historic Site, Mojave National Preserve, and Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument. Beginning in 2002, the MOJN parks (six at that time) identified and prioritized park vital signs – indicators of ecosystem health – and tasked MOJN I&M with assisting the parks in monitoring these vital signs. Through this process, park superintendents and resource managers agreed that invasive species management, particularly early detection of invasive species, is a high priority resource management concern. Invasive species impacts can be financially costly and ecologically irreversible; it is critical to catch invasive species early in their invasion of new habitats. Currently, each MOJN park is conducting invasive species management and often calling on the Lake Mead Exotic Pest Management Team (LAKE EPMT) to assist with treating infestations. However there is an opportunity to increase communication among parks, share effective early detection methods across the park boundaries, and utilize data management techniques that improve efficiency for all. The goal of this plan is to promote early detection monitoring methods that have proven useful within the network while employing a state-of-the-art data management system. This plan provides methods for MOJN parks to identify and prioritize threatening invasive plant species, detect these species early, monitor infestations and treated areas over time, and provide sound data management. The MOJN parks are hugely variable in size, availability of resources, and in the types of threats from invasive species. A “one-size-fits-all” approach to early detection is not sufficient to meet the needs of each individual park. This plan specifies tiers of monitoring that can be implemented in each park depending on the resource availability and management priorities. The tiers are a la carte (that is, a park can choose to implement any or all of them) and range in commitment of park resources from volunteer-based monitoring to the deployment of trained vegetation crews. The MOJN park units are responsible for implementing this early detection in the field. It is at the parks’ discretion to request the LAKE-EPMT to treat infestations as needed. MOJN I&M’s primary role will be to manage and store data collected in a system shared with LAKE-EPMT. This plan has four objectives: 1. Develop and maintain a list of target species that occur in localized areas of all parks, do not occur in parks but are found nearby, or are not known to occur nearby but would cause ecological or economic problems if they were to become established. 2. Detect new invasive species and new populations of invasive species before they become established beside roads, along trails, and in areas of high management importance. 3. Collect data that can be used to monitor invasive species occurrence, changes in populations over time, and treatment effectiveness in the short and long term. 4. Increase communication between individual parks and with LAKE-EPMT, while providing an effective data management plan. These measures will improve flow of information to LAKE-EPMT to allow for rapid response when treatment is requested by park managers.

Invasive plant species early detection monitoring plan: A tiered approach for the Mojave Desert Network

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