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Invasive Species
What are invasive plants? (from our friends at PlantRight.org)

Across California, invasive plants damage wildlands, displace native plants and wildlife, increase wildfire and flood danger, consume valuable water, degrade recreational opportunities, and destroy productive range and timber lands.

Most of the plants used in gardens and landscaping do not invade or harm wildland areas. But a few vigorous species can - and do - escape from cultivation into open landscapes where they cause a variety of ecological problems. They crowd out native plants, insects and animals, clog waterways, and can lead to increased flooding, fire and crop losses.

When an aggressive plant is introduced to a new environment, the predators that would normally limit their growth in their home environment may not be present. This allows them to proliferate, spread, and take over natural habitats. Each invasive plant has its own strategy for growth and dispersal. Some have seeds that are spread by the wind, like pampas grass, whose seeds can be blown up to two miles away. Others have seeds that are carried by water or eaten by birds and animals that deposit them far from the parent plant. There are also species that reproduce vegetatively, like Arundo that sprouts new shoots from fallen stalks and plant fragments.

Invasive species are a leading threat to biodiversity, second only to habitat destruction. And the economic cost is as significant as the ecological cost: in California, more than $85 million goes to fighting invasive plant and animals every year1. A much-cited paper by Cornell researchers including David Pimentel estimates the economic impacts of invasive species to be $120 billion a year. If divided equally through the 50 states, the cost to each state averages $2.4 billion annually — and given California's size and resources, the actual impact is likely greater in our state.

Weed Management Areas
Invasives Inventory & Database
Regional Invasive Plants
Native Species
Weed Management Areas
weed management area map Weed Management Areas (WMAs) are local organizations that bring together landowners and managers (private, city, county, State, and Federal) in a county or multi-county geographical area to coordinate efforts and expertise against common invasive and noxious weed species. The WMA functions under the authority of a mutually developed memorandum of understanding (MOU). The WMA develops a Strategic Plan which helps prioritize eradication, control, and containment projects, as well as other WMA activities. The Strategic plan also identifies what specifically each WMA partners contributes toward the overall cooperative nature of the WMA.

A WMA may be voluntarily governed by a chairperson or a steering committee. To date, groups in California have been primarily initiated by either the leadership of the County Agricultural Commissioner’s Office or Resource Conservation District. WMAs are unique because they attempt to address agricultural (regulatory) weeds and “wildland” weeds under one local umbrella of organization. It is hoped that participation will extend from all agencies and private organizations. The primary goal of WMAs is to institute joint eradication, control, and containment projects. Other activities include: promoting prevention practices, coordinating collaborative mapping, sponsoring education outreach, writing grants to secure resources beyond WMA funds, and improving regional collaboration.

Weed Management Area
Butte County Weed Management Area - Oroville, CA

Weed Management Areas in the Region

 El Dorado County Invasive Weed Management Group Sacramento Weed Management Area Solano Weed Management Area Yolo Weed Management Area Napa Weed Management Area Marin & Sonoma Counties Weed Management Area Nevada & Placer Counties Weed Management Area Yuba & Sutter Counties Weed Management Area Butte Weed Management Area Plumas & Sierra Counties Weed Management Area Colusa, Glenn & Tehama Counties Weed Management Area Lake County Weed Management Area Mendocino Coast Cooperative Weed Management Area Lassen County Special Weed Action Team Shasta Weed Management Area Trinity Weed Management Area Modoc Weed Management Area Siskiyou Weed Management Area Del Norte / Humboldt Weed Management Area
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