Region 9 CWMAs - Assisted by Great Lakes Restoration Initiative

By jan schultz on Dec 12, 2010

GLRI has allowed R9 Forests to establish & grow CWMAs providing: education & awareness; prevention; early detection & rapid response, monitoring; & integrated pest management.

The Great Lakes provide some 30 million Americans with drinking water and underpin a multi-billion dollar economy. Since 2/ 2009, President Obama has proposed significant funding as part of his Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI), the largest investment in the Great Lakes in two decades. The GLRI action plan (2010 - 2014) was developed by a task force of 16 federal departments and agencies to implement this initiative and provides accountability by including measures of progress and benchmarks for success. It calls for aggressive efforts to address five urgent priority focus areas: Cleaning up toxics and toxic hot spot areas of concern; Combating invasive species; Promoting nearshore health by protecting watersheds from polluted run-off; Restoring wetlands and other habitats; Working with strategic partners on outreach. This historic opportunity has allowed several R9 Forests to establish and grow their Cooperative Weed Management Areas (CWMA) providing: education and awareness; prevention; early detection and rapid response; monitoring; integrated pest management.

CWMAs are local organizations that integrate all invasive plant management resources across jurisdictional boundaries to benefit entire communities. The formal agreement created for CWMA formation establishes a long-term relationship that does not disappear after a joint project is completed. This agreement creates a mechanism for ongoing sharing and collaboration that can be a highly effective long-term strategy for dealing with a long-term problem. They allow partners to cross boundaries; manage invasive plants along ecological rather than political boundaries; share and leverage limited resources; provide an early detection/ rapid response network that ensures partners are aware of new invaders and have a response mechanism; and can help to secure funding. More information about CWMAs can be found at CWMA Cookbook: A Recipe for Success. A Step-by-Step Guide on How to Develop a CWMA in the Eastern US. http://www.mipn.org/MIPN%20Cookbook.pdf

SUMMARY INFO R9 GLRI CWMAs :

Chequamegon Nicolet NF - Northwoods CWMA. Area - NW Wisconsin/ Ashland, Bayfield, Douglas & Iron counties. Partners - 22 agencies / local, state, federal, tribal. MOU - signed 5/ 2006. Partnership Agreement signed with Bayfield Co. 4/2010. * Website /Link - http://www.northwoodscwma.org/ Contact Matt Bushman, district botanist 715-373-3667

or Darienne McNamara, CWMA Coordinator, darienne.mcnamara@gmail.com

Hiawatha NF - Central Upper Peninsula CWMA. Area - Alger, Delta, Schoolcraft, Marquette counties and West Unit of HNF. Partners - The Nature Conservancy; Marquette and Alger Co. Conservation Districts; NPS-Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore; US Fish & Wildlife Service-Seney NWR; Superior Watershed Partnership; Borealis Seed Co.; Moosewood Nature Center; MDNR-Van Riper/Craig Lake State Parks; USFS-Hiawatha NF. Projects - Formed steering committee summer of 2008 and developed MOU with all partners. Working closely with the umbrella group of UPIC. Website/Link - not yet. Contact - Deb LeBlanc. dleblanc@fs.fed.us

Hiawatha NF - Eastern Upper Peninsula CWMA. Area - Chippewa, Luce, Mackinac counties. Partners - Natural Resources Conservation Service; UP RC&D Council; The Nature Conservancy; Bay Mills Indian Community; Chippewa/ East Mackinac Conservation District; Luce/ West Mackinac CD; MI DNR - MI Natural Features Inventory; Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission; USFS Hiawatha NF; MI DOT; MI Technological University; Chippewa/ East Mackinac CD; The Forestland Group/ LLC; Tahquamenon Falls State Park. MOU - not yet. Projects - Group in early stages of formation, spearheaded by RC&D Coordinator, USDA NRCS. Website/Link - not yet. Contact Deb LeBlanc. dleblanc@fs.fed.us

Huron Manistee NF - Northwest Michigan CWMA. Area - Benzie, Leelanau, Manistee counties. Partners- Little River Band of the Ottawa Indians; National Park Service Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore; Huron Manistee NF; Natural Resources Conservation Service; Northwest MI Council of Governments; Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy; City of Manistee; Manistee, Leelanau, and Benzie Conservation Districts; MI State University Extension Office / Manistee Co.; Franklin Area Land Conservancy; Crystal Lake Watershed Assoc.; Packaging Corp. of America; MI Natural Features Inventory; MI DOT. MOU - yes. Project Focus - multiple species. Website www.garlic-mustard.org Contact Carolyn Henne USFS 231 723 2211.

Huron Manistee NF -Northeast Michigan CWMA. Area - Shoreline and adjoining ecosystems in Alcona, Alpena, Presque Isle and Cheboygan counties. Partners - Huron Pines RC & D; MI Dept. of Nat'l Resources; MI Sea Grant; The Nature Conservancy; Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary; US Fish and Wildlife Service; Huron Manistee NF. MOU - yes. Project - Stop introduction & spread of non-native invasive weed species in Lake Huron shoreline ecosystems. Target species - Phragmites, purple loosestrife, buckthorn. Contact - Robert Makowski USFS 231 775 5023.

Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie - Northeastern Illinois Invasive Plant Partnership (NIIPP), a regional CWMA (provisional title).

Area - Initially Lake, Cook, DuPage, McHenry, Kane, Will, and Kendall counties, IL - future expansion to include another 2-5 counties likely. Includes 19,000 acres administered by Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie. Partners - USDA FS; US Dept. of Energy (Fermilab and Argonne National Laboratory); US Fish and Wildlife Service; US Army Corps of Engineers; IL DOT; IL DNR; Forest Preserve and Conservation Districts of Lake, Cook, DuPage, McHenry, Kane, Kendall, and Will counties; county highway departments; Chicago Wilderness; IL Conservation Foundation; Chicago Botanic Garden; Field Museum; Chicago Park District; park districts of many smaller municipalities. MOU - under development. Project - Hire CWMA coordinator (Cathy McGlynn, 8/ 2010), develop and sign agreement, initiate programs; priority programs include coordinating to control / eradicate infestations across property lines, develop/ use educational materials, stop introduction & spread via early detection and rapid response, and pursue funds to enable all agencies and private entities to better control . Issued first Request for Proposals 10/ 2010; proposals under evaluation. Target: all invasive plants - buckthorn, honeysuckle, reed canary grass, garlic mustard, common reed, hybrid cattail, purple loosestrife, autumn-olive, teasel, etc. Prevention of new invaders is high priority. Website/Link - under development. Contact - Eric Ulaszek USFS eulaszek@fs.fed.us

Superior NF - Cook County Invasive Team. Area - Cook Co. MN. Partners - Cook Co. Highway Department, Cook Co. Soil and Water, Cook Co. Extension, Grand Portage Band of Ojibwa, Grand Portage National Monument, Sugarloaf North Shore Stewardship Assoc., Superior NF MOU - Yes. Project - Final stage of developing Participating Agreement and Supplemental Project Agreement to hire CWMA coordinator. Next step is developing annual operating plan. Website - not yet. Contact - Jack Greenlee USFS jackgreenlee@fs.fed.us