Invasive Plant Management in Kenai Fjords National Park: 2023 Summary Report

Palaka, Kelli; Kriedeman, Christina

This report serves as an overview of the Kenai Fjord National Park’s (KEFJ) Invasive Plant Management Team’s (IPMT) 2023 seasonal activities. The 2023 KEFJ IPMT consisted of a biologist, a biological science technician, a Student Conservation Association (SCA) intern, and two Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) employees. We surveyed and treated sites in 3 primary areas: Exit Glacier Area, the Coast, and Seward. Twelve invasive plant species were identified this year in the park. We used both hand pulling and herbicide methods to control invasive plant populations. We surveyed a total of 40.7 acres for invasive plants across the park. We manually treated 0.80 acres and chemically treated 0.31 acres of invasive plants. We used the spot spraying method to apply 4.6 gallons of Milestone herbicide mix at a rate of 6 ounces per acre, 0.87 gallons of Roundup Custom herbicide mix at a rate of 52 ounces per acre, and 2.75 gallons of Habitat herbicide mix at a rate of 48 ounces per acre in the Exit Glacier Area at the campground, Nature Center Plaza, Employee Housing, Harding Icefield Trail, Herman Leirer Road, and the Outwash Plain; the Seward area at the Maintenance Facility; and the Coast area at the rock ridge south of Dinglestadt Glacier, beach at the Head of North Arm, Aialik Public Use Cabin (PUC) and Holgate PUC. Wet weather impacted our ability to apply herbicide in the 2023 season and we were forced to manually treat many areas where we would have applied herbicide. We discovered a new non-native species on the Harding Icefield Trail identified as Kuepfer’s buttercup (Ranunculus kuepferi). This is the first time this species was recorded in Alaska. In addition to manual and chemical treatment of invasive plants, we participated in outreach and partnership activities, including the 18th Seward Community Weed Pull that drew involvement from 22 volunteers which included seven kids from the Seward Boys and Girls Club. We hand pulled 380 pounds of bird vetch (Vicia cracca) at the Seward Middle School. We also attended the Kenai Peninsula Cooperative Invasive Species Management Area (KP-CISMA) spring invasive plant identification and herbicide safety training in Kenai, AK. We contributed to the Alaska-wide invasive defoliating moth monitoring program for the 12th year by installing five pheromone traps in the Exit Glacier Developed Area; no invasive moths were detected. Our primary recommendations for the 2024 season and beyond include monitoring annual bluegrass populations which were treated with the herbicide Habitat for the first time this year to determine effectiveness of the herbicide and identify any impacts to non-target vegetation; prioritizing chemical retreatment of invasive plant populations in the Maintenance Facility, Harding Icefield Trail and Herman Leirer Road locations during the summer; continuing treatment of existing invasive plant populations in coastal areas and surveying of high use coastal sites; use of the new Visitor Use Reporting System (VURn) online activity reporting database for Commercial Use Authorizations (CUA) holders to identify additional high use areas on the Coast; and continued involvement in moth monitoring, partnerships and outreach opportunities.