Invasive Plant Track at the Texas Plant Conservation Conference At this year’s 2010 Texas Plant Conservation Conference, the Texas Invasive Plant and Pest Council (TIPPC) will be hosting a session on invasive plants. The 2010 Texas Plant Conservation Conference is being held at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin, from September 15-17th. The conference is currently accepting invasive plant related abstract submissions for both oral and poster presentations. The deadline for abstract submission is July 2nd, please see the Abstract Submission Guidelines for further details. Tallowtrees Spreading Rapidly Across the Gulf Coast A study by the U.S. Forest Service shows the numbers of nonnative Chinese tallowtree in Louisiana, Mississippi and east Texas grew by about 370% over a 16-year period. Chinese tallowtree is native to China and was introduced to South Carolina in the 1700s. It has now taken over 457,000 acres in 9 of the 13 southern states. The spread of tallowtrees creates problems for plants and wildlife along the Gulf coast. Learn More   Oklahoma Invasive Plant Council Annual Meeting Our neighbors to the north will be hosting their annual invasive species meeting. The Oklahoma Invasive Plant and Pest Council is having their annual meeting at Oklahoma State University – Oklahoma City campus on July 14, 2010. The meeting will include invited speakers, poster presentations, and a business meeting. To view the 2010 agenda and register please visit the OkIPC website. Invasive Spotlight: Johnsongrass (Sorghum halepense) If you are driving down any major roadways this time of the year, you are bound to see Johnsongrass showing its ugly face (or inflorescence). Johnsongrass is a perennial grass with vigorous rhizomes. It is a coarse grass with reddish to purplish-black panicles, growing to 2 m tall. Plants can rapidly develop colonies, and is considered one of the 10 most noxious weeds in the world. Johnsongrass grows rapidly, is highly competitive with crops, and can be difficult to control. Infestations in crops can reduce harvest yields significantly. Healthy plants can provide good forage for livestock. However, foliage of johnsongrass can produce toxic amounts of hydrocyanic acid when exposed to frost or stressed by drought and may be poisonous to livestock when ingested. Learn more about Johnsongrass and other Texas Invasives. More News 2010 Registration for Potential Invasive Pest Workshop More information 2010 Request for Proposals for Pulling Together Initiative More information If you would like your invasive species event or news listed in the next iWire, please send the details to iwire@texasinvasives.org. Citizen Scientist of the Month: Rusty Thomas Rusty Thomas, of the El Camino Real Invaders, quickly took the bull by the horns and started recording invasives throughout the Post Oak Savannahs. He reached the 50 observation mark first in his Invaders class and earned a new GPS. Congratulations, Rusty! Satellite leaders, if you have an outstanding citizen scientist that you want to recognize, please send a story about them to Travis Gallo. Invaders of Texas in the Spotlight The Urban Natural Resources Institute Informational Webcast highlighted four Citizen Monitoring Programs using various best practices to educate and engage citizen scientists in early detection and ongoing monitoring of invasive pests. The session featured Travis Gallo (Invaders of Texas), Angela Gupta (Minnesota Forest Pest First Detectors), Sarah Kirn (Vital Signs), and Jennifer Schwarz Ballard (Project Budburst). You can view the webcast online at http://www.unri.org/webcasts/archive/may-2010/. Invaders of Texas Citizen Science Workshops 2010 We have a workshop in the Pineywoods and one in the North Texas area scheduled for the summer months. To stay up-to-date or request a new workshop, please visit our Workshop Page. Wednesday July 14, 2010 9am-4pm Livingston, TX Saturday August 28, 2010 9am-4pm Heard Museum, McKinney, TX