In The News - Sycamore Land Trust

Check out this recent article in the Limestone Post featuring SICIM partners the Sycamore Land Trust, titled "With Invasives, an Ounce of Prevention Is Worth a Pound of Cure."

Webcast - Early Detection and Rapid Response to Invasive Species

Join the Stewardship Network for their August monthly webcast on Early Detection and Rapid Response to Invasive Species.  They will talk with Amos Ziegler from the Midwest Invasive Species Information Network (MISIN) at Michigan State University.

August 9, 2017 - 12:00 p.m. at

www.stewardshipnetworkwebcast.org

This link will be active at 11:30 a.m.

Not Webcast Wednesday? That link will take you to the free replay archive where you can watch most of the 138 previous webcasts.

Invasive Forest Pests Early Detector Training Workshops

 Cliff Sadof, Purdue University professor of entomology and Purdue Extension pest management specialist, and Carrie Tauscher, state community and urban forester at the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, will lead three workshops on invasive forest pests that pose a significant threat to Indiana’s urban and rural forests.

Each workshop will include presentations on the biology, signs and symptoms, and management of invasive forest pests. Participants will also learn about technology used by citizen scientists to report these pests across the state. There will also be time for participants to ask questions. Light refreshments will be provided.

Gardeners, professional foresters, concerned citizens and anyone interested in learning more about Indiana forest pests - including the emerald ash borer, hemlock wooly adelgid and the Asian Longhorned Beetle - are encouraged to register.

The workshops are free and open to all ages and levels of knowledge. Pesticide applicator CCHs, ISA CEUs, and SAF CFEs will be available. 

The workshop schedule:

* July 11, 6-8 p.m. EST at the Purdue Extension-Monroe County office, 3400 S. Walnut St., Bloomington.

* July 12, 6-8 p.m. EST at the Purdue Extension-Dearborn County office, 229 Main St., Aurora.

* July 13, 6-8 p.m. EST at the Brown County Fairgrounds, 802 Memorial Drive, Nashville.

Space is limited, so early registration is encouraged. To sign up, go to: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/FPSOP2017.

For more information, contact Sara Stack at (765) 494-0822 or stack4@purdue.edu.

Writer: Darrin Pack, 765-494-8415, dpack@purdue.edu 

Source: Sara Stack, 765-494-0822, stack4@purdue.edu

Agricultural Communications: (765) 494-8415; 
Shari Finnell, Manager/Media Relations and Public Information, sfinnell@purdue.edu  
Agriculture News Page

NEW! CWMAs & Funding Page

Check out SICIM's new page with information on Cooperative Weed Management Areas and funding support from SICIM! Check it out here or on our Resources Page.  

Registration is now open for SICIM's 2017 Annual Partners Meeting!

The theme this year is Managing Natural Areas for an Uncertain Future. Featured speakers include Dr. Jeff Dukes from Purdue University and John Shuey from TNC. The meeting will be held on June 21st, 2017 from 9:00am to 3:45pm at Spring Mill Inn, Mitchell, IN. Registration costs include lunch. For more information, contact Cheryl Coon at ccoon@fs.fed.us

Click here for an event flyer!

You can register with Paypal or a credit card here:

Registration type

Regular $25.00 USD Student $10.00 USD

SICIM Newsletter Revived!

We have recently revived SICIM's newsletter, "The Weed Watcher!" Check out the Spring 2017 edition here:

To subscribe, just send us an email at sicim.info@gmail.com!

NEW! County Resources Page

SICIM is proud that our new County Resources page is up and running!  A brainchild of the Communications Committee, this page is intended to help direct citizens to local resources wherever they may be in the SICIM 35 county area.  It also helps to showcase what areas founded CWMAs, and connect others interested in forming CWMAs with potential partners in their area. 

This page is still under development and we need YOUR HELP to finish it!  If you have contact information or website links to resources in your county please email them to sicim.info@gmail.com and we will add them to site. 

Updated Landowner Toolkit

The SICIM Communications Committee has been hard at work and is proud to release our newly revised Landowner Toolkit!  The Toolkit is designed to help landowners and land managers identify invasive threats, determine control options, and find assistance in control efforts.  It features useful brochures, handouts, species fact sheets, as well as useful articles and lists of control funding programs and contractors. 

Browse the updated toolkit on our website Get Involved page, or download all or some of the handouts from our Google Drive folder.  SICIM can also work with Partners interested in printing hard copies for Landowner Toolkit folders.  Just contact us at sicim.info@gmail.com or 812-653-5563.

Jackson County CWMA Call Out Meeting - December 8th

Call out meeting for a Jackson county area Cooperative Invasive Species Management Area group. 

December 8th at 6:00pm

USDA Service Center - 1350 Woodside Dr Brownstown, IN

For more info, call 812-358-2367 x3

Dubois County Park Invasive Workday - November 19th

The Invasive Species Awareness Coalition of Dubois County (ISAC) is hosting another volunteer workday to help improve native habitat and parklands in Dubois County. The workday is on Saturday, November 19 from 8:30 am to 12 noon. Volunteers are requested to spend the morning helping improve the natural habitat in the Dubois County Park around the lake, trails and campground. Members from ISAC identified invasive plants in the area earlier this fall, and have discussed invasive species issues with the Park board and staff. Targeted invasive plants for the day will be autumn olive, Japanese honeysuckle and multiflora rose. Donated pecan tree seedlings will also be planted.

Anyone interested in helping improve the natural beauty of the park is encouraged to volunteer to help out. No knowledge of plant species is necessary, as volunteers will be grouped with knowledgeable ISAC members to help eradicate invasive plants. Any resident who would like to volunteer is asked to RSVP to group president Ron Rathfon. He can be contacted at 812-678-5049 or ronr@purdue.edu. Volunteers should wear long pants and sturdy shoes and are asked to bring work gloves and their own pruners, loppers or handsaws. The workday volunteers will meet in the gravel parking lot in front of the lake, just across from the 4H Fairgrounds.

ISAC Dubois County was formed last year to focus on public awareness, mapping and eradication of invasive species in Dubois County. The group is made up of concerned landowners, nature buffs, public lands managers and natural resource professionals. ISAC intends to continue to host volunteer days at other public lands across Dubois County in the future. For more information about the group, go to www.isacdc.org or call 812-678-5049.

Techline News - Fall Issue Prairie & Grassland Edition

If you live or work with invasives in Prairie or Grasslands check out the excellent articles in the fall edition of the TechLine Invasive Plant News.  This issue features:

• Landowner-Hunter Partnership Supports Habitat Conservation: Controlling Invasive Plants Enhances Diversity
• Integrative Management of Sericea Lespedeza in Prairie Restorations
• Managing Sweetclover in Natural Areas
• Saint Johnswort: Biology, Impact and Management
• Celebrating the Centennial: Volunteers Unite in Glacier National Park Weed Bioblitz
• Photo Contest: $200 Prize!
• Fall Control Recommendations
• Meet the TechLine Team

Chaff Flower Survey Results

The following survey of Japanese Chaff Flower was shared by Purdue Extension.  The map shows only positive locations identified, not the entire area surveyed. 

View fullsize

Woodland Owner Conference

Landowners are invited to to the Woodland Owner Conference, sponsered by the Indiana Forestry and Woodland Owners Association.  For full details, see the flier below or visit www.ifwoa.org.

Stewardship Workday at Camp Wildwood

When: September 24th from 9:30 AM to 12:00 PM

Where: Camp Wildwood (2609 Washington Ave., Vincennes, IN 47591)

Details: Come help be a good steward at “one of Vincennes’ best kept secrets”! We will be removing Asian Bush Honeysuckle from the property. Please wear clothes you are willing to work in and bring your own gloves. There will also be refreshments for participants: coffee, water, and granola bars. For more information contact: Will Drews @ (812) 882-8210 ext. 119 or willem.drews@in.nacdnet.net

New! Going Rogue: Japanese Barberry video

A new Japanese Barberry video by University of Minnesota Extension and Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) is available.  The video was jointly created by Angela Gupta with Purdue Extension, Emilie Justen with MDA and Audrey Robinson Favorito with Wild Carrot Productions. 

ABRASIVE INVASIVE WORKSHOP

FREE WORKSHOP ON INVASIVE PLANTS - NEW DATE

Maintaining Right of Ways for Monarchs, Pollinators, and Safe Energy Delivery Workshop

Free Workshop on Invasive Plants - RSVP now for Program and Dinner at Purdue Farm on July 28

Bedford, IN – (July 13, 2016)  If you’ve been curious why invasive plants are always in the news and wondering if you have any on your farm or woodland, you may want to join us on July 28 at the Feldun Purdue Ag Center for a forest management workshop and free meal.  The program starts with dinner at 5:00 pm and should be over by 8:30 pm.

Over the course of the evening you will hear from professionals on: identifying invasive species in your woods, the benefits of a well-marked timber sale, and how you can effectively control invasive plants in your forest.  The free workshop will benefit anyone who has forest land, regardless of their management goals.  Wear comfortable shoes since the majority of the program will be standing or walking in the woods.

Feldun Purdue Ag Center is located at 1117 State Road 458 west of Bedford.  The event is sponsored by the Southern Indiana Cooperative Invasive Management (SICIM) group, the Lawrence County Soil and Water Conservation District and Purdue Extension. Please RSVP by July 25 to register for the workshop by calling 812-279-8117, ext 3 or email Christina.Bruce@in.nacdnet.net .

The program will include some invasive species control demonstrations and the unveiling of an innovative herbicide trial. Anyone needing a reasonable accommodation to participate in the program, prior to the meeting should contact Ryan Bartlett, 812-797-0292.

Group’s Volunteer Workday to Stop Plant Invaders on Riverwalk Successful

Visitors to Jasper’s Riverwalk Saturday morning may have been surprised to see “Stop Plant Invaders!” on yard signs and to be watching volunteers wrestle with some tough vegetation. The Invasive Species Awareness Coalition of Dubois County (ISAC) reports that the volunteer workday held at Jasper’s Riverwalk on Saturday succeeded in removal of numerous invasive plants, including several hundred pounds of Asian bush honeysuckle, winter creeper, privet, multiflora rose and garlic mustard from the Riverwalk and the surrounding woodland park area. The plants that were removed are known for taking over natural areas, leaving little room for our native plants to thrive. The Jasper Park Department plans to chip and shred the removed woody debris to use for mulch. ISAC volunteers also planted native shrubs donated by Buschkoetter’s and Green Thumb nurseries in areas where non-native plants were removed.

Other planned ISAC activities are to have a booth and hold “Discover the Riverwalk” strolls at Old Jasper Day on May 22, and to hold a volunteer workday at another public property in Dubois County this fall. Anyone interested in receiving information or email updates of the group’s meetings and activities can contact Ron Rathfon at 812.678.5049 or ronr@purdue.edu.

"Stop Plant Invaders! Volunteers Sarah Steltenpohl of Jasper, Russ Friedman of Huntingburg and Jamie Winner of Ferdinand work to remove invasive Asian bush honeysuckle from Jasper's Riverwalk on Saturday. 19 volunteers for the group Invasive Species Awareness Coalition of Dubois County removed hundreds of pounds of non-native vegetation in the three hour workday."