The Refuge, through a Cooperative Agreement with our Friends of the Tualatin River Refuge, proposes to build volunteer capacity for combating invasive species on the refuge and to build awareness of and stewardship for managing invasive species issues, both on the Refuge and in the surrounding watershed community. We will work with volunteers to develop comprehensive invasive plant species maps on the refuge. We plan to develop and conduct intensive volunteer training modules for identifying, GPS mapping, and combating invasive species. Emphasis will be placed on the detection and prevention of new infestations to assign highest priority to existing infestations that are the fastest growing, most disruptive, and affect habitat restoration actions the greatest. Difficulty of control will be a priority under this project for identifying infestations the refuge currently has limitations in combating due to lack of resources. The project will incorporate elements of the Early Detection and Rapid Response System for invasive plants. In addition, we will host monthly volunteer activities and/or work parties specifically dedicated to controlling and/or removing invasive species on the refuge.
