U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Region 6
(CO, KS, NE, WY, MT, ND, SD, UT)
Inventory,
Mapping, and Monitoring of Invasive Plants
In
a May 2000 “Report on the State of Invasive Species Management” completed by
the Region 6 Cross-Program Invasive Species Management Team, inventory and
monitoring were identified as high priority needs.
Two
specific needs identified:
•
Maintenance of a standard database to monitor the spread of invasives.
•
Development of a GIS system to map, inventory and monitor.
Current work in the field
on refuges and hatcheries varies from small scale GPS mapping of small
infestations to large scale state-wide mapping with state, federal, and county
partners.
•
National Bison Range in Montana is working with the State Natural
Heritage Program and BLM, inputting mapping and monitoring data into a GIS
system.
•
The Colorado Noxious Weed Team comprised of state and federal partners
also is working on state-wide GIS mapping of invasive plants.
•
The Habitat and Population Evaluation Team office in North Dakota is
currently working on 2 high priority GIS needs identified by field stations:
•
Digital mapping of upland and wetland vegetation and features.
•
Collection of management information in a consistent fashion with a
mechanism to enter the data into a database and attach it to a spatial feature.
Comments/concerns
from the field:
•
Method should emphasize a “practical science” format with an
applicable management link to track invasive plant populations and the
effectiveness of control treatments.
•
Data should easily crossover to exchange with local, state, and federal
partners.
•
Development of specialized skills to collect vegetation sampling data.
•
Consider scale and use appropriate tool such as aerial photography and
remote sensing data to inventory and monitor large and/or remote infestations,
e.g. “Mapping Canada Thistle Using AVIRIS Data and the USGS’ Tetracoder
Algorithm, Rocky Mountain Arsenal........”
USGS, Biological Resources Division
Denver Federal Center, P.O. Box 25046, Bldg 20, Mail Stop 300
Central Regional Office, Denver, CO 80225-0046