Invasive Plant Management: Principles for Project Planning and Site Management

1. Incorporate Awareness of the Problem of Invasive Plants into the Primary Levels of Decision Making
   1. Make sure planning engineers and others think about how to prevent the establishment and spread of invasive plants when they first plan projects (location, layout, design, and decisions about alternatives).
   2. Make sure field people are trained to recognize invasive plants.
   3. Set a good example by maintaining invasive-free public building grounds.
   4. Don't plant invasive plants.
   5. Become aware of heavily infested sites in the local area and avoid unnecessary movement of equipment through them.
   6. When people use public or private lands for special events, have them agree to invasive plant prevention measures, as needed.
2. Avoid Spreading Invasive Plants.
   1. Don't set up staging areas in places with heavy invasive plant infestations.
   2. Think about the sequence of movement of equipment to avoid bringing seeds from heavily infested sites to non-infested ones.
   3. Be aware of the seasons when different invasives are producing seeds.
   4. Keep equipment and trailers free of seeds and plant parts that will sprout.
   5. Don't move contaminated fill, gravel, etc. to non-infested project sites.
   6. Stockpile separately contaminated and uncontaminated materials.
3. Manage Project Site Conditions to Discourage Invasive Plants.
   1. When appropriate, control existing invasive plants on the site before beginning project.
   2. Minimize soil disturbance.
   3. Minimize disturbance of native plants.
   4. Retain as much shade as possible to make site less hospitable to invaders.
   5. Re-vegetate quickly with non-invasive plants.
4. Understand and Use Timely Invasive Plant Control Measures. A. Know the options for species-specific invasive plant control. B. Make sure field people have the necessary training and equipment

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