linda_drees@nps.gov
Chief, Exotic Species and Restoration Branch; Biological Resource Management Division, Fort Collins, CO

gary_johnston@nps.gov
Washington Liaison; Biological Resource Management Division, Washington, D.C.


Back to Chapter 1: Confluence

Inventory and Monitoring Program benefits from the Natural Resource Challenge
By Gary Williams

CESUs and the inventory and monitoring networks:
A case of good timing
By Kathy Tonnessen, Ron Hiebert, and Larry Norris

Connecting the public, scientists, and resources through learning centers
By Don Neubacher

Four new cooperative ecosystem studies units established

Natural resource project funding increased

The Challenge funds native and exotic species management

Geologic Resources Division expands expertise

Award-Winner Profile - Gary Machlis receives Conservation Service Award

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After habitat loss, invasive or exotic species are considered the greatest threat to the preservation of natural resources throughout the national park system. They are implicated in the listing of 42 percent of all species protected by the Endangered Species Act. Additionally, more than 2 million acres of national parklands are infested by exotic invasive plant species.

A new weapon to combat exotic plant species was launched by the National Park Service in 2000. Called the Exotic Plant Management Team or EPMT, the new capability was modeled after the coordinated rapid response approach used in wildland fire fighting because it is also effective in controlling exotic plants. The first test of the EPMT concept was made in 1997 at Lake Mead National Recreation Area (Nevada and Arizona) and served park units throughout the Southwest. Its success led to a request to fund the establishment of four EPMTs through the Natural Resource Challenge (the Challenge). As a result, four teams were established in FY 2000 with approximately $1.2 million in Challenge funding: (1) Florida EPMT (based at International University in Miami); (2) National Capital Region EPMT (based at Rock Creek Park, Washington, D.C.); (3) Chihahuan Desert/Southern Shortgrass Prairie EPMT (based at Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico); and (4) Pacific Islands EPMT (based at Haleakala National Park, Hawaii). Each will serve parks over a broad geographic area.

The success of the EPMT derives from its ability to adapt to local conditions and needs. Each team employs the expertise of local experts and the capabilities of local agencies. Each sets its own work priorities based on the following factors: severity of threat to high-quality natural areas and rare species; extent of targeted infestation; probability of successful control and potential for restoration; opportunities for public involvement; and park commitment to follow-up monitoring and treatment. Thus, each EPMT provides a highly trained, mobile strike force of invasive plant management specialists to assist parks with limited resources and expertise in the control of exotic plants.

The EPMTs of Florida and the National Capital Region provide excellent yet contrasting illustrations of regional adaptability. The Florida EPMT formed a partnership with the Upland Invasive Plant Management Program of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and approximately 136 other groups in the program to control invasive plants. Furthermore, it augments existing exotic plant control efforts in Big Cypress National Preserve and Everglades National Park. With one-to-one matching funds provided by the State of Florida, the partners pay for removal of exotics in 11 units of the national park system in Florida. The EPMT of the National Capital Region takes another approach. This team serves 10 regional parks directly by assisting in the control of exotic plants. It also trains park personnel to manage infestations within the limited fiscal resources available to the park.

The teams and the NPS Biological Resource Management Division are developing a database for the monitoring evaluation of EPMT effectiveness. The system will also track information about each project such as work site, date, species removed, management technique, number of person-hours, and extent of eradicated plants.

In less than a year, the four EPMTs have been staffed, equipped, and readied for on-the-ground management of invasive plant species. Ultimately, 10 teams are planned to be deployed full-time throughout the national park system to reduce the impacts of invasive plants on natural and cultural resources.

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Last Updated: 06/17/2001
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