Publication Summary

The Aquatic Plant Technical Assistance program was created to provide technical expertise within Ecology, other agencies, local governments, lakes groups and the general public regarding aquatic plant ecology, taxonomy, and management. The three main goals identified for this program are to (1) provide technical assistance and education on aquatic plant, identification and management; (2) evaluate plant community structures and the existence or potential for aquatic plant related problems in selected waterbodies; and (3) assist with evaluating Freshwater Aquatic Weed Program grant applications.

The Aquatic Plant Technical Assistance program was created to provide technical expertise within Ecology, other agencies, local governments, lakes groups and the general public regarding aquatic plant ecology, taxonomy, and management. The three main goals identified for this program are to (1) provide technical assistance and education on aquatic plant, identification and management; (2) evaluate plant community structures and the existence or potential for aquatic plant related problems in selected waterbodies; and (3) assist with evaluating Freshwater Aquatic Weed Program grant applications.

This implementation plan addresses the goal of conducting site visits and the coinciding technical assistance goal. The plan details the three to four month field season. The remainder of the year will be spent researching and planning data collection, updating the database and herbarium collection, evaluating grant applications for Freshwater Aquatic Weed Program funding, conducting special projects such as assisting with the aquatic plant identification manual contract and making changes to the early infestation policy, and providing off-season technical assistance.

Flexibility is an integral part of this plan. Changes will occur if high priority requests for assistance are received from citizens or local government officials. (Priority is evaluated through communication with the requestor to determine the probability that the perceived problem is caused by an exotic invasive species. If so, the waterbody will be included as part of Task 2; if not it will be visited as time allows.) If new small exotic invasive plant populations are found the work schedule will be rearranged, and some site visits may be omitted, to provide time for containment efforts.