Conference sessions and workshops (unless otherwise indicated on the schedule) will be held at the new Florida State University Conference Center.
| 8:30 am to 5 pm | Symposium: Fire Management in the Era of Climate Change Symposium: Invasive Species; Early Detection, Rapid Assessment and Rapid Response |
| 8:30 am to noon | Symposium: Adaptation and Management of Biodiversity Symposium: Restoration of Longleaf Systems Symposium: Identifying and Mitigating the Invasion Risk of Bioenergy Crops |
| 1:30 to 5 pm | Symposium: Restoration of Groundcover in Longleaf Systems Symposium: All Taxa Invasive Species Issues |
| 8:30 am to 5 pm | Workshop: Biology and Control of Cogongrass (Imperata cylindrica): Research and Management Updates |
| 8:30 am to 5 pm | Symposium: Tracking and Monitoring Species and Communities in Times of Change |
| 8:30 am to noon | Workshop: Conservation Planning for Effective Action Workshop: Strategic Vegetation Management: Principles and Practices |
| 1:30 to 5 pm |
Wednesday, Nov. 2, 8:30 am – 5 pm
Leader Zachary Prusak, The Nature Conservancy, Fire Manager for the Florida Chapter
Morning A symposium focusing on the most recent science relating to both carbon storage/sequestration and carbon dioxide buildup in the atmosphere and how these might affect both wildfires and controlled burning. Techniques and approaches to plan prescribed fires for species management will be addressed in light of the growing concern about atmospheric CO2 levels. This session will culminate in a panel discussion led by land managers and some of the speakers focused on how land managers can apply this recent science directly to the landscape.
Afternoon Contributed papers on fire management.
From Florida to Saskatchewan, and from fire in urban landscapes to the wilderness, prescribed fire practitioners from many parts of North America will share observations and perspectives on fire management to improve the health of native systems.
Wednesday, Nov. 2, 8:30 am – 5 pm
Leader NAEPPC (to be determined)
Even the best preventive efforts cannot stop all invasive species. Early Detection, Rapid Assessment and Rapid Response (EDRR) is a critical second defense against the establishment of invasive populations. EDRR increases the likelihood that localized invasive populations will be found, contained and eradicated before they become widely established. EDRR can slow range expansion and avoid the need for costly long-term control efforts. Volunteer networks, cooperative weed management areas and cooperative invasive species management areas serve as great first-line defenses for early detection and rapid response. This session will feature speakers from across the country and highlight several different data systems. It will conclude with a panel discussion and ways to work together to move forward.
Wednesday, Nov. 2, 8:30 am – noon
Leader Doug Parsons, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
This symposium will host speakers focusing on the emerging field of adaptation in conservation planning. Adaptation strategies will need to be developed in response to the projected temperature increases associated with global climate change. Speakers will address new tools and resources available, while participants will see how adaptation planning cuts across all conservation sectors and requires new and innovative approaches to research and management. The symposium will feature representatives from government, nonprofits, academia and the private sector, all on the cutting edge of adaptation planning.
Wednesday, Nov. 2, 8:30 am – noon
Leader Kris Connor, Southern Research Station, USFS
Fire-dependent longleaf pine systems used to dominate landscapes in the southeast from North Carolina to east Texas and down to south-central Florida. Today, less than 2 percent of this native landscape still exists, and there is a major effort to restore areas to longleaf, with the rich groundcover and fauna than goes with it. This half-day symposium will focus on issues associated with longleaf pine trees for successful restoration projects. Many factors associated with genetics, local climate, changing climate, types of seedlings used and the interaction of carbon with long leaf systems impact both the rationale for and the success of any particular restoration project. Speakers for this symposium will represent the U.S. Forest Service Southern Research Station, as well as the University of Florida, Auburn University and the American Forest Foundation.
Wednesday, Nov. 2, 8:30 am – noon
Leader Jacob Barney, Ph.D., Virginia Tech
The emerging bioenergy sector will likely comprise crops that require minimal inputs, be tolerant of poor growing conditions, establish rapidly, and produce abundant biomass — traits shared by many of our worst invasive species. A combination of "invasive" traits and the scale of cultivation make bioenergy crops unique from traditional agronomic crops in their invasive potential. This symposium will bring together academics, industry representatives and government regulators to identify the potential for invasiveness in bioenergy crops, evaluate a case study of unintended consequences, give an overview of the regulatory framework, discuss the mitigation potential for escapes, and give insight into how the industry is taking active steps to reduce the invasion risk.
Wednesday, Nov. 2, 1:30 – 5 pm
Leader Dr. Holly Ober, Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida
Sponsor Conserved Forests, Education, Outreach and Research (CFEOR)
This symposium will be based on the handbook published in 2010 by CFEOR called Groundcover Restoration, In Forests of the Southeastern United States. Dr. Ober, together with Jennifer Trusty, coordinated publication of the handbook, which provides a summary of what is known about groundcover restoration based upon research and also provides a comprehensive listing of resources needed to complete a project. The research summary is grounded in the practical realities for successful upland restoration as learned by land managers across the state and region.
Partnered Field Trip (Recommended) FT-09 Longleaf Pine & Groundcover Restoration Techniques at Torreya State Park/Apalachicola Bluffs & Ravines Reserve
Wednesday, Nov. 2, 1:30 – 5 pm
Leader NAEPPC (To be determined)
Not all invasive species issues have to do with plants. This session will feature speakers addressing animal- and disease-related invasive species issues pertaining to the Southeast and policy issues nationwide.
Thursday, Nov. 3, 8:30 am – 5 pm
Leader Nancy Lowenstein, Ph.D., Auburn University
Cogongrass continues its rapid spread across the Southeast, reducing forest and pasture productivity, destroying wildlife habitat, impacting rights of way and presenting an extreme fire hazard. Historically, cogongrass management efforts have met with variable success. However, increasing interest and concern continue to fuel research into the development of successful management techniques for control and eradication.
This daylong workshop will be composed of two sessions. During the morning, new findings regarding cogongrass genetics, impacts on insect biodiversity, interactions with pine decline, and successful integrated techniques for population eradication including herbicide efficacy and site restoration will be presented by researchers from across the Southeast. During the afternoon, lessons learned from efforts to control cogongrass, which were funded by an ARRA stimulus grant, will be presented by representatives from several states that received money. Panel discussions providing opportunities for in-depth exploration of issues will follow each session.
Friday, Nov. 4, 8:30 am – 5 pm
Leader Gary Knight, Director, Florida Natural Areas Inventory
Understanding the distribution of species and communities on the landscape, and how these elements of biodiversity change over time has always been a fundamental part of conservation planning. Such knowledge is even more important in a changing world: Familiar threats such as habitat loss are now compounded by the unprecedented peril of global climate change and the ever-growing menace of invasive exotic species.
Understanding the science behind these issues today is not enough. In the face of diminishing funding for natural resource management, it is imperative to communicate a message of efficient conservation land management to a larger audience. This session will explore novel approaches to tracking and monitoring species and communities, examples of new information management tools that help inform land management decision making, and an innovative new Web tool that delivers science-based conservation information for the U.S.
Friday, Nov. 4, 8:30 am – 5 pm
Leader NAEPPC (to be determined)
Contributed papers will be highlighted covering the entire range of invasive plant management, from chemical to biological control, as well as what you do once the species is controlled. Other speakers will demonstrate new tools for risk assessment, modeling and decision support/expert systems.
Friday, Nov. 4, 8:30 am – noon
Leader Jora Young. The Nature Conservancy, Director, Conservation Action Training
The Conservation Measures Partnership published an open source approach to conservation project planning and management in 2004 called The Open Standards for the Practice of Conservation. In doing so, they established a common and usable approach to adaptively design and manage conservation projects to foster better conservation. Today, thousands of project teams all over the world are applying the Open Standards in hundreds of distinct (yet recognizable) ways to develop strategies and measures and manage their conservation projects. One important outgrowth of this work was the establishment of the Conservation Coaches Network (CCNet), almost 300 trained coaches from 59 countries and 39 organizations. The CCNet has catalyzed effective conservation projects worldwide by supporting teams in the practice of the Open Standards and sharing knowledge, best practices and innovation.
Join us in this interactive workshop to explore the basic steps in the Open Standards, learn more about the Conservation Coaches Network, and see if you would like to be part of this “open source” movement.
Friday, Nov. 4, 8:30 am – noon
Leader Linda C. Duever, Conway Conservation, Inc.
Strategic Vegetation Management (SVM)™ is a holistic, long-term method of achieving land management goals by persuading nature to do most of the work. The key to SVM is an adaptive management approach that uses strategically applied interventions to promote the competitiveness of desired species while exploiting the vulnerabilities of problematic species. SVM is an effort to assist managers to get to the cause of problems, rather than applying treatments to deal with symptoms. SVM allows land managers to adjust to today’s unpredictable funding levels and extreme weather by adapting priorities to evolving circumstances instead relying on plans oriented to rigid budgets and schedules. The method depends upon the observational skills of managers and then uses strike-force mechanisms to quickly respond to changing conditions. This will be an interactive workshop providing participants with plenty of opportunities to learn about SVM and chances to offer input to the presenters to help them further develop the methodology.
Friday, Nov. 4, 1:30 – 5 pm
Leader NAEPPC (to be determined)
Education and outreach are imperative to implementing a successful invasive species program. This session will highlight three programs and end with a roundtable discussion on other programs that individual EPPCs and IPCs are developing.