Nelroy Jackson
Wednesday, October 15, 2008 - 9:30-10:00
Team Arundo is a coalition of Riverside, San Bernardino and Orange county agencies, Riverside city, Regional bodies, Private institutions and NGO stakeholders in the Santa Ana River Basin in Southern California. The objective of the collaboration was the removal of Arundo donax within the Basin and the accrual of various benefits such as water recovery, flood control, fire hazard reduction, restoration of habitat for threatened and endangered bird, plant and fish species, and renewal of recreational resources. The regulatory and jurisdictional hurdles that were encountered and overcome by Team Arundo over a period of years, included issues arising from enforcement of the Clean Water and Endangered Species Acts. IWAC (Invasive Weed Awareness Coalition) and NIWAW (National Invasive Weed Awareness Week) represent the formation and success of partnerships on a national scale. IWAC is a coalition of people from federal, state, county governments, plus NGO’s, Industry and Scientific organizations. The original purpose of IWAC was to raise awareness of invasive weed or plant issues in the US congress, the Administration and federal agencies, and in the public. NIWAW is held annually in February in Washington DC. The growth of NIWAW activities and attendance over the past 9 years has expanded the partnership base with wildlife groups and garden clubs, and the geographic breadth of the people and organizations participating in NIWAW. Through NIWAW we have built a coalition of Weed or Invasive Plant organizations, improved congressional as well as administration awareness, and done Public Outreach via newspapers, radio, TV, and magazines.
Keywords: ARUNDO, PARTNERSHIP, INVASIVE, COALITION, COLLABORATION