Bird Cherry Youth Project_AFO Project Description.doc

Office: Anchorage Field Office (AFO) Notice of Funding Opportunity Number: L22AS00197 Project Submission Dates and Times: February 3, 2022 – April 15, 2022, 5PM EDT

Project Title: Inventory and Manual Treatment of European Bird Cherry at BLM Campbell Tract Maximum Available Funding in FY22: $19,000 Project Background Information: European bird cherry (Prunus padus) is a shrub/small tree that is highly invasive and has been found to occur in the forest understory of BLM’s Campbell Tract facility. In Alaska, it was originally introduced as a popular hardy ornamental tree for residential and park plantings. However, it has rapidly escaped from the built environment and spread into natural areas like riparian streamside and forests. European bird cherry has taken over the understory in many parts of Anchorage’s natural areas and forms thickets that exclude native species. Within the 730 acres of BLM’s Campbell Tract, seedling and saplings have been found to occur sporadically in the forest understory, but a comprehensive inventory has not yet been conducted.

Project Objective:

1. Conduct a complete inventory of European bird cherry on the forest understory of Campbell Tract by walking a grid pattern throughout the entirety of Campbell Tract (730 acres).

2. Upon discovery of bird cherry seedlings (up to approximately 2 feet tall): manually remove the entire individual including as much root material as possible and collect GPS location of treatment area.

3. Upon discovery of larger seedlings, saplings, or mature bird cherry trees: collect GPS location information and reported to BLM at the end of the project.

Work Schedule: Monday – Friday, generally 8 AM to 5PM, for 2 weeks. Flexible start/end dates to occur during July-August.

Qualification Requirements: This opportunity is suitable for a youth corp organization that has a proven record of providing meaningful work experiences for youth interested in natural resources management.

Vehicle Needs: The youth corp organization will need to provide transportation for the crew to the Campbell Tract Facility. When onsite, walking will be the primary mode of travel for project activities.

Other Project Considerations:

GPS collection devices: BLM will provide 1-2 devices for electronic data collection.

BLM will not provide: Work gloves, safety glasses, or other safety supplies and equipment.

Duties: The youth corps organization will report to Campbell Tract at the beginning of the workday for the entire 2-week project. On the first day, BLM will provide detailed instruction on: plant identification, manual treatment methods, and GPS data collection. The youth corps will be given a digital map with a walking path grid that will be followed to ensure all areas of surveyed.

The youth corps organization is expected to become proficient in the identification of European bird cherry in order to conduct the comprehensive survey of Campbell Tract and then implement manual treatments and data collection on infestation locations.

BLM’s Involvement: There will be substantive BLM programmatic involvement by BLM AFO Ecologist, Aliza Segal, to introduce the project details and to provide instruction on bird cherry identification manual treatment methods. Aliza will join for the some, but not all days of the youth corps’ work at Campbell Tract.

BLM Program Contact:

Zach Million

(907) 271-3386 zmillion@blm.gov BLM Technical Contact:

Aliza Segal

(907) 267-1398 asegal@blm.gov Applicants are encouraged to refer to the full program announcement number L22AS00197 posted on Grants.gov for all program requirements and applicable terms and conditions. Recipients selected for awards will be required to adhere to those requirements should an award be made.

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