APIPMA Five Year Strategic Plan: February 2018 - December 2022

APIPMA is a grass-roots collaborative focused on addressing terrestrial non-native invasive plant problems and solutions across a five county geographic area in northcentral Pennsylvania. The APIPMA collaborative began in 2017 through a meeting initiated by the McKean County Conservation District and Penn State Cooperative Extension, bringing together local stakeholders from a variety of federal, state, and local organizations, non-profit groups, community organizations, and concerned citizens to partner with the goals of outreach & training, inventory-monitoring and mapping, early detection & rapid response, and control of invasive plants affecting local ecosystems. During this exciting first year, participants defined the APIPMA geographic boundary and developed a list of priority non-native invasive and early detection - rapid response (EDRR) species found within APIPMA. A non-native invasive species is a species which is alien or not native to an area and can quickly establish, spread, and cause harm to humans, animals, economics, or the environment.

In 2018, the APIPMA Steering Committee, with input from partners, developed a

mission statement, and a five year strategic plan with six major goals:

1. Create, Strengthen, and Sustain APIPMA

2. Outreach, Training, and Strategic Collaboration

3. Monitoring and Mapping

4. Early Detection and Rapid Response (EDRR)

5. Prevention

6. Control (Prioritized Management)

Each goal has several objectives with specific tasks. The following report summarizes

the progress and accomplishments in 2018 toward these major goals.

About APIPMA

APIPMA Mission Statement:

Implement a comprehensive, cooperative approach across

boundaries to address the threats of invasive species to

the lands and watersheds within the boundaries of

APIPMA

5 Year Strategic Plan 1

Create, Strengthen, and Sustain APIPMA

2

Leadership 3

Outreach, Training, and

Strategic Collaboration

4

Volunteer Insight 5

Monitoring & Mapping 6

Early Detection & Rapid Response, Prevention, Control Efforts

7

Contents:

Allegheny Plateau Invasive Plant Management Area (APIPMA)

2018 Annual Report

Glossy Buckthorn Japanese Stiltgrass Goat’s Rue

Leadership/Structure

Current grants fund coordinator salary and outreach efforts. Current grants totaling $64,026.36 come from the

National Fish and Wildlife Foundation ‘Pulling Together’ grant ($37,074) and a Challenge Cost Share Agreement with

the U.S. Forest Service Allegheny National Forest ($26,952). APIPMA has also helped to identify grant opportunities

for our partners, including the VPA-HIP (Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Incentives Program) funding through PA

Game Commission. This grant assists private landowners to promote wildlife habitat, which can include invasive

plant treatment to protect or enhance habitat. This grant was awarded to our partner Collins Pine/Kane Hardwoods

in 2018.

Funding

The APIPMA leadership has been actively reaching out to local agency, industry, and community groups. In

2018, we increased the number of partner groups who indicated interest in keeping up to date with APIPMA

and/or participating in APIPMA activities. An email database of partner contacts compiled by our Project

Coordinator nearly doubled in size in 2018 from 45 to 82. Those in our database receive quarterly newsletters,

EDRR updates, the APIPMA Annual report, and invitations to meetings and workshops. Attendance at biannual

partner meetings has been between 15 and 30 attendees .

Partners

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1. Create, Strengthen, and Sustain Allegheny Plateau

Invasive Plant Management Area

For goal one, one of the first tasks as a new cooperative was to develop a basic organizational structure for

APIPMA. In 2017, Dr. Kimberly Bohn and Jody Groshek brought together numerous partners to determine

interest and begin organization of APIPMA. This in turn led to a successful grant application with the National Fish

& Wildlife Foundation to provide funding for Project Coordinator Maddie Stanisch. Additionally, a steering

committee; made up of partner representatives from the community, county, state and federal organizations,

meets at least quarterly to collaborate on ideas to help the APIPMA group grow and expand. Current steering

committee members include: Holly Dzemyan (DCNR- Kinzua Bridge State Park), Sue Dube (U.S. Forest Service-

Allegheny National Forest), April Moore (U.S. Forest Service-Allegheny National Forest), Ned Karger (retired

Collins Pine forester and volunteer), Dan Hicks (Collins Pine/Kane Hardwoods), Mike McIntire (Forest Investment

Associates) and Lisa Chapman (community group volunteer). Currently, the Steering Committee is developing a

two year work plan for 2019-2020 to prioritize tasks from the strategic plan.

Kimberly Bohn,

Co-Director

Jody Groshek,

Co-Director

Maddie Stanisch,

Project Coordinator

goat’s rue. EDRR species are limited

within the APIPMA boundary and

surrounding area, but are of high

concern because of their potential

severe ecological impacts. These

include Japanese barberry, tree-of-

heaven, mile-a-minute, Oriental

bittersweet, garlic mustard and

common reed (Phragmites sp.).

With the input of our partners,

APIPMA developed a list of priority

and early detection-rapid response

(EDRR) species. Priority species are

those that are already prevalent

within the APIPMA boundary and

include Japanese knotweed, exotic

bush honeysuckles, Japanese

stiltgrass, glossy buckthorn, and

Priority and Early Detection - Rapid Response Invasive Plant Species Lists

APIPMA Boundary

Goal 1: Continued

The APIPMA boundary was established after extensive discussion with partners. The balance between incorporating

major land management agencies, geo-political and ecological boundaries —Upper Allegheny River Watershed was

difficult. The northern boundary is New York State, the western and southern boundaries are counties and the eastern

boundary is the Sinnemahoning Cooperative Weed Management Area.

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Exotic Bush Honeysuckle

Throughout the summer months of

2018, APIPMA hosted a number of

trainings for those interested in

learning about invasive plants. A

total of 106 people were reached

through these workshops. The first

training was held at Kinzua Bridge

State Park with 26 in attendance. The

second training was held at the PSU

Extension in Coudersport, with 23 in

attendance. The third training was at

the Warren County Conservation

District, with 19 in attendance and

the final training was held in Ridgway

at North Central Regional Planning

with 22 in attendance. Trainings

included basic invasive plant ecology

and identification, as well as a

webinar about the use of iMapInva-

sives. Attendees were also “quizzed”

on their identification skills after the

presentation, and received a volun-

teer kit and free copy of Penn State’s

“Forest Invasive Plants of the Mid-

Atlantic” field pocket guide.

Additional trainings were provided to

specific community groups as well.

Summer Workshops and Volunteer Training Opportunities

treatment to reduce the spread of

the plants. Due to recent outreach

and publicity, many citizens

contacted the group for information

on invasive plant management and

plant identification. Site visits have

been made to identify non-native

invasive plants.

Assisting Concerned Citizens

enrolled in a biology, environmental

science, or conservation course in

which invasive plants are part of the

curriculum. The workshop included a

short presentation of invasive plant

ecology and identification and a

short tutorial on how to map plants

using iMapInvasives. The second

part of the workshop involved going

outside and actually mapping

invasive plants behind the Kane Area

Middle School.

During the Spring of 2018, Kimberly

Bohn and Jody Groshek taught 16

undergraduate students in the

Conservation Biology Course at the

University of Pittsburg-Bradford

about invasive plant identification,

ecology, and monitoring. During the

fall of 2018, Maddie Stanisch led two

workshops for approximately 90

students at the Kane Area High

School. These students are currently

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2. Outreach, Training, and Strategic Collaboration

The APIPMA project coordinator,

Maddie Stanisch, assisted concerned

landowners in identifying unknown

plants on their properties. Maddie

also worked with trail groups

including the Kinzua Valley Trail

Association to help map sections of

the trail for invasive plant

infestations in order to conduct

APIPMA in the Classroom

Workshop attendees identified

plants during a “quiz” of invasives

within the APIPMA region.

Photographing and Mapping

Japanese Knotweed

Lisa Chapman, a volunteer for

APIPMA, shares about her experi-

ence with the group:

“I went to a workshop last spring

that presented the problem of in-

vasive plant species. The room was

filled with people from various

backgrounds interested in the top-

ic. For some it directly related to

their careers in forestry or land

management. For others, it might

have been more related to person-

al landscaping or gardening. For

still others like me, it may have

been curiosity about what was in-

vasive, most problematic, and how

could it be managed.

A wealth of information was forth-

coming. I knew that the Japanese

Knotweed, Autumn and Russian

Olive were invasive. I had partici-

pated in pulling Garlic Mustard in

another state. I didn’t know much

about a host of other plant species,

some toxic to animals and humans

that were also on the watch list.

After taking the hands on “name

the invasive quiz”, I knew I had a

lot to learn. Then the technology

hurdle was presented. Mapping of

the invasives was accomplished by

technology employing photo stud-

ies of found plant offenders, and

through GPS coordinates. Yes,

there was a plan to combat the

threat to native plant species and

it required help from the casual

citizen scientist to put into action.

I have to admit though with the

little knowledge I had this point it

appeared to be a daunting prob-

lem unlikely to be diminished in

any appreciable degree.

Throughout the summer and early

fall, I started to notice more and

more areas of Knotweed, Multiflo-

ra Rose, and Autumn Olive inva-

sion. Much to my dismay, too

many examples were evident on

my home acres. As I became more

sure of my ID skills I began to cata-

log them in the “iMapInvasives”

data base using my phone and the

app to record pictures to substanti-

ate the ID and note location. It

wasn’t long before I would take off

for several hours exploring

backroads and looking for “bad

weeds”. At home, I started a cam-

paign to cut the Rose and Olive and

spray same at the proper time in

the hope of eradicating them.

It has been a great learning experi-

ence. Now I know that if you break

off a Honeysuckle stem and see a

brown pith in the center, it is not

one of our natives. It will not pro-

vide the same nutritional support

for birds that the natives do. I

have seen how Japanese Knotweed

can choke off access to a stream for

miles. The technology used to rec-

ord and map takes some work to

become familiar but as with most

advances is efficient and accurate.

So many knowledgeable and skilled

individuals regularly meet to plan

how to prioritize and use this infor-

mation. It’s a wonderful collabora-

tion of various stakeholders who

actively seek to keep our environ-

ment healthy. I don’t wonder so

much anymore that it is impossible

to make an impact. If a few high

quality trout streams in the area

are still healthy and accessible

that’s a good thing. If Savannah

Sparrows and Bobolinks can still

find open fields for nesting that too

is good.”

Volunteer Perspective by Lisa Chapman

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Volunteer Insight

APIPMA has been promoting the use

of iMapInvasives for reporting inva-

sive plants within the APIPMA

boundary. iMapInvasives is an

online Geographic Information

System (GIS) application managed by

the Western Pennsylvania

Conservancy, which allows users to

upload invasive species observations

and view them on a publicly

available web map.

APIPMA volunteers can create

observations using a smartphone

APP or computer, which are then

added to a specific project, called

the “APIPMA Initial Dataset”.

Data consist of photos, GIS

coordinates, plant name, and in-

festation size and will be used for

prioritizing treatment areas.

There are currently 68

observations for the APIPMA

project area. The bulk of the

observations occur around Smethport,

Kane, and Bradford. A few dedicated

volunteers have logged over 50

hours of service towards this pro-

ject .

Building a GIS database

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3. Monitoring and Mapping

iMapInvasives Tool

The partners are developing a comprehensive

dataset of invasive plant information, compiled

from agency, industry partners and volunteer

partner submissions. A subcommittee will

work to determine the best approach for com-

piling data from these various sources to assist

in finding areas that are lacking in observation

information so that the next step of targeting

areas for treatment can be developed.

www.imapinvasives.org

App can be downloaded from

Google Play or the App Store

While much of APIPMA’s time in

2018 was spent on outreach and

education; the group has also

identified a few opportunities for

treatment demonstration areas in

2019. One of these will be working

with the Kane Area School District

and Borough to treat small

populations of knotweed in town

parks and municipal areas.

Treatment of knotweed in the Kane

area is particularly important because

this area is the headwaters for three

watersheds within APIPMA.

Grant funds are being sought to fund

invasive plant treatment of priority

species in these watersheds. Student

volunteers will assist in the removal

of invasive plants.

Upcoming Projects

Page 7

4. Early Detection and Rapid Response 5. Prevention

Success Stories

Partnership Meeting with DCNR and PennDOT

In October 2018, Maddie Stanisch and Jody

Groshek were invited to attend a meeting with

DCNR Bureau of Forestry and the Pennsylvania

Department of Transportation. Information and

ideas were shared and for collaborative efforts to

identify and control plants in roadway rights of

way. The meeting gave insight as to the protocols

and abilities of both organizations regarding

invasive plants.

McKean County Township Partnership

6. Control

Several municipalities are incorporating the treatment of invasive plants into their road projects. Conservation

District staff provide identification assistance and stress the importance of treatment before and following

disturbance. Several sites containing goatsrue have been treated by township road crews.

Knox and Kane Rail Trail

In June, APIPMA members provided a presentation to Knox-Kane trail groups in Marienville to

encourage trail personnel to take a proactive approach to invasive plants in particular after earth

disturbance and during trail development.

APIPMA members identified this dense population of glossy

buckthorn in an area previously devoid of this plant and contact-

ed the responsible party. This population was soon manually

removed by the company managing the right of way. Follow up

monitoring will address new growth from seed sources.

Japanese Knotweed

APIPMA Steering Committee

A small, dedicated steering committee

from community, county, state, and

federal organizations

McKean County Conservation District

17137 Route 6

Smethport, PA 16749

(814) 887-4001

https://www.mckeanconservation.com/

Coordinators:

Dr. Kimberly Bohn, Penn State Extension

814-887-5613

kkb29@psu.edu

Jody Groshek, McKean County Conservation District

814-887-4001

jdgroshek@mckeancountypa.org

Maddie Stanisch, McKean County Conservation District

814-887-4020

mmstanisch@mckeancountypa.org

Page 8

Purple Loosestrife

Japanese Knotweed