At the first meeting of the Team Arundo del Norte, an group of 16 
   representatives from agencies and academia met to discuss their involvement 
   with Arundo donax and how they could participate in a coordinated effort to 
   control this invasive plant species.

   The group agreed that our efforts to control non-natives must be done within 
   the context of sound watershed management practices and that a
"problem-based
   approach" is likely to be much less effective.  We want to work cooperatively 
   with existing watershed groups such as Coyote Creek Riparian Station and the 
   Sonoma Ecology Center and address the "problem" of Arundo donax through sound 
   watershed stewardship practices.  We also hope to see new riparian stations 
   emerge to work on developing historical and current pictures of their waterways 
   and to work in an expanding network to control erosion, pollution, invasive 
   species, and other stressors in the environment.  

   To further our specific Arundo eradication efforts, the Team agreed on 5 areas 
   of focus, for which there will be a subcommittee to perform specific tasks and 
   produce materials that will be presented to the full Team.  These areas are:

   1.  Public Outreach and Education.  Sonoma Ecology Center will take the lead in 
   drafting a mission statement (based on group discussion) and will route a draft 
   via email.  Team members are tasked to send their ideas on Arundo control 
   measures to Deanne DiPietro so she can compile them for the brochure.  We will 
   work with the San Francisco Estuary Project and the Estuary Newsletter to have 
   the brochure professionally edited and printed.  We are hopeful this will 
   result in an article in the newsletter as well.  Deanne is also setting up a us
   e group on the Internet for Team members to communicate quickly and 
   efficiently.  There was general discussion about the need for a slide show or 
   video on Arundo to use through a "speaker's bureau" to spread the word to 
   citizen's groups, local government agencies, elected officials, etc.  This 
   subcommittee will also prioritize the public education effort to reach out to 
   nursery owners and others in a way that is most effective in preventing new 
   sources of Arundo introduction.

   2.  Science and Technical Issues.  UC Berkeley and SFEI will take the lead to 
   develop a consortium of scientists interested in the problems and issues 
   associated with Arundo control.  These issues include:  herbicide risk 
   assessment, plant-plant interactions, plant-animal interactions (e.g. insect 
   and bird use of Arundo clumps v. native riparian vegetation), soil changes, 
   water quality and supply effects, refinement of eradication methods (including 
   cut-stump v. foliar application of herbicides, bio-controls, and ways to most 
   effectively remove Arundo in varying levels of infestation), QA/QC, protocols 
   for data collection (hydro-geomorphic measurements, associated plant species, 
   etc), establishing historic condition in watersheds of interest, and 
   coordinating research.

   3.  Policy, Regulations, and Permits.  The focus of this area will be to 
   address the need for permits to perform eradication of Arundo and other 
   invasives in wetlands and other waters of the US.  To eradicate Arundo, permits 
   are typically needed from the following agencies:  US Army Corps (404 dredge 
   and fill permit), Regional Water Quality Control Boards (401 Water Quality 
   Certification), the California Dept. of Fish and Game (1600 Streambed 
   Alteration Agreements), and Air Quality Management Districts (permits to burn 
   biomass).  We hope to get Regional General Permits in place through the San 
   Francisco and Sacramento Corps Districts and perhaps work with the Air Quality 
   Management Districts on permit streamlining.  Also, there are policy issues 
   related to Arundo removal that are emerging.  Notably, there is a question as 
   to the appropriateness of allowing for invasive control measures as full 
   mitigation for permanent impacts to waters of the US.  This and other issues 
   (such as mitigation banking for Arundo control) will need to be addressed by 
   Team Arundo del Norte.

   4.  Coordination and Funding.  There is a great need to coordinate our efforts 
   to leverage funds, avoid duplication, provide feedback mechanisms so that we 
   learn from our mistakes, and to disseminate information from the public, 
   science and policy & permits efforts to the various stakeholders.  The first 
   step is to ensure that the key stakeholders are involved in Team Arundo and are 
   using the Internet to communicate.  This group also has the responsibility for 
   finding grant and other funding opportunities and to organize efforts to apply 
   for or obtaining funds to support public outreach and eradication efforts.

   5.  Eradication.  Clearly, one of the main goals is to kill cane.  We hope to 
   do this by using Conservation Corps, work teams from the California Dept. of 
   Forestry, and citizen volunteers.  Across all of these areas of focus there 
   will need to be feedback loops so that lessons learned and information is 
   passed as appropriate.  We discussed applying for grants to perform Arundo 
   control at four demonstration sites:  1) Gray Lodge State Wildlife Refuge (low 
   gradient, seasonal and permanent palustrine emergent marsh), 2) Union Island 
   (levees in a riverine setting in the Delta), 3) Sonoma Creek (high and low 
   gradient riverine with agriculture and urban uses), and 4) Coyote Creek (low 
   gradient, urbanized riverine system).  We will develop a proposal to be 
   reviewed by SFEI's Committee for Science Advisors to ensure consistency with 
   the Watershed Science Plan.

   The next meeting of Team Arundo is 4 December at SFEI.