MAKING A WEED MANAGEMENT AREA WORK IN THE FLORIDA ENVIRONMENTLinda DueverLinda Duever262007-06-02T17:02:00Z2007-06-02T17:02:00Z14462546Conway Conservation215298711.6568FLEPPC 2007 ABSTRACTESTABLISHING A COOPERATIVE WEED MANAGEMENT AREA IN FLORIDALinda Conway DueverCoordinator, Marion County Invasive Species Management Councilhttp://www.mcismc.org/Conway Conservation LLCMockernut Hill Botanical Garden10952 NW Hwy 320Micanopy, FL 32667 USA352/466-4136ConwayConservation@conway.comIn the western United States, invasives control programs are typically managed through stakeholder coalitions called Cooperative Weed Management Areas (CWMAs). A CWMA is defined as “A partnership of federal, state, and local government agencies; tribes; individuals; and various interested groups that manage noxious weeds or invasive plants in a defined area (http://www.weedcenter.org/weed_mgmt_areas/wma_overview.html). CWMAs 1) occupy a defined geographic area with a common geography, weed problem, community, climate, political boundary, or land use; 2) involve the majority of landowners and natural resource managers in the area; 3) are headed by a steering committee; 4) are committed to cooperation; and 5) operate under a comprehensive plan that addresses the management or prevention of one or more noxious weeds or invasive plants. The better programs stress strategic IPM-based approaches.Although there are invasives control programs on most public lands in Florida, there has been little strategic coordination of efforts across property lines here before now. The Marion County Invasive Species Management Council (MCISMC) (http://www.mcismc.org/) formed in 2006 has been welcomed as Florida’s “guinea-pig” CWMA. Our program has gotten off to a promising start because it addresses the right problem at the right time in the right place with the right team. We are concentrating our initial efforts on one extremely unpopular species: cogongrass (Imperata cylindrica), which is recognized as one of the world's ten worst weeds. This highly aggressive Asian grass has been spreading explosively across central Florida, dispersing along roadways and invading both healthy natural communities and disturbed sites as it alters fire regimes to promote catastropic wildfires and create monocultural grasslands. As multiple clones spread and increased outcrossing enhances seed production, cogongrass expansion is accelerating, threatening an estimated 640,000 acres of Marion County, including much of Ocala National Forest, the Cross Florida Greenway, and the horse country. To combat this menace, MCISMC has recruited nearly fifty partner organizations, coordinated by an independent consultant supported by a National Fish and Wildlife Foundation “Pulling Together Initiative” grant to Marion County. This presentation reviews MCISMC’s strategies, goals/objectives, successes/failures, and lessons learned one year into the program.