Posts

Fairfax County Park Authority Awarded Grant To Enhance Invasive Species Management

/in , /by

Photo: Fairfax County Park Authority – Invasive vines and plants

The Fairfax County Park Authority FCPA, a core member of the National Capital – Partnership for Regional Invasive Species Management (Nat-Cap PRISM), has been awarded a grant from the Virginia Department of Forestry. The grant, part of the FY25 Virginia PRISM Support for Invasive Species Program, will provide $60,827 to manage invasive species across FCPA parkland. The funds must be used by the end of June 2025.

The funding will support the Early Detection Rapid Response (EDRR) program, an initiative designed to identify and control new populations of invasive plant species before they become established and cause ecological harm. Target species include fountain grass (Cenchrus purpurascens), yellow archangel (Lamium galeobdolon), Java water dropwort (Oenanthe javanica) and floating primrose willow (Ludwigia peploides).

The EDRR approach focuses on surveys to detect newly arriving, rapidly spreading invasive plants. Once identified, these species are quickly targeted for removal by volunteers or contractors, preventing them from outcompeting native flora and disrupting local ecosystems. The project Invader Detectives, using the iNaturalist app, allows anyone to add observations of plants, alerting FCPA ecologists to new invasive species.

This grant will enable FCPA and its partners to expand surveys, map occurrences of priority EDRR invasive species and conduct timely eradication efforts. The initiative builds on the ongoing work of the Invasive Management Area Program, which is primarily a volunteer-based habitat restoration program.

For more information about the EDRR program and how to get involved, visit the Fairfax County Park Authority’s IMA webpage. 

 

Elly Doyle Park Service Awards 2023 – Early Detection Rapid Response Team

/in , /by

FMN Betty Hoblitzell has been a Fairfax Master Naturalist since 2013 but her dedication to habitat restoration and a long-term commitment to Fairfax County Park system goes back longer. She has worked with the Rapid Response Team for 13 years, attending some of the first organizational meetings in 2010.

According to the National Park Service the Early Detection and Rapid Response (EDRR) program finds new populations of certain invasive species through methodical surveys as they are starting to invade an area and then eradicates them before they cause serious ecological harm in county parks. The concept EDRR is fundamental to effective invasive species management. The program adds information to Early Detection and Distribution Mapping System (EDDMapS) that tracks invasive species across the country.

Invasive plant species are known for their stealth, quietly invading neighborhood parks, a meadow or woodlands area, overwhelming native plants and before you know it, taking the place over. To combat this aggressive behavior, the Early Detection Rapid Response Team was developed and is ready to go on short notice, leading surveys for the Park Authority’s Invasive Management Area program and determining the appropriate actions.

At the core of this innovative approach are three volunteers including FMN Betty Hoblitzell who have demonstrated their ability, knowledge of the environment and amazing dedication to the Park Authority.  They spend many hours engaged plant specific surveillance throughout the 24,000-acre park system. Post survey, they report on invasive density, removal efforts, volunteer or contractor treatment options and create a rough map of the infested area.

In the past year, these three committed volunteers have given more than 225 hours to Rapid Response teamwork, covering more than 200 acres in a matter of months. Their work has curbed wavyleaf basket grass incursions, as well as multiflora rose, stopping the spread early to conserve time, money, and other resource management tools.