California Invasive Plant Council (Cal-IPC)

Conservation science: cal-ipc supports the state's land managers in effective stewardship. We maintain tools, such as the inventory of Invasive plants in California and calweedmapper that provide important information on Invasive plants. We produce guides on best practices for controlling Invasive plants, like the new weedcut online tool hosted by the university of California. We research the impacts of Invasive plants to rare native plants, including the role of climate change, to help land managers set priorities. To help prevent the spread of new weeds, we lead an effort with colleagues in az, or, nv, and wa to proactively evaluate the risk of plants becoming Invasive in the future. We provide coordination for regional projects, such as the Invasive spartina project in san francisco bay.

Policy: cal-ipc works in sacramento to strengthen state Invasive Plant programs. One focus is securing funding for collaborative Invasive Plant management performed by county weed management areas (wmas). We also track bills in the legislature that are relevant to effective land stewardship, working with authors and committees to amend language as needed. (one focus in 2022 was the role of "ecologically sensitive vegetation management" in reducing wildfire fuels.) The state's interagency Invasive species Council and its advisory committee were created via legislation sponsored by cal-ipc, and we actively track and support their efforts. At the regional and national level, cal-ipc works with other states on issues of common interest, such as federal funding and Invasive Plant assessment.

Education: cal-ipc supports the state's land managers in effective stewardship and seeks to expand and diversify the conservation field. We completed fourteen trainings for conservation corps members around the san francisco bay area and participated in an ecological workforce development effort as part of the California biodiversity network. Over 600 people attended our 2022 symposium online, with three days of presentations, trainings, and discussion groups.