Humboldt County WMA

 

Co-Chairs: 

Susannah Ferson, Director of the Natural Resources Services Division,

Redwood Community Action Agency

Patrick Hoffman, Senior Agricultural/Weights and Measurements Inspector

Humboldt County Dept. of Agriculture

General contact:

Susannah Ferson, (707) 269-2058 or sferson@rcaa.org

Patrick Hoffman, (707) 441-5271 or PHoffman@co.humboldt.ca.us

Meetings:

Quarterly or as needed at the BLM Arcata Field Office

Formed:

1999

WMA Meeting Minutes

Publications

Events

  • Weed Awareness Week
  • Annual Flower Show
  • Volunteer workdays
  • Table at the County Fair
  • Board of Supervisor Proclamations
  • Education campaigns
  • Educational workshops

Programs

  • Lend-A-Wrench Program: The HWMA has Weed Wrenches available for free check-out by community members and organizations wishing to control invasive brooms and other woody shrubs. Weed Wrenches are available at the Bureau of Land Management Arcata Field Office, 1695 Heindon Road (off Janes Road) in Arcata. More information is also available by calling (707) 825-2300.

Projects

     North Coast Dunes Restoration

  • US Fish and Wildlife Services, Redwood Community Action Agency (RCAA), and Friends of the Dunes have partnered to restore more than 350 acres of native dune habitat in Humboldt County. Project funding was awarded by the State Coastal Conservancy, the Wildlife Conservation Board, and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and other project partners include the Mattole Restoration Council, Samara Restoration, the Wiyot Tribe, the American Conservation Experience, DXC Archaeology, UC Santa Barbara, and GR Sundberg, Inc. The project aims to remove invasive plant species like Ammophila arenaria and Lupinus arboreus, which create dense vegetation, outcompete native plants, and over-stabilize the dunes. Replacing invasive plants with native plants allows for sand transport thus boosting dune resiliency to sea level rise. The project will revegetate the dunes with native plants like American dune grass, yarrow, dune buckwheat, and more.

    Knotweed Regional Eradication Effort

  • The Humboldt WMA is pleased to announce that the Wildlife Conservation Board (WCB) has funded a grant to eradicate invasive, non-native species at more than 100 locations in Humboldt and Del Norte Counties. Working with the California Invasive Plant Council, the Humboldt WMA created a strategic plan to eradicate emerging invasive species of great regional threat within five years. In addition to eliminating non-native knotweed, the project also seeks to eradicate limited infestations of rush skeleton weed, giant reed, and shiny geranium from the region before they become larger problems. Knotweed can impact wildlife habitat, especially along waterways, reduce plant diversity, increase erosion, and overgrow pasture, farm, and residential landscapes. Knotweeds are bamboo-like plants, one of the world’s worst invasive plants. These species are migrating southward from Oregon and Washington, where they are being actively controlled. In California, the main occurrences are in these two counties. This project aims to stop its spread in the state. Redwood Community Action Agency (RCAA) is leading the effort, and partners include County Agricultural Departments, California State Parks, the Yurok tribe, Caltrans, and the Mattole Restoration Council.

    Purple Loosestrife Eradication

  • This project is in the 2-mile river corridor of the Eel River Watershed in Humboldt County. The goals are to protect riparian water quality and threatened and endangered anadromous fish habitats. The purple loosestrife eradication integrates manual and herbicide methods. Project partners include California State Parks, Humboldt County, US Fish & Wildlife Service, California Department of Food and Agriculture, California Department of Fish and Game, and U.S. Forest Service.

  Meadow Knapweed Joint WMA Containment

  • Meadow knapweed can be found in Humboldt County in the Weitchpec area. In Del Norte County, this weed can be found in and around Crescent City, along Forest Service routes, and around five acres of a wilderness trailhead. This project was jointly developed when Humboldt and Del Norte counties were a joint WMA and exemplify a bi-county, early detection, and treatment approach to managing an A-rated pest, meadow knapweed. The spread of meadow knapweed is being addressed early to protect habitats and high-value sites such as pasture land, oak woodland communities, riparian areas, river bars, a botanic area, designated wilderness, and designated Wild & Scenic Rivers. This project deliberately engages multiple stakeholders in managing meadow knapweed on all fronts. The project integrates manual hand pulling and grubbing, weed cloth, weed whacking, Waipuna hot foam treatment, revegetation, and herbicide use. Project partners include the U.S. Forest Service, Mid-Klamath Watershed Council, CalTrans, California Department of Food and Agriculture, Del Norte County Agricultural Commission, Yurok Tribe, and Bureau of Land Management.
  • The Bald Hills prairies offer an excellent example of perennial grassland, comprising a diverse mix of native and exotic species but not dominated by any single exotic grass. Harding grass is well-documented for overtaking grasslands and creating large monocultures over time. By preventing the extensive spread of Harding grass in the Bald Hills prairies, Humboldt WMA will preserve the unique assemblage of native plants, preserve high-quality elk habitat, help prevent the widespread establishment of Harding grass on neighboring lands, and preserve the prehistoric and historic landscape. Fifty acres of Harding grass are in the Coyote Creek drainage in Bald Hills, Humboldt County. The main method of control for eradicating Harding grass from the area is herbicides. Project partners are the National Park Service, California Department of Food & Agriculture, and Humboldt WMA.

  Invasive Plants Theater Ad

  • A 20-second outreach video (see above) whose purpose is to raise awareness of the top invasive plants in urban and wildland interface areas of Humboldt County, California. It acknowledges that many invasive plants are beautiful but harmful to agriculture and wildland habitats. The ad encourages people to eradicate invasive plant species on their property. The theater ad was developed by the Humboldt Weed Management Area. The labor, filming, equipment, and software were provided by the Bureau of Land Management Arcata Field Office and James Sowerwine, a Chicago Botanic Garden Intern working for the Bureau of Land Management Arcata Field Office.
  • Humboldt Weed Management Area Invasive Plants theater ad can be viewed here:
    California Invasive Plant Council’s Vimeo page.

Organizations on Humboldt WMA’s MOU

  • Bureau of Land Management, Arcata Field Office
  • California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Region 1
  • California Department of Food and Agriculture
  • California Department of Parks & Recreation, North Coast Redwoods District
  • California Department of Transportation – District 1
  • California Native Plant Society, North Coast Chapter
  • City of Arcata
  • City of Blue Lake
  • City of Eureka
  • Friends of the Dunes
  • Humboldt Bay Harbor Recreation and Conservation District
  • Humboldt County Department of Agriculture
  • Humboldt County Public Works
  • Humboldt County Resource Conservation District
  • Humboldt-Del-Norte Cattlemen’s Association
  • Humboldt Redwood Company
  • Jacoby Creek Land Trust
  • Mattole Restoration Council
  • McKinleyville Land Trust
  • Mid-Klamath Watershed Council
  • National Park Service Redwood National and State Parks
  • Natural Resource Conservation Service
  • Northcoast Regional Land Trust
  • Redwood Community Action Agency
  • Trinidad Coastal Land Trust
  • US Forest Service, Six Rivers National Forest
  • United States Fish & Wildlife Service, Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge
  • University of California Cooperative Extension
  • Yurok Tribe