MNWEC Quarterly Report (January-March 2017)

Transcription

1 MNWEC Quarterly Report (January-March 2017) Shantell Frame-Martin MNWEC Campaign Coordinator March 31, 2017

2 Summary: The Campaign s Quarterly Reports and activities of the Project Coordinator (PC) are organized by headings including: Completed Projects, Project Updates, and Meetings/Events/Presentations. This format is intended to provide an overview as well as details on completed projects and updates for on-going projects. For this reporting period (January-March 2017), the following projects have been completed: Hunting themed PlayCleanGo (PGC) ad was designed and placed in the 2017 Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) hunting regulations guidebooks (see #1, p. 3). Design and layout is complete on the 13 AATM kiosks that FWP requested to be placed at state parks near Great Falls and in southwestern Montana including: Lewis & Clark Caverns, Bannack, Cooney, Lost Creek, and Giant Springs. An AATM sign was also completed for the Flathead Chapter of the Back Country Horsemen to be placed in the Kootenai National Forest outside of Kalispell (see #2, p. 3-4). Progress has been made on the following projects: The Montana Realtor Noxious Weed Training course opened for session #2 on October 3, 2016, 14 people signed up and 7 have completed to date with an average score of 98%. This session ends on 4/2/2017 (see #1, p. 4-5). Website and Facebook maintenance have continued. Currently the Facebook page has 325 Likes (see #2, p. 5-6). Distribution of the Montana Invasive Species Education and Montana Noxious Weed Education Project has continued (see #3, p. 6). Provided newsletter editorial assistance and organization for both the PCG quarterly partners newsletter and with the new Missouri River Watershed Coalition (MRWC) biannual newsletter (see #4, p. 6). A group has been assembled and started the task of reviewing and updating the TIPS For Small Acreage Landowners (see #5, p. 6). Meetings, Events & Presentations: The Campaign was present at 11 events; three of these events included a formal presentation. These events summed to 123 contact hours and 72 hours of booth time providing contact with youth, outdoor youth educators, and outdoor recreationists, three of the Campaign s focus audiences (see #1-10, p. 7-9). 2

3 Completed Projects: 1.) Hunting themed PlayCleanGo (PGC) Ad Worked with Seattle Times Publications on the design and layout for an educational ad to be placed in the 2017 FWP big game hunting regulations guidebook. The ad features a Montana landscape scene with two hunters emphasizing a PlayCleanGo message to encourage hunters to always Come Clean. Leave Clean. This ad will be printed in 400,000 copies of the moose, sheep and goat books as well as 400,000 copies of the deer, elk and antelope books as well as the online.pdf versions of these publications. The 2017 FWP hunting regulations guidebook ad features a PlayCleanGo themed message to encourage hunters to Come Clean. Leave Clean. 2.) Adopt a Trailhead Montana (AATM) AATM signage for FWP Regions 3 (southwestern Montana) & Region 4 (north centralcentral Montana) have been designed. Sites for installation in 2017 include: o Lewis & Clark Caverns, 2 signs. Species featured: spotted knapweed, houndstongue, Canada thistle, hoary alyssum. o Bannack Ghost Town, 2 signs. Species featured: spotted knapweed, black henbane (county listed), rush skeletonweed, houndstongue. o Cooney, 2 signs. Species featured: spotted knapweed, Canada thistle, sulfur cinquefoil, houndstongue. o Lost Creek, 1 sign. Species featured: spotted knapweed, Canada thistle, houndstongue, common mullein (county listed). o Giant Springs and surrounding trails, 6 signs. Species featured: houndstongue, Canada thistle, Dalmatian toadflax, leafy spurge, spotted knapweed, purple loosestrife, whitetop. 3

4 The Flathead Chapter of the Montana Back Country Horsemen have also asked to adopt a trailhead on the Kootenai National Forest outside of Kalispell, Montana. AATM signs that will be placed at Region 3 & 4 FWP state parks in summer Project Updates 1.) Montana Realtor Noxious Weed Training (MRNWT) The second session of the Montana Realtor Noxious Weed Online Training course has had 15 people sign up for the course; of those, nine people have completed with an average score of 98%. The second session opened on October 3, 2016, and will end April 3, The University of Wyoming (UW) Extension program has inquired about the use of the MRNWT to develop their own online realtor training program. The MNWEC and Montana State University (MSU) are currently working on a License to Use for the MRNWT materials. This document would allow UW to develop their own online training giving credit to the MNWEC for development of the original program. 4

5 This is a screenshot of the Instructor Gradebook from the Montana Realtor Online Noxious Weed Training. The course is set to close on 4/3/ ) Website & Facebook (FB) updates The website and FB page continue to be updated frequently (at least weekly for FB). To date, the FB page has 325 Likes which is an increase of 8 since the October- December 2016 Quarterly Report. Each post reaches about people, depending on how many times posts are shared. A website revision is set to begin this spring and will provide website visitors with a more functional website experience; pages will be combined, and ease of navigation through information will result. The Monthly Weed Post disseminated by MSU is also added to the website once it is available, the first Friday of every month. 5

6 This screenshot is from Google Analytics and shows the amount of traffic the WeedAwareness.org website has received during this reporting period (January-March 2017). There have been 735 sessions and 1,492 page views. The pie graph shows the difference between new users (blue) and returning users (green). 3.) Distribution of Educational Materials 1,179 of 2,000 copies of Montana Invasive Species Education (MISE) and 3,280 of 5,000 copies of Montana Noxious Weed Education Project (MNWEP) curriculum folders have been distributed to schools, non-profits, boy scouts, girl scouts and many other agencies/entities across the state. MISE was released in 2015, and MNWEP was released in ) Newsletter Contributions Provided newsletter editorial assistance and organization for the PCG quarterly partners newsletter. This quarterly newsletter is distributed to the 414 PCG partners. Served as the organizing editor for the Missouri River Watershed Coalition s (MRWC) new biannual newsletter to feature successes, projects and outreach from the seven states that comprise the MRWC. Both of these newsletters will be sent out mid-april. 5.) TIPS For Small Acreage Landowners Revisions Discussed the TIPS booklet update in Helena, Montana, on 1/24/2017 with the working group consisting of: Dave Martin (DNRC), Steffanie Rogge (Missoula County), Dave Burch (MDA), Jane Mangold (MSU), Dave Brink (Mineral County), (not present, but on the committee: Celestine Duncan, Weed Management Services). This meeting outlined proposed updates, edits and layout changes to the TIPS booklet. The entire group contributed suggested edits to the document at the end of February Another meeting occurred on 3/31/2017 to discuss edits; the group decided that a detailed outline would be helpful for those interested in volunteering to rewrite sections of the 6

7 document, so Jane Mangold and Shantell Frame-Martin will draft an outline and assign sections to workgroup members by 5/5/2017. Meetings/Events/Presentations 1.) Montana Weed Control Association Conference Attended the Montana Weed Control Association Conference in Great Falls, Montana, on 1/9-1/11/ ) Montana Outfitter & Guide Conference Assisted the Montana Department of Agriculture s Noxious Weed Seed Free Forage program with an informational booth at the Montana Outfitter and Guide Conference in Helena, Montana, on 1/12-1/13/17. There were 220 people registered for the conference, and a total of 10 booth hours were spent making contact with outfitters and guides from across the state. The MNWEC/MDA booth at the Montana Outfitter & Guide Conference was a PlayCleanGo themed display to encourage outfitters and guides to always clean their gear. 3.) Missouri River Conservation District-Realtor Training Presentation One hour presentation given about the design, layout and process of creating an online course to the Missouri River Conservation District in Helena, Montana. There were 7 people in attendance for 7 contact hours. 4.) Beartooth Weed Management Association AATM Presentation Half hour presentation given at the Beartooth Weed Management Association meeting in Columbus, Montana, on 2/22/2017. There were 25 people in attendance for 12.5 contact hours. 7

8 Discussed the Adopt a Trailhead Montana project; this group volunteered to adopt 4 different trailheads, yet to be determined. 5.) Great Rockies Sportshow Attended the Great Rockies Sportshow in Helena, Montana, on 2/24-2/26/2017. A total of 3,660 people that attended the show that weekend, and a total of 21 booth hours were spent answering questions about noxious weeds, providing noxious weed contact information to county coordinators and explaining the need to always come and leave with clean gear while recreating. 6.) Agricultural Pesticide Applicator Training One hour presentation given at the agricultural pesticide applicator training in Helena, Montana, on 3/7/2017. There were 11 people in attendance for 11 contact hours. Discussed state-listed weeds that are toxic to livestock. 7.) Montana Environmental Educator (MEEA) Conference Attended the Montana Environmental Education Association Conference in Helena, Montana, on 3/10-3/11/2017. A total of 50 environmental educators from around the state were in attendance and a total of 11 booth hours were spent talking about noxious weed resources and educational materials that are available within the state. The MNWEC booth at the Montana Environmental Educator s Conference offered both the MISE and the MNWEC curricula and other educational resources to educators in attendance. 8.) Invasive Species Action Network (ISAN) Train the Trainer Attended the Invasive Species Action Network s Train the Trainer workshop in Bozeman, Montana, on 3/21/2017. This training highlighted how to contact educators to give in-classroom presentations as well as the resources and materials that the ISAN offers and how to be successful in invasive species educational efforts. 8

9 9.) Montana FFA Convention Assisted the Montana Department of Agriculture s Noxious Weed Seed Free Forage program with an informational booth at the Montana State FFA Convention in Great Falls, Montana, on 3/23-3/24/17. There were 2,000 FFA students that attended the conference, and a total of 16 booth hours were spent making contact with these students, chaperones and advisors. The MNWEC booth at the FFA Convention consisted of educational handouts and information as well as an interactive Weed Jeopardy game. Students who stopped by the booth really enjoyed learning about weeds! 10.) Back Country Horsemen of Montana Convention Information booth at the Montana Back Country Horsemen Convention in Polson, Montana, on 3/24-3/26/ people attended the conference, and 14 booth hours were spent making contact with back country horsemen members from across the state. 9