APIPMA Five Year Strategic Plan: February 2018 - December 2022
APIPMA is a grass-roots collaborative focused on addressing terrestrial non-native invasive plant problems and solutions across a five county geographic area in northcentral Pennsylvania. The APIPMA collaborative began in 2017 through a meeting initiated by the McKean County Conservation District and Penn State Cooperative Extension, bringing together local stakeholders from a variety of federal, state, and local organizations, non-profit groups, community organizations, and concerned citizens to partner with the goals of outreach & training, inventory-monitoring and mapping, early detection & rapid response, and control of invasive plants affecting local ecosystems. During this exciting first year, participants defined the APIPMA geographic boundary and developed a list of priority non-native invasive and early detection - rapid response (EDRR) species found within APIPMA. A non-native invasive species is a species which is alien or not native to an area and can quickly establish, spread, and cause harm to humans, animals, economics, or the environment.
In 2018, the APIPMA Steering Committee, with input from partners, developed a
mission statement, and a five year strategic plan with six major goals:
1. Create, Strengthen, and Sustain APIPMA
2. Outreach, Training, and Strategic Collaboration
3. Monitoring and Mapping
4. Early Detection and Rapid Response (EDRR)
5. Prevention
6. Control (Prioritized Management)
Each goal has several objectives with specific tasks. The following report summarizes
the progress and accomplishments in 2018 toward these major goals.
About APIPMA
APIPMA Mission Statement:
Implement a comprehensive, cooperative approach across
boundaries to address the threats of invasive species to
the lands and watersheds within the boundaries of
APIPMA
5 Year Strategic Plan 1
Create, Strengthen, and Sustain APIPMA
2
Leadership 3
Outreach, Training, and
Strategic Collaboration
4
Volunteer Insight 5
Monitoring & Mapping 6
Early Detection & Rapid Response, Prevention, Control Efforts
7
Contents:
Allegheny Plateau Invasive Plant Management Area (APIPMA)
2018 Annual Report
Glossy Buckthorn Japanese Stiltgrass Goat’s Rue
Leadership/Structure
Current grants fund coordinator salary and outreach efforts. Current grants totaling $64,026.36 come from the
National Fish and Wildlife Foundation ‘Pulling Together’ grant ($37,074) and a Challenge Cost Share Agreement with
the U.S. Forest Service Allegheny National Forest ($26,952). APIPMA has also helped to identify grant opportunities
for our partners, including the VPA-HIP (Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Incentives Program) funding through PA
Game Commission. This grant assists private landowners to promote wildlife habitat, which can include invasive
plant treatment to protect or enhance habitat. This grant was awarded to our partner Collins Pine/Kane Hardwoods
in 2018.
Funding
The APIPMA leadership has been actively reaching out to local agency, industry, and community groups. In
2018, we increased the number of partner groups who indicated interest in keeping up to date with APIPMA
and/or participating in APIPMA activities. An email database of partner contacts compiled by our Project
Coordinator nearly doubled in size in 2018 from 45 to 82. Those in our database receive quarterly newsletters,
EDRR updates, the APIPMA Annual report, and invitations to meetings and workshops. Attendance at biannual
partner meetings has been between 15 and 30 attendees .
Partners
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1. Create, Strengthen, and Sustain Allegheny Plateau
Invasive Plant Management Area
For goal one, one of the first tasks as a new cooperative was to develop a basic organizational structure for
APIPMA. In 2017, Dr. Kimberly Bohn and Jody Groshek brought together numerous partners to determine
interest and begin organization of APIPMA. This in turn led to a successful grant application with the National Fish
& Wildlife Foundation to provide funding for Project Coordinator Maddie Stanisch. Additionally, a steering
committee; made up of partner representatives from the community, county, state and federal organizations,
meets at least quarterly to collaborate on ideas to help the APIPMA group grow and expand. Current steering
committee members include: Holly Dzemyan (DCNR- Kinzua Bridge State Park), Sue Dube (U.S. Forest Service-
Allegheny National Forest), April Moore (U.S. Forest Service-Allegheny National Forest), Ned Karger (retired
Collins Pine forester and volunteer), Dan Hicks (Collins Pine/Kane Hardwoods), Mike McIntire (Forest Investment
Associates) and Lisa Chapman (community group volunteer). Currently, the Steering Committee is developing a
two year work plan for 2019-2020 to prioritize tasks from the strategic plan.
Kimberly Bohn,
Co-Director
Jody Groshek,
Co-Director
Maddie Stanisch,
Project Coordinator
goat’s rue. EDRR species are limited
within the APIPMA boundary and
surrounding area, but are of high
concern because of their potential
severe ecological impacts. These
include Japanese barberry, tree-of-
heaven, mile-a-minute, Oriental
bittersweet, garlic mustard and
common reed (Phragmites sp.).
With the input of our partners,
APIPMA developed a list of priority
and early detection-rapid response
(EDRR) species. Priority species are
those that are already prevalent
within the APIPMA boundary and
include Japanese knotweed, exotic
bush honeysuckles, Japanese
stiltgrass, glossy buckthorn, and
Priority and Early Detection - Rapid Response Invasive Plant Species Lists
APIPMA Boundary
Goal 1: Continued
The APIPMA boundary was established after extensive discussion with partners. The balance between incorporating
major land management agencies, geo-political and ecological boundaries —Upper Allegheny River Watershed was
difficult. The northern boundary is New York State, the western and southern boundaries are counties and the eastern
boundary is the Sinnemahoning Cooperative Weed Management Area.
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Exotic Bush Honeysuckle
Throughout the summer months of
2018, APIPMA hosted a number of
trainings for those interested in
learning about invasive plants. A
total of 106 people were reached
through these workshops. The first
training was held at Kinzua Bridge
State Park with 26 in attendance. The
second training was held at the PSU
Extension in Coudersport, with 23 in
attendance. The third training was at
the Warren County Conservation
District, with 19 in attendance and
the final training was held in Ridgway
at North Central Regional Planning
with 22 in attendance. Trainings
included basic invasive plant ecology
and identification, as well as a
webinar about the use of iMapInva-
sives. Attendees were also “quizzed”
on their identification skills after the
presentation, and received a volun-
teer kit and free copy of Penn State’s
“Forest Invasive Plants of the Mid-
Atlantic” field pocket guide.
Additional trainings were provided to
specific community groups as well.
Summer Workshops and Volunteer Training Opportunities
treatment to reduce the spread of
the plants. Due to recent outreach
and publicity, many citizens
contacted the group for information
on invasive plant management and
plant identification. Site visits have
been made to identify non-native
invasive plants.
Assisting Concerned Citizens
enrolled in a biology, environmental
science, or conservation course in
which invasive plants are part of the
curriculum. The workshop included a
short presentation of invasive plant
ecology and identification and a
short tutorial on how to map plants
using iMapInvasives. The second
part of the workshop involved going
outside and actually mapping
invasive plants behind the Kane Area
Middle School.
During the Spring of 2018, Kimberly
Bohn and Jody Groshek taught 16
undergraduate students in the
Conservation Biology Course at the
University of Pittsburg-Bradford
about invasive plant identification,
ecology, and monitoring. During the
fall of 2018, Maddie Stanisch led two
workshops for approximately 90
students at the Kane Area High
School. These students are currently
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2. Outreach, Training, and Strategic Collaboration
The APIPMA project coordinator,
Maddie Stanisch, assisted concerned
landowners in identifying unknown
plants on their properties. Maddie
also worked with trail groups
including the Kinzua Valley Trail
Association to help map sections of
the trail for invasive plant
infestations in order to conduct
APIPMA in the Classroom
Workshop attendees identified
plants during a “quiz” of invasives
within the APIPMA region.
Photographing and Mapping
Japanese Knotweed
Lisa Chapman, a volunteer for
APIPMA, shares about her experi-
ence with the group:
“I went to a workshop last spring
that presented the problem of in-
vasive plant species. The room was
filled with people from various
backgrounds interested in the top-
ic. For some it directly related to
their careers in forestry or land
management. For others, it might
have been more related to person-
al landscaping or gardening. For
still others like me, it may have
been curiosity about what was in-
vasive, most problematic, and how
could it be managed.
A wealth of information was forth-
coming. I knew that the Japanese
Knotweed, Autumn and Russian
Olive were invasive. I had partici-
pated in pulling Garlic Mustard in
another state. I didn’t know much
about a host of other plant species,
some toxic to animals and humans
that were also on the watch list.
After taking the hands on “name
the invasive quiz”, I knew I had a
lot to learn. Then the technology
hurdle was presented. Mapping of
the invasives was accomplished by
technology employing photo stud-
ies of found plant offenders, and
through GPS coordinates. Yes,
there was a plan to combat the
threat to native plant species and
it required help from the casual
citizen scientist to put into action.
I have to admit though with the
little knowledge I had this point it
appeared to be a daunting prob-
lem unlikely to be diminished in
any appreciable degree.
Throughout the summer and early
fall, I started to notice more and
more areas of Knotweed, Multiflo-
ra Rose, and Autumn Olive inva-
sion. Much to my dismay, too
many examples were evident on
my home acres. As I became more
sure of my ID skills I began to cata-
log them in the “iMapInvasives”
data base using my phone and the
app to record pictures to substanti-
ate the ID and note location. It
wasn’t long before I would take off
for several hours exploring
backroads and looking for “bad
weeds”. At home, I started a cam-
paign to cut the Rose and Olive and
spray same at the proper time in
the hope of eradicating them.
It has been a great learning experi-
ence. Now I know that if you break
off a Honeysuckle stem and see a
brown pith in the center, it is not
one of our natives. It will not pro-
vide the same nutritional support
for birds that the natives do. I
have seen how Japanese Knotweed
can choke off access to a stream for
miles. The technology used to rec-
ord and map takes some work to
become familiar but as with most
advances is efficient and accurate.
So many knowledgeable and skilled
individuals regularly meet to plan
how to prioritize and use this infor-
mation. It’s a wonderful collabora-
tion of various stakeholders who
actively seek to keep our environ-
ment healthy. I don’t wonder so
much anymore that it is impossible
to make an impact. If a few high
quality trout streams in the area
are still healthy and accessible
that’s a good thing. If Savannah
Sparrows and Bobolinks can still
find open fields for nesting that too
is good.”
Volunteer Perspective by Lisa Chapman
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Volunteer Insight
APIPMA has been promoting the use
of iMapInvasives for reporting inva-
sive plants within the APIPMA
boundary. iMapInvasives is an
online Geographic Information
System (GIS) application managed by
the Western Pennsylvania
Conservancy, which allows users to
upload invasive species observations
and view them on a publicly
available web map.
APIPMA volunteers can create
observations using a smartphone
APP or computer, which are then
added to a specific project, called
the “APIPMA Initial Dataset”.
Data consist of photos, GIS
coordinates, plant name, and in-
festation size and will be used for
prioritizing treatment areas.
There are currently 68
observations for the APIPMA
project area. The bulk of the
observations occur around Smethport,
Kane, and Bradford. A few dedicated
volunteers have logged over 50
hours of service towards this pro-
ject .
Building a GIS database
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3. Monitoring and Mapping
iMapInvasives Tool
The partners are developing a comprehensive
dataset of invasive plant information, compiled
from agency, industry partners and volunteer
partner submissions. A subcommittee will
work to determine the best approach for com-
piling data from these various sources to assist
in finding areas that are lacking in observation
information so that the next step of targeting
areas for treatment can be developed.
www.imapinvasives.org
App can be downloaded from
Google Play or the App Store
While much of APIPMA’s time in
2018 was spent on outreach and
education; the group has also
identified a few opportunities for
treatment demonstration areas in
2019. One of these will be working
with the Kane Area School District
and Borough to treat small
populations of knotweed in town
parks and municipal areas.
Treatment of knotweed in the Kane
area is particularly important because
this area is the headwaters for three
watersheds within APIPMA.
Grant funds are being sought to fund
invasive plant treatment of priority
species in these watersheds. Student
volunteers will assist in the removal
of invasive plants.
Upcoming Projects
Page 7
4. Early Detection and Rapid Response 5. Prevention
Success Stories
Partnership Meeting with DCNR and PennDOT
In October 2018, Maddie Stanisch and Jody
Groshek were invited to attend a meeting with
DCNR Bureau of Forestry and the Pennsylvania
Department of Transportation. Information and
ideas were shared and for collaborative efforts to
identify and control plants in roadway rights of
way. The meeting gave insight as to the protocols
and abilities of both organizations regarding
invasive plants.
McKean County Township Partnership
6. Control
Several municipalities are incorporating the treatment of invasive plants into their road projects. Conservation
District staff provide identification assistance and stress the importance of treatment before and following
disturbance. Several sites containing goatsrue have been treated by township road crews.
Knox and Kane Rail Trail
In June, APIPMA members provided a presentation to Knox-Kane trail groups in Marienville to
encourage trail personnel to take a proactive approach to invasive plants in particular after earth
disturbance and during trail development.
APIPMA members identified this dense population of glossy
buckthorn in an area previously devoid of this plant and contact-
ed the responsible party. This population was soon manually
removed by the company managing the right of way. Follow up
monitoring will address new growth from seed sources.
Japanese Knotweed
APIPMA Steering Committee
A small, dedicated steering committee
from community, county, state, and
federal organizations
McKean County Conservation District
17137 Route 6
Smethport, PA 16749
(814) 887-4001
https://www.mckeanconservation.com/
Coordinators:
Dr. Kimberly Bohn, Penn State Extension
814-887-5613
Jody Groshek, McKean County Conservation District
814-887-4001
Maddie Stanisch, McKean County Conservation District
814-887-4020
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Purple Loosestrife
Japanese Knotweed