Purpose of award summary of the goals and objectives of the project aquatic invasive plants, including purple loosestrife lythrum salicaria and yellow iris iris pseudacris spread quickly through…

Purpose of award summary of the goals and objectives of the project aquatic invasive plants, including purple loosestrife lythrum salicaria and yellow iris iris pseudacris spread quickly through aquatic systems by reproducing vegetatively through rhizomes, and producing copious amounts of seeds that float upstream with the tides once established, they expand into dense monocultures that displace diverse native plant communities these invasions pose a risk to native plant community diversity, salmon food webs, and the historic scene within the park the north coast watershed association ncwa is currently coordinating invasive species control efforts in the youngs BAY watershed due to lack of capacity within other local organizations this grant will allow ncwa to hire a licensed herbicide applicator to treat the infestations adjacent to the park and to hire a GIS specialist to map past and current infestations and treatments to inform continued monitoring and treatments summary of project specific activities funding from this project would provide a bridge to stop the exponential growth of infestations while other long term funding mechanisms are being sought this targeted expenditure will build a foundation of strong partnership which will help US to meet our broader goals of restoring and maintaining native ecosystems in the lands we manage our objective is to regain control over the exponential expansion of these noxious weeds both within park lands and the greater youngs BAY watershed we expect to reduce the populations to the extent that they can be kept in control through limited yearly maintenance in the future we will also improve the long term monitoring and management of outbreaks by creating a shared geodatabase to track gross and net infested acres, treatment methods, and effectiveness of treatments performance goals including milestones and expected outcomes year 1 applicator treats first 50 acres, maps infestations and control methods using SURVEY123 GIS specialist creates geodatabase and produces maps year 2 applicator treats second 50 acres and spot treats first 50, and maps infestations and control methods using SURVEY123 GIS specialist provides and produces maps year 3 applicator treats third 50 acres and spot treats first 100, and maps infestations and control methods using SURVEY123 GIS specialist provides and produces maps year 4 applicator spot treats all acreage and writes final report in coordination with GIS specialistyear 5 applicator spot treats all acreage and writes final report in coordination with GIS specialist deliverables infested acres in the youngs BAY watershed will be reduced from 100 to less than 1 net infested acre in the areas with the highest potential to invade park lands ncwa will provide lewi with a report detailing methods, herbicide quantities, hours worked, and management recommendations ncwa will produce a geodatabase using collector and survey 123 that will consolidate all past and present work in the watershed, showing the current extent of infestations in the watershed, treatment areas, and monitoring this database will be shared among all partners success from this project will be leveraged for resumption of outside funding to maintain control over resurgent infestations in the future beneficiaries this project will benefit the native plant and animal communities of the youngs BAY watershed, local communities that rely on these resources for recreational and economic opportunities, and visitors to lewis and clark national historical park who will be able to experience a more authentic historical scene and cultural landscape