2010 Annual Meeting
Invasive Plants: The Impact on Georgia’s Ecology and Economy
A Symposium Sponsored by: The Georgia Exotic Pest Plant Council
November 4, 2010 at Zoo Atlanta
Professionals from all fields of land management are invited to the 2010 Georgia Exotic Pest Plant Council (GA-EPPC) Annual Meeting and Conference. The program consists of presentations from highly regarded experts, working in the field of invasive plant management.
Agenda – PDF
8:00 Registration
9:00 Welcome, EPPC Activity on the State and National Level
Chuck Bargeron, UGA Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health
9:20 Keynote Address
VENIMUS, VIDIMUS, VICIMUS? – INVASIVE SPECIES AND THE LADY BIRD JOHNSON WILDFLOWER CENTER Damon E. Waitt, University of Texas Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
10:10 Invasive Plants and Real Estate Values: Searching for New Opportunities to Access Invasive Plant Problems
Matt Nespeca, Nufarm Americas Inc.
11:00 Break
11:10 Sustainable Landscaping – In a BIG Way
Lee Patrick, Invasive Plant Control, Inc.
12:00 GA-EPPC Election of Officers
12:10 Lunch (included with registration)
1:00 Environmental Impacts of Non-Herbicidal Weed Control
Jimmie Cobb, Dow AgroSciences
1:50 The Challenge of Popularizing Native Plants
John Atkinson, Towaliga Plants
2:40 Break
2:50 Bio-fuels and Invasive Plant Issues
Dr. David J. Moorhead, UGA Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health
3:40 Education and outreach in Georgia, and assessment of current threats
Karan Rawlins, UGA Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health
4:20 Closing remarks, evaluation, pesticide credits
4:30 Adjourn
Credits Approved: Georgia Pesticide Applicator 5.0 hrs. (Cat. 21, 23, 24 and 27)
Continuing Forestry Education Credits 4.0 hrs. (Cat 1 – CF), 1.5 hrs. (Cat 2)
ISA 5.0 hrs. Certified Arborist & Municipal Specialist, 0.75 hrs. Utility Specialist,
ISA-BCMA 3.0 hrs. Management, 1.0 hr. Science, 1.0 hr. Practice
About the Speakers:
Dr. Damon E. Waitt is Senior Botanist and Director of the Native Plant Information Network at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center of the University of Texas. Waitt holds a Ph.D. in Botany from the University of Texas in Austin, an M.S in Botany from Louisiana State University Baton Rouge and a B.S. from Tulane University. Prior to joining the Wildflower Center in 2001, Dr. Waitt served on the faculty at Saint Edward’s University and Southwestern University and as Director of Environmental Programs for the Associated Colleges of the South. He serves as the principal investigator and fundraiser on several projects related to the Wildflower Center’s Pulling Together Invasive Species Initiative including the Invaders of Texas Citizen Science Program and the Be Plant Wise program. He is the project lead on a number of Wildflower Center initiatives including Go Native U (informal adult education), a 16 acre Texas Arboretum and the Wildflower Center’s National affiliate program. Dr. Waitt serves on the Invasive Species Advisory Committee for the National Invasive Species Council, is founder and past president of the Texas Invasive Plant and Pest Council, chair of the National Association of Exotic Pest Plant Councils, chair of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Advisory Committee, serves on the Texas Invasive Species Coordinating Committee Advisory Group, is the Center’s liaison to the National Environmental Coalition on Invasive Species and is Past-president of the Texas Academy of Sciences.
Chuck Bargeron is Technology Director at the University of Georgia Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health. He has led the effort of the Early Detection & Distribution Mapping System (EDDMapS), which provides distribution information of non-native invasive species and serves as an important tool in non-native invasive species management. He also maintains websites of NA-EPPC, SE-EPPC, and several state chapters. Chuck is very active within EPPC and serves on the Board of Directors of Georgia Exotic Pest Plant Council, is Past President of the Southeast Exotic Pest Plant Council, and is President Elect of the National Exotic Pest Plant Council.
Matt Nespeca is a Marketing Manager for Nufarm Americas Inc. Nufarm Americas is an international manufacturer of herbicides, insecticides and fungicides, with a broad portfolio of products that are used in turf, ornamental, forestry, industrial and aquatic plant management. Matt has a B.S. in Forest Resource Management from Auburn University, and a M.S. in Forest Biology from Virginia Tech. He spent 7 years working for American Cyanamid and BASF, and held sales, technical service and marketing positions in forestry, specialty products and wood preservation. Prior to his employment with Nufarm Americas, Matt spent 5 years working for the South Carolina Chapter of The Nature Conservancy and as a vegetation management consultant. Matt is on the board of both the South Carolina Exotic Pest Plant Council, and the South Carolina Vegetation Management Association.
Lee Patrick is Co-Owner, Vice President, and Restoration Ecologist of Invasive Plant Control, Inc. He has 17 years of invasive species management experience ranging from the rotenone treatment of 190 miles of stream and 17,000 surface acres of Strawberry Reservoir watershed to control chubs and suckers for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, to invasive plant management throughout the Eastern United States with Invasive Plant Control, Inc. Invasive Plant Control, Inc. is one of only a few companies in the United States whose sole purpose is the management of Invasive Species nationwide. Focusing specifically on invasive plants has allowed Invasive Plant Control, Inc. to become one of the nations leading private entities for controlling invasive plants. Mr. Patrick also is a founding member of the Tennessee & Southeast Exotic Pest Plant Council (EPPC), and currently serves as Treasurer of SE-EPPC.
Jimmie Cobb is with Dow AgroSciences where he serves as Forestry & IVM Sales Specialist. He received a BS in Forestry at the University of the South and an MS in Forest Ecology at Oregon State University. He is President of the Alabama Invasive Plant Council and serves on the Board of Directors of the Alabama Vegetation Management Society. Jimmie is a Registered Forester, an ISA Certified Arborist, and a Certified Utility Arborist. Prior to joining Dow AgroSciences, he was with Monsanto Company, and has been involved in sales and product development for 32 years.
John Atkinson and his wife Lamyrl own Towaliga Plants, located in Juliette, Georgia. Though they offer a wide palette of plants, they specialize in and encourage the use of native plants. They maintain demonstration gardens at their nursery, so that both good and bad attributes of plant material can be observed. John is a frequent speaker at garden club meetings, encouraging the use of native plants in the landscape.
Dr. David J. Moorhead is Professor of Silviculture at the University of Georgia’s Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources and the Co-Director of the Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health. Moorhead is a native of Louisville, KY and received a B.S. in Forestry from the University of Kentucky; an M.S. in Silviculture/Soils from Mississippi State University and his Ph.D. in Forest Ecophyiology from the University of Missouri-Columbia. He has been with the University of Georgia for 27 years and is involved in extensive program development in the area of invasive species awareness and management, and conducts workshops across the South on invasive plant identification, pathways of spread in forested/natural ecosystems, and management and control techniques. Dr. Moorhead is active in the SE-EPPC; he serves as the GA-EPPC liaison with the National Association of Exotic Pest Plant Councils, and as a member of the National Network of Invasive Plant Centers.
Karan Rawlins is Invasive Plants Coordinator at the University of Georgia Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health. She received her B.S. degree in Biology from the University of Texas in Arlington. While in Texas, Karan began working as a volunteer with the Texas Invaders Program at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, University of Texas at Austin. In her two years there, she collected information, conducted surveys, trained recruits, and led invasive plant field trips. In her current position, her responsibilities include development and delivery of outreach materials, development and operation of the Georgia Invasive Species Task Force, development of Cooperative Invasive Species Management Areas in Georgia, classification of information in the Bugwood Image Database, development and training, installation and management of research plots, and collection of field survey data.
Local Atlanta Accommodations
Hotel Indigo – Green option!
- Visit Hotel Indigo’s website for more details
Holiday Inn at Turner Field
- Visit Holiday Inn’s website for more details
Baymont Inn and Suites in Downtown Atlanta
- Visit Baymont Inn and Suites website for more details
Country Inn & Suites at Turner Field
- Visit Country Inn & Suites website for more details
Directions to Zoo Atlanta
From I-20, take exit 59A. Travel south on Boulevard to Atlanta Avenue, and turn right. Next, turn right onto Cherokee Avenue. Zoo Atlanta’s main parking lot (Cherokee lot) will be on your right. Turn right into the Cherokee Avenue parking lot. The Education Conservation gate at the South corner of this parking lot. No entrance will be granted through Zoo Atlanta’s main gates.