USDA Declares August Tree Check Month

August is Tree Check Month! Everyone is encouraged to take 10 minutes to check their trees for signs of invasive pests, such as the Asian longhorned beetle. August is the best time to spot the Asian longhorned beetle as adults emerge from trees. The Asian longhorned beetle feeds on a wide variety of popular hardwood trees, including maple, birch, elm, willow, ash, and poplar. For more information about the Asian longhorned beetle, please visit www.AsianLonghornedBeetle.com.

If you are interested in learning more about how you can get involved in protecting our forests from invasive species, please visit the Oregon Forest Pest Detector program website. Oregon Forest Pest Detectors are volunteers that help prevent the damaging impacts of invasive forest pests by monitoring for and reporting potential infestations. The Oregon Forest Pest Detector program currently focuses on detection of the emerald ash borer (EAB), Asian longhorn beetle (ALB), and goldspotted oak borer (GSOB).

Always remember to report any potential sightings of invasive species and Don’t Move Firewood!

Asian Giant Hornet Update from WSDA

On July 24th, the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) released an Asian giant hornet stakeholder update. Below are a few important takeaways from the update:

• Volunteers have put up over 1300 traps, which is in addition to the hundreds of traps managed by WSDA!

• The Washington Invasive Species Council contributed $3,000 toward the cost of billboards in Whatcom County, WA to help raise awareness and encourage reporting of Asian giant hornets.

• WSDA is partnering with the Washington State University Master Gardeners to provide a training (August 11 at 10 a.m.) for Master Gardeners who might be answering questions or receiving suspected Asian giant hornet specimens from clients. Master gardeners who are interested in participating in this webinar should contact their program coordinator for  information on how to attend the training.

All Asian giant hornet stakeholder updates from WSDA can be found here. If you would like to receive updates from WSDA’s Pest Program on Asian giant hornet (and other topics), click here. The OISC’s original Asian giant hornet News Channel post can be viewed here.

Update from the OISC Chair

Dear Oregon Invasive Species Network:

As the 2020 Chair of the Oregon Invasive Species Council (OISC), I am proud to serve this important coordinating group comprising state and public agencies, tribes, researchers, land managers, industry leaders, educators, and public members who lead the effort to protect Oregon from invasive species. Invasive species have been known to have devastating impacts on our health, agriculture, natural areas, water systems, and infrastructure. The OISC is Oregon’s only statewide program with a mission to coordinate among and support the many organizations, programs, and people that implement critical prevention, early detection, eradication, control, and education programs. Coordination, collaboration, and communication among the diverse network of invasive species management efforts in the state is essential to support our local communities, leverage limited budgets, maintain productive industries, and be good stewards of our natural resources.

Invasive species programs are facing unprecedented challenges in light of the COVID-19 crisis. In response to projections of budget shortfalls, the governor requested an 8.5% cut to the biennium budget for all state agencies. In response, the Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA), which is the fiscal agent for the OISC, has proposed multiple cuts that impact a variety of programs relevant to invasive species management: the noxious weeds program, early detection pest trapping, and the OISC. The proposed cuts decrease the General Fund appropriation to the OISC for the biennium by 93% ($300,000 down to $20,000) and lottery funds by 32% ($155,907 to $105,907). 

Unfortunately, these proposed cuts halted the OISC’s distribution of competitive grant funds for the inaugural Invasive Species Education & Outreach grants. In January of this year, we received 35 applications totaling more than $450,000 in funding requests demonstrating the need for more invasive species education and outreach efforts. In a letter sent to the OISC in May, ODA’s Deputy Director Lisa Hanson wrote, “We understand that the OISC members had selected potential grant recipients with a potential expenditure of approximately $100,000 of the General Fund appropriation. Those grants will be put on hold and no funds will be awarded at this time. ODA will hold onto those recommendations until statewide funding decisions become more clear.” …. “ODA will hold these funds and will not make any additional expenditures related to the OISC until we receive direction from the Governor’s Office and legislative leadership.”

Additionally, the proposed reduction includes cuts to funds that had been budgeted by the OISC for partially replenishing the balance of the invasives ‘emergency control account’, a reserve dedicated to supporting quick release of funds to applicants for rapid response eradication efforts; for supporting the Oregon Invasive Species online Hotline; and for maintaining coordination efforts to advance the OISC’s strategic initiatives. The late July special session meeting of the Oregon legislature may either seal these cuts or provide guidance for a less drastic decrease in funding. Given how the Council’s budget has been administered, the Council has not been in control of these proposed cuts, as you may have gleaned from the July 13 email addressed to the Council from the Council’s public member, Jas Adams, in which he shared his informative perspective on the proposed budget reduction. 

Despite these budget cuts, the OISC remains committed to supporting Oregon’s invasive species network of organizations, programs and people tackling invasive species issues. In particular, we are seeking to understand the challenges, shortfalls, and needs of invasive species programs. We are exploring creative solutions from all partners to support education, outreach, and early detection projects and working to enhance communications about the impacts of invasive species. We recognize that invasive pest pressures are not going away. Coordination and communication are more important than ever. With limited capacity, we want to prioritize efforts and adapt to new challenges with you, and in our upcoming Council meetings will be working to identify specific opportunities for you. We welcome your input and collaboration. 

Sincerely, 

Catherine de Rivera, 2020 Chair of the Oregon Invasive Species Council
Portland State University, Center for Lakes & Reservoirs 

The Results are in from the 2020 Great Scotch Broom Census!

Throughout the month of May, those in Oregon and Washington were asked to help collect data on Scotch Broom by submitting sighting reports through iNaturalist as part of the 2020 Great Scotch Broom Census. The iNaturalist project received over 1,000 observations across Oregon and Washington (with hundreds more on the Washington Invasives app) and the outreach campaign had over 150,000 views from social media, news outlets, etc.!

A certificate of appreciation was given to Patrick Birkle, Lynn Jackson, and Shawn Sharrah in recognition for their outstanding dedication to invasive species awareness through their participation in the Great Scotch Broom Census. Thank you to Patrick, Lynn, and Shawn!

The Great Scotch Broom Census was a part of the Scotch Broom Ecology and Management Symposium (June 2nd-4th, 2020), which was hosted online by the Washington Invasive Species Council, in cooperation with the 10,000 Years Institute, Washington DOT, Western Invasives Network, the Oregon Invasive Species Council, and many others.

June 2020 OISC Meeting Recap

In case you missed it, here is a quick recap of the most recent Oregon Invasive Species Council meeting held June 2, 2020. We had 35 attendees that participated remotely, representing 24 organizations. Representation included 7 Federal Agencies, 6 State Agencies, 2 Educational Institutions, and others including NGOs, advocacy groups, and individuals.

Some meeting highlights include:

• Council members discussed the pending OISC budget cut, its implications, and next steps.

• Council member Jas. Adams (member of the public) gave an update on behalf of the Strategic Plan Update Working Group. They have been working on clarifying concepts and terminology within the plan and creating a new reporting tool to collect invasive species activities that have been carried out. This compilation of information will allow for adaptive management and support a feedback loop to improve the plan over time.

• Council member Amira Streeter (Office of Governor Kate Brown) gave a status update on Oregon’s 100-Year Water Vision. Council members were asked to reflect on how their work impacts the 100-year water vision and how their organization can help to see the vision implemented. This conversation will be continued at future OISC meetings. 

• OISC Committee member Lindsey Wise (Institute for Natural Resources) gave an update on Oregon's Invasive Species Hotline & iMapinvasives and expressed the need for additional funding to support administrative time to recruit managers to respond to reports, manage the species list, migrate information between platforms, and more.

• Council member Karen Ripley (USDA Forest Service) gave an update on behalf of the Communication Committee on the status of several OISC outreach materials that are in the process of being updated. The Communication Committee and Education & Outreach Committee will be working together to finalize a new and improved OISC brochure.

• Council member Nikki Brooks (U.S. Customs & Border Protection) gave an update on behalf of the Worst Invaders Working Group. They have been working on refining the current list and enhancing coordination with other states. The Working Group would like to maintain a running comprehensive list that is not restricted to a certain number of species and is also recommending that the list be searchable by region and categorized into sections for prevention, eradication, and control.

Thank you to everyone that was able to join us for the meeting! Information about the next OISC meeting will be posted on the OISC Meetings Page as details are confirmed.