Spring, 2009

1. Calendar: Meetings, Work Events and Field Courses
2. Invasive Weed News: Funding updates, Reports on 2008 activities
3. Resource Review: Calflora
4. Coordinator's Comments: Thanks to Partners and Appeal for New Partners

1. Calendar:
   Our calendar for March, and beyond, is now available [ click here].
   Highlights are:
   • Tuesday, March 10, 2009 : State-wide WMA meeting
   • Wednesday, March 11, 2009 : Weed Day at the Capitol
   • Saturday, March 14, 2009 : Broom Bash for Montgomery Woods
   • Saturday, March 21, 2009 : Big River Stewards Monthly Invasive Plants Removal Workday
   • Wednesday, March 25, 2009 : General MCWMA meeting
   • Wednesday - Thursday, May 13-14, 2009 : Cal-IPC Wildland Weed Field Courses
   All MCWMA meetings are open to the public.
   
   
2. Invasive Weed News:
   • Update from Mendocino County Fire Safe Council, February 2009: The Mendocino County Fire Safe Council has been awarded a $108,850 grant for gorse removal in the Caspar area in order to reduce wildfire hazard. Originally supported by the Bureau of Land Management and anticipated to start in February 2009, the project will instead be funded by the U.S. Forest Service, whose funds will arrive at a yet unknown time later this year.
   • Call for Proposals for 2010 CDFA WMA Funding : Proposals due April 7, 2009
     To download the full packet, look for "WMA Program 2009"- it's called 2009 even though the funding is for 2010 - on the CDFA Weed Management Areas: Program Details site.
   • Mendocino County WMAs 2008 Annual Report Released, February 2009
   • 2008 Cal-IPC Symposium Proceedings Released
   See our website for current and past news items.
   
   
3. Resource Review:
   Calflora now has listings of observations and specimens of noxious weeds submitted to CDFA, as well as other California herbaria.
   
   
4. Coordinator's Comments:
   In reviewing where we have come since our initial meetings in 2004 and 2005, I feel the MCWMA has really matured into an effective organization. Over these (has it really been?) four years, at times I felt we would never get beyond the word-smithing and paper-shuffling phase. Thanks to the efforts and patience of our Partners, we are now reaping the benefits of that work. We have successfully competed for funding to carry out surveys and on-the-ground weed projects, and our efforts have provided leverage to other organizations, such as the Mendocino County Fire Safe Council, to also enhance their weed management efforts.
   
   If you are currently an MCWMA Partner, please give yourself a pat on the back. If you are not already an MCWMA Partner, please consider: Would you like to be a part of this effort? All that is required is the signature of an authorized individual from your organization to our Memorandum of Understanding. No financial obligation is involved. Benefits include the opportunity to participate in the decision regarding the projects submitted to compete for the WMA Supplemental Funding from CDFA (up to $50,000 per year per county), as well as setting priorities for expending our Baseline Funding (guaranteed $16,000+ per year per county.) Please contact our Coordinator, Tara Athan at coord at mcwma.org or call 485-1198 for more details.