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Michigan's Invasive Species Community

Vicki Sawicki

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  1. The Mason-Lake Conservation District is seeking a Forest Pest Coordinator to focus on management of invasive hemlock woolly adelgid. The position is based in Scottville, MI (near Ludington), with work to focus in Mason county and occasionally other shoreline counties throughout west and northwest Michigan. POSITION DETAILS Term: This is a full-time, limited term, grant-funded position. Two-year term ends June 2023 with potential to extend dependent on funding. Duty Location: Mason-Lake Conservation District office, Scottville, MI Schedule: 40 hours/week, Monday-Friday, 8:00am – 4:30pm; hours may vary due to site access or weather conditions Compensation: Starting at $18 - $20/hour, dependent on experience Benefits: Paid federal holidays, paid vacation and sick leave, IRA option with matching employer contribution Closing Date: April 2nd, 2021 Please see the attached vacancy announcement for further details. 2021 Forest Pest Coordinator job posting.pdf
  2. NCCISMA is hiring 2 field crew leads and 2 field crew members for the 2020 field season. Duty locations are Scottville and Paris, Michigan. The deadline to apply is March 8, 2020. Full job description and application instructions can be found here: https://www.northcountryinvasives.org/job-postings.html
  3. NOW HIRING - Full-time Outreach Coordinator NCCISMA is seeking an outgoing and creative individual to coordinate and administer our varied outreach programs. The deadline to apply is March 8, 2020. To learn more or apply visit: https://www.northcountryinvasives.org/job-postings.html
  4. Hey Megan, Another great ID book that I thought I should mention is the Cranbrook Shrubs of Michigan by Cecil Billington. Last time I checked it was (sadly) out of print, but if you can get your hands on a used copy, it is, in my opinion, the very best for shrub ID. Vicki
  5. For terrestrial plant ID I start with Newcomb's. That can usually get me to the genus. I then go to the University of Michigan Flora, https://michiganflora.net/ This site lists the species known to exist in the state and has the most up to date county records, tells you info about the habitat you will find it in (upland vs. wet), and indicates not only whether it is exotic or native, but includes the coefficient of conservation for each species (which generally indicates rarity). The site also has a lot of great pics. (side note: check out the listing for Linum sulcatum - not the best pic, but I am still delighted at my find) If this cheaters route to species ID doesn't lead to an obvious answer, I use Gleason's for ID, and then cross reference to the U of M Flora to determine species origin.
  6. Treatment of TOH is indeed a problem. I have only seen effective control of TOH using a basal bark of the ester formulation of triclopyr in the hottest part of summer. This is super effective; I have literally seen it work in one treatment. The problem is that this control is not an available option in many of the situations where we find TOH. For instance, TOH is common in urban landscaping and we also find it in public parks, areas where it is not safe to leave a large tree in place until it is dead. Also, we have situations in NCCISMA where TOH is growing in fruit orchards. These TOH would obviously be top of the list priorities for control, to protect the fruit crops in preparation for SLF invasion. Unfortunately, triclopyr is not approved for use in crop sites. We are looking into other options to experiment with cut-stumping TOH in 2020.
  7. I do not think you should have to pay anything to get information about your CISMA into your local newspapers. We regularly submit press releases about stuff we are doing, and they often publish them. Also, we occasionally provide feature length articles to several of our local papers and they use them. I suppose it depends...the Detroit News might not publish your stuff, but smaller cities, like Cadillac, Ludington, and Big Rapids, are often happy to have free quality content to include for their readers. Also, I make sure to let local reporters know they can call me on slow news days, and they do. Presenting at County Commissioner meetings has proven a great way to meet up with the press, as they always have someone there. Just some ideas from my experience.
  8. NCCISMA is putting on a workshop for a statewide educators conference. I will be presenting what NCCISMA has done in classrooms, but wanted to also include what resources are available through other CISMAs in Michigan. Its short notice for my presentation, taking place 9/27/19, but would be interesting to see what everyone is doing with their local schools anyways. Hoping some of you see this before the 27th though. Here's what NCCISMA has done in classrooms. I will include more details once we have them typed up. Manual control workdays - Garlic Mustard Pulls Invasive species identification walking tours Native vs. Invasives outdoor active game MISIN reporting Contest
  9. We use Jactos. They are very well made, and we have not had any problems with them. Solos do not hold up. The one time we had a problem with a Jacto, we called their customer service and the company was excellent about providing a free replacement. Ours are the blue plastic, which we do not have a problem with seeing what is left in it. We also have a couple of their self oscillating models. Which are great if you are using Escort, since you either need to continuously oscillate or use ammonia as a carrier with that chemical.
  10. Attached are the appendices from NCCISMA's strategic plan, which outlines our policy for choosing steering committee members, and also what their responsibilities are. It is pretty vague. The way it has really worked is the existing steering committee discusses someone we either want to invite or that has asked to join. All the additional members (besides the founding members that included USFS & CDs) have been chosen because they represented a group that we wanted to reach. For instance, MSU Extension crop pest educator to help us reach farmers & College Science Department Head to become known in that community, etc. I think 15 is too many people. We have a limit of 12, but we have ten, which is plenty. We have a participation requirement, and we have replaced a couple that were not able to regularly attend. We also wrote in a means to dismiss members, since we found that one negative force can really make things difficult. I recommend you establish this policy before you have a need for it. Also, I would caution against inviting members that have very narrowly focused objectives in regards to invasive species management. Some partners are only interested in invasive species management as it pertains to their own goals. For instance, some of the CRCs that we partner with are concerned with Japanese knotweed because it is damaging their roads, but are unconcerned with other high priority species on their roadsides because they do not interfere with what they are concerned with. This is fine for a partner, but you really want folks that are all-in on the steering committee. Also, try to pick folks that you think will be willing to roll their sleeves up and help out. My steering committee does a lot of work towards our semi-annual partner meetings - reserving venues; ordering, serving, and paying for or finding sponsors for meals; set-up, greeting, clean-up. They also do a lot of document/outreach-material review. If you do not have that kind of commitment from your steering committee, then you will be doing it all yourself. Just some thoughts. I hope this is helpful Appendices to Strat Plan 19 - NCCISMA.docx
  11. Over the past 2 years we have had a few occurences of poison hemlock, just 1-4 plants each, within our CISMA. This is very new to the area. I have heard that it is prevalent on roadsides south of Michigan, being opportunistic of disturbance. I noticed on Michigan Flora that there are known occurrences both north & south of the six counties of NCCISMA. Has anyone seen this species actively outcompeting natives and impacting habitat (beyond the ROWs)? Since the risk to human health comes from eating it, which is a bad idea for a lot of plants, I do not think the risk to human health qualifies it as invasive. Wondering if I should make control of poison hemlock a priority? Insight and input on this would be appreciated!
  12. North Country CISMA has an opening and is seeking a Seasonal Invasive Species Technician to perform botanical surveys and invasive species control activities over a six county area. The ideal candidate will be an experienced Certified Pesticide Applicator, as they will also act as back-up field crew lead, and assist the field crew in performing invasive species management activities.  The candidate will be conduct invasive species surveys in parks and along trails; terrestrial surveys by foot and aquatic surveys by kayak/canoe. This is a full-time seasonal position, working 40 hours per week for up to 24 weeks. Duty location may be in either Cadillac, Scottville or Paris, MI. Starting pay is $15.00 - $17.00 per hour, commensurate with experience. This position is grant funded, start date is May 6th with funding until the end of October. Deadline to apply is March 18th, 2019. See the attached file for more information about the position and how to apply. Seasonal Tech FINAL 2019_ Job Posting_Mason-Lake employee.pdf
  13. The North Country CISMA is seeking two Seasonal Crew Leads and 4 Seasonal Crew Members for invasive species management and habitat restoration work within the six counties we serve. These are full-time seasonal positions. Benefits include paid federal holidays and vacation/sick leave. Crew Lead pays $13-$15 per hour for up to 24 weeks, preferred start date is April 22nd-May 6th, 2019, deadline to apply is March 18th, 2019 Crew Member pays $11-$13 per hour for up to 16 weeks, preferred start date is May 6th, 2018, deadline to apply is March 18th, 2019 Refer to the attached job postings for position details and application instructions. For more information visit NorthCountryInvasives.org Field Crew Lead FINAL 2019_job posting.pdf Seasonal Field Crew FINAL 2019_job Posting.pdf
  14. North Country CISMA has an opening for someone, with experience and expertise in invasive species identification and control, to act as their Invasive Species Technician. This person will provide technical assistance to property owners, and assist the NCCISMA Program Coordinator with data collection and management. The ideal candidate will be an experienced Certified Pesticide Applicator, as they will also act as back-up field crew lead, and assist the field crew in performing invasive species management activities. This is a full time, 40hr/week, year-round position. Duty location may be in either Cadillac or Scottville, MI. Starting pay is $15.00 - $17.00 per hour, commensurate with experience. This position is grant funded, with funding currently in place through April of 2020. NCCISMA intends for this to be a long-term position, and will be pursuing funding to that effect. Deadline to apply is April 2, 2018. See the attached file for more information about the position and how to apply. IS Tech Job Posting_3-7-18.pdf
  15. The North Country CISMA is seeking a Seasonal Crew Leader and 3 Seasonal Crew Members for invasive species management and habitat restoration work within the six counties we serve. These are full-time seasonal positions. Benefits include paid federal holidays and vacation/sick leave Crew Lead pays $12-$14 per hour for up to 24 weeks, preferred start date is May 7, 2018, deadline to apply is April 2, 2018 Crew Member pays $10-$12 per hour for up to 16 weeks, preferred start date is May 14th, 2018, deadline to apply is April 9, 2018 Refer to the attached job postings for position details and application instructions. For more information visit NorthCountryInvasives.org Field Lead job posting_3-7-18.pdf Seasonal Field Crew Posting_3-7-18.pdf
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