20 Years of the National Park Service’s Invasive Plant Management Team Program; Curtis Deuser

 

 

 

Terri Hogan¹,  Curtis Deuser²*

 

¹National Park Service, 1201 Oakridge Dr. Suite 200, Fort Collins, CO. 80525; Terri_Hogan@nps.gov

²Lake Mead Inter-Regional Invasive Plant Management Team 601 Nevada Highway, Boulder City, NV 89005; Curt_Deuser@nps.gov 

 

 

The National Park Service’s Invasive Plant Management Teams (IPMT), formerly Exotic Plant Management Teams (EPMT), provide leadership, expertise, assistance, and education to address the impacts that invasive plants pose to the resources entrusted to the National Park Service. IPMTs conduct invasive plant surveys, inventories, early detection and rapid response (EDRR) efforts, and treatment. They engage in other aspects of ecological restoration such as native seed collection and planting of native plant species. They support education, outreach, and prevention of introductions through education. Teams enhance parks’ ability to manage invasive plant species by training park staff in invasive species management technics. The program began 20 years ago through Natural Resource Challenge funding which was special funding specifically to support scientifically informed ecological management in the National Park Service. The program will celebrate its 20^th anniversary in 2020. It has undergone many changes and has celebrated significant accomplishments in that time. The IPMT program continues to be dynamic and relevant to units of the national park system with significant projects planned for 2020.