San Francisco Weed
Management
Area
STRATEGIC PLAN
I. INTRODUCTION
This Strategic Plan outlines the framework in which the San Francisco
Weed
Management Area (SFWMA) will accomplish its goals. The Plan
articulates
the problem of invasive weeds and the mission of the SFWMA. It
describes
the various program elements the SFWMA will pursue in order to manage
invasive
weeds. The accompanying Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
establishes
the SFWMA and defines the terms and conditions under which
participating
agencies and individuals will cooperate and coordinate their activities.
MISSION STATEMENT
The mission of the SFWMA is to promote and coordinate activities
necessary
to prevent the introduction, spread and establishment of invasive weeds
in
the City and County of San Francisco. In addition, the SFWMA
hopes
to educate the general public and others about the problem of weedy
plants
and help make this knowledge more integral to the way urban dwellers
interact
with the land. Thus, the two principal arenas of action will be
1)
employing an integrated strategy for exclusion, detection, eradication
and
suppression of designated invasive weeds and 2) developing a
multi-media
education program targeted to local decision-makers, landowners and the
general public about invasive weeds, including their identification,
impacts and
management methods.
THE PROBLEM
The San Francisco Peninsula is a globally-significant hotspot for
nature
and biodiversity. The region harbors the Golden Gate Biosphere
Reserve,
which includes many of the natural lands in San Francisco County.
Invasive
weeds are a serious threat to San Francisco's natural resources.
Weeds
threaten our precious remnants of the original landscape including
habitat
for rare plants and wildlife. Weeds can have the following
additional
negative effects on the land and people:
• Create fire danger
• Promote soil erosion
• Impair unique geologic resources
• Threaten local food productivity
• Dominate open space areas turning them into
uninviting,
impenetrable, and potentially unsafe wastelands
• Reduce water quality, including sedimentation and
pollution
in San Francisco Bay
• Increase costs for private landowners and land
management
programs
San Francisco has many areas where the proximity of intense urban
development
to wildlands can lead to invasive weeds escaping from developed and
landscaped
areas into natural areas. Of the thousands of plants in the
nursery
trade, only a handful are considered to be invasive weeds. These plant
species
are capable of spreading rapidly and displacing native plants because
they
are adapted to similar climatic conditions, lack predators or pests
and/or
have other characteristics that make them thrive. San Francisco
is
also host to a number of endangered plant and animal species. If
invasive weeds are allowed to spread and take over important native
habitat, the survival
of these species, and the natural heritage they contain, is at risk.
THE SOLUTION
San Francisco includes lands that fall under multiple political
jurisdictions.
In addition, several non-governmental organizations exist which are
active
in issues related to weed management and conservation. Several
agencies
and organizations are currently running successful conservation
programs
that address the problem of invasive weeds. However, because
invasive
species are easily spread and do not abide by political or
jurisdictional boundaries, there is a need to coordinate weed
management activities across
political and organizational boundaries. The formation of the
SFWMA
will serve the overall shared vision of creating a City and County
liberated
from the scourge of invasive weeds.
The goals of the SFWMA that provide the framework for this Strategic
Plan
include:
1. Protect and enhance the biodiversity of San
Francisco’s
natural ecosystems
2. Make San Francisco’s rich natural heritage
accessible
to people
3. Ensure that invasive weeds are not the primary
cause
of degradation or demise of rare and/or endangered plant and animal
species
or geologic features within our unique native habitats
4. Increase the effectiveness of invasive weed
management
5. Eradicate or contain key weeds from the priority
weed
list
6. Reduce fire hazard
7. Ensure invasive weeds are not significantly
contributing
to reduced water quality
8. Educate the public about invasive weeds and what
they
can do to help
9. Make invasive weed management a priority for all
of
San Francisco’s land management agencies
10. Cooperate in an adaptive management program which
dynamically
responds to monitoring data
The following sections outline the weed management program, emphasizing
the
application of Integrated Weed Management practices. The plan
will
be revised annually to reflect program successes and new challenges.
II. PROGRAM
DESCRIPTION
GENERAL OVERVIEW
The invasive weed management program in San Francisco is a cooperative
effort
among federal, state and local agencies and other interested
organizations
and individuals. SFWMA cooperators will join resources, priorities and
strategies
into unified action. These organizations and agencies will cooperate in
procuring
grants and other financial aid and may supply money, personnel
(volunteers
and/or staff) and/or equipment (see also the attached MOU).
Integrated Weed Management is a system used to plan and recommend
selected
methods to prevent, contain or manage the spread of undesirable plant
species
or groups of species. Strategic use of all available tools and
techniques
is economically and environmentally more effective than depending on
any
single option. The elements of integrated management include:
1. Education and outreach, to encourage public
awareness
and participation
2. Prevention and early detection of incipient
infestations
3. Mapping and inventory of existing populations
4. Management (physical/mechanical, biological,
chemical,
cultural) of existing infestations
5. Monitoring and evaluation of completed weed
management
projects (See Program Elements below)
Since many invasive weeds are found in San Francisco, an integrated
strategy
to manage these populations could minimize their negative effects and
prevent
future infestations of undesirable plant species.
PRIORITIZATION
Because so many invasive weeds thrive in San Francisco County, it is
impossible
to manage everything at once. Prioritization is therefore
essential.
The SFWMA’s prioritization of weed species for management action
reflects
the experience and expertise of its members, as well as federal and
state
laws and regulations. Whether a certain weed is eradicated,
suppressed
or otherwise managed may be determined by 1) state rating, 2) pest
potential
in San Francisco, 3) size of infestation in the county, 4) whether
control methods are available and/or 5) whether there is interest from
participating
agencies, organizations or other landowners. We focus our limited
resources
on the highest priority weed species. Please see attached list of
Priority
Weeds For Management Action In San Francisco County. Weed
management
activities are not limited to species on this list, which may be
modified
as needed.
III. PROGRAM
ELEMENTS
EDUCATION, AWARENESS AND OUTREACH
Education is one of the best tools for preventing the further spread of
invasive
species, locating previously unknown and remote weed populations, and
in
rallying support for managing and eradicating infested sites. A
major
goal of the SFWMA is to raise awareness about the threat invasive weeds
pose
to local native plants and wildlife, fragile riparian corridors and
endangered
species, public and private landscapes, and other treasured elements of
San
Francisco’s ecosystems and aesthetic. This effort requires a
well-planned,
well-coordinated, well-funded, and long-term program targeted at agency
staff
and the public.
Actions
1. The SFWMA is in the process of producing a
brochure,
which is targeted to the general public and describes priority weeds in
the
City and County of San Francisco, their impacts and key contacts for
information.
Once complete, a targeted distribution list for the brochure will be
developed
to ensure priority audiences receive copies.
2. The SFWMA is currently distributing copies of the
California
Invasive Plant Council’s (Cal-IPC) “Don’t Plant a Pest” brochures to
public
agency landscape maintenance personnel, commercial plant nurseries,
local
environmental organizations, libraries, and other public and private
entities.
3. SFWMA members participate in on-going educational
and
outreach activities aimed at invasive weed awareness and
management.
For example, SFWMA members participate in Cal-IPC’s outreach booth at
the
annual San Francisco Landscape Garden Show, as well as the Strybing
Arboretum’s
Summer Garden Fair, San Francisco Integrated Pest Management Technical
Advisory
Committee, San Francisco’s Annual Restoration Conference, and other
local
professional and volunteer organizations. The SFWMA plans to
participate
in “World Environment Day” activities in June 2005 hosted by the City
and County of San Francisco.
4. The SFWMA plans to maintain a website through the
statewide
California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) Weed Management
Area
website. Efforts to add invasive weed education and resource links to
websites
maintained by the San Francisco Department of the Environment, San
Francisco
Department of Recreation and Parks, San Francisco Public Utilities
Commission,
and other local websites will also be undertaken.
PREVENTION, EXCLUSION AND
EARLY
DETECTION
Preventing a weed pest from becoming established in an area avoids
future
costs for managing that pest. Prevention covers all aspects of
keeping
an invasive species from becoming established in a new territory.
The
components of prevention commonly include exclusion, detection and
eradication
of small or isolated infestations. Public outreach is a key component
in
all aspects of prevention.
Exclusion includes activities to prevent an invasive species from
crossing
the border of a region. At the national or state level, this
often
includes border inspections. At the county and city level, it often
depends
heavily on appeals to the public to use caution in activities that can
intentionally
or unintentionally move species. It also includes county
regulatory
activities such as plant quarantine inspections, nursery inspections,
and
other weed exclusion activities.
Detection and eradication of early small infestations involves locating
and
removing weeds that have eluded the exclusion system. Because new weeds
are
constantly being introduced into the region, a good detection system is
critical
to reducing the cost of eradication and increasing the chances of a
successful
eradication.
Quarantine, nursery inspection and other regulatory activities related
to
the prevention of the spread of weeds is typically the responsibility
of
the agricultural commissioner. As of Sept. 1, 2004, the City Department
of
Consumer Assurance has been dismantled and now the nurseries inspection
unit
of the San Francisco Department of Environmental Health regularly
inspects
nurseries and performs plant quarantine inspections of incoming plant
product
shipments for listed regulated weeds.
Actions
1. The SFWMA plans to develop an Invasive Weed
Prevention
Resource List. This document will list such resources such as:
• locations where organizations and individuals can
take
weeds for identification and where to report locations of suspected
invasive
weeds in the City,
• key literature, websites, and organizations that
address
invasive weed prevention and management,
• “weed pulling” volunteer days at local parks, open
spaces
and natural areas,
• educational activities on invasive weed prevention
and
management targeted at youth and schools, and
• contact information on speakers available to
discuss
invasive weed issues and activities.
2. On-going monitoring activities by SFWMA members
groups
of A-rated, B-rated and Q-rated weeds will help detect early stage
invasive
weed infestations.
3. Through education and outreach (see previous
section),
the SFWMA will encourage public and private entities to use
preventative
techniques to keep invasive weeds from becoming established in new
areas.
SURVEY, INVENTORY AND MAPPING
A strategic and long-term approach to invasive weed management is based
on
a solid knowledge of the countywide distribution of the weeds.
This
includes low-resolution mapping where weeds are common and higher
resolution
mapping in areas where weeds are rare. Knowing the location of
the
priority weed species through mapping and weed inventory will allow for
the
appropriate implementation of management strategies. Mapping
where
weeds are not found is as important as recording where they are
found.
It is important to classify non-surveyed lands as "non-surveyed" rather
than
"uninfested."
Actions
1. The SFWMA will collect and synthesize existing
invasive
weed inventories and vegetation maps from the various public agencies
and
organizations in San Francisco with vegetation management
responsibilities.
The objective is to develop a baseline inventory of existing invasive
weeds
within the county. Funding will be sought to create a countywide
Geographic
Information System (GIS) that will compile data on target invasive
weeds.
This database will collect all existing geographic data and form the
repository
for ongoing data acquisition. If possible, one of the agency
members
of the SFWMA will be funded to expand its existing GIS invasive weed
database
to include new data from other agencies/organizations in the
county.
This expanded file would be shared by all participants in order to
facilitate
coordination.
2. The SFWMA will coordinate a working group
consisting
of representatives of major land-managing organizations in the
county.
The working group will develop consistent standards and protocols to
ensure
compatibility of data gathered by each organization.
3. The SFWMA will facilitate increased use of Global
Positioning
System units by organization staff as well as the general public in
mapping
infestations. Other mapping methods will be explored as appropriate.
4. The SFWMA will generate GIS layers for each high
priority
weed in the county.
WEED MANAGEMENT,
RESTORATION
AND PROJECT MONITORING
The fundamental means by which the biodiversity of San Francisco’s
natural
ecosystems and heritage can be preserved and restored is through
aggressive
weed management in natural areas. Integrated Weed Management
(IWM)
is a systems approach to management of undesirable plants. IWM is
defined
in the Federal Noxious Weed Act as a "system for the planning and
implementation
of a program, using an interdisciplinary approach, to select a method
for
controlling undesirable plant species or group of species using all
available methods, including education, prevention, physical or
mechanical methods,
biological control agents, herbicide methods, cultural methods, and
general
land management practices." IWM, combined with revegetation
and
re-introduction efforts, will help ensure that invasive weeds are not
the
primary cause of degradation or demise of rare and/or endangered plant
and
animal species or geologic features within our unique native habitats.
Adaptive management is a flexible learning-based approach to natural
ecosystem
management. This approach recognizes that some uncertainty exists
about
natural systems and the processes that define them. Adaptive
management
is a continuous cycle of planning, implementation, monitoring and
assessment
used to evaluate successes and failures of management techniques.
Several Integrated Pest Management (IPM) laws and regulations apply to
weed
management in San Francisco. IPM is a science- based,
decision-making
process that coordinates knowledge of pest biology, the
environment,
and available technology to prevent unacceptable levels of pest
damage,
by cost-effective means, while posing the least possible risk to
people,
resources and the environment.
The City and County of San Francisco’s IPM Ordinance is the legal
framework
for decision-making on pest management practices occurring on
City-owned
property. The IPM Ordinance requires department IPM plans, places
restrictions
on pesticide use, requires posting of intent to apply pesticides prior
to
applications, and requires regular reporting of pesticide use.
Only
pesticides included on the City’s “Reduced-Risk Pesticide List” (AKA
“Approved
Pesticide List”) are allowed. The IPM Ordinance and the
Reduced-Risk
Pesticide List can be viewed at www.sfgov.org/sfenvironment.
On National Park Service (NPS) lands, the NPS “implements a nationwide
Integrated
Pest Management Program to reduce risks to the public, park resources,
and
the environment from pests and pest-related management strategies (http://www.nature.nps.gov/biology/ipm/)”.
The California Department of Pesticide Regulation monitors pesticide
use
throughout the state.
Several SFWMA member groups have active weed management and habitat
restoration
programs. Some local, state and federal land management agencies
have
dedicated staff that manage weeds and restore natural areas. In
addition,
the Presidio Site Stewards, the San Francisco Recreation and Park
Department
Natural Areas Program and the California Native Plant Society, among
others,
have on-going community-based habitat restoration programs throughout
San
Francisco that involve thousands of volunteers each year. The
activities
and on-going participation of these land stewards are critical to the
long-term survival of natural areas in San Francisco.
Actions
1. The SFWMA will work with CDFA to locate sites for
eradication
of A-rated weeds, share information and work together to eradicate
B-rated
weeds, and share information with each other and CDFA about locations
and
impacts of newly discovered Q-rated weeds.
2. SFWMA members will share experience with weed
management,
project monitoring, and revegetation strategies through presentations
by
group members at open meetings.
3. The SFWMA will develop an annual Integrated Weed
Management
Plan, which will set forth additional priority activities for the
coming
year(s).
4. Using the GIS database described above (see
Survey,
Inventory and Mapping above), the SFWMA will coordinate countywide
invasive
weed management activities among partner agencies and
organizations.
Collaborative efforts will include prioritizing target species,
coordinating
management activities, and where possible pooling labor, equipment,
outreach
and other resources.
5. Document the effectiveness of weed management
techniques
for priority weed species for dissemination to land managers and other
interested
parties.
ADMINISTRATION
AND
FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
Funding for all phases of invasive weed management is chronically
inadequate.
Managing the current rate of spread of major weeds and the introduction
of
new species is challenging and requires additional funding and
resources
beyond current levels.
Actions
1. The SFWMA is seeking a sponsoring agency to act as
fiscal
agent and point of contact.
2. SFWMA is also seeking funding for:
• a paid Coordinator
• GIS database
• educational materials
• specific weed management projects
• documenting the effectiveness of weed management
techniques
3. Member groups of the SFWMA are obtaining grants
from
various foundations and agencies. Partnering with other SFWMA groups
enhances
the likelihood for success in obtaining grants.
4. Member groups will provide in-kind support for the
Weed Management Area and Projects.
APPENDIX
A.
List of Priority Weeds For Management Action
In San Francisco County (PDF file) - This is
a dynamic priority list, so if you have corrections or additions,
please
send an email message to the SFWMA Chair at: naturcity@yahoo.com.