SACRAMENTO - The Invasive Species Council of California (ISCC) has appointed an Advisory Committee to recommend ways to mitigate non-native species' effects on resources throughout the state.

"The 24 founding members of the California Invasive Species Advisory Committee (CISAC) have a challenging task ahead of them," said Secretary A.G. Kawamura of the California Department of Food and Agriculture, chairman of the council. "They will lay the groundwork that will enable this council to enhance our collective ability to protect California's environment, food systems, human health and economy from invasive and destructive pests, plants and diseases."

The ISCC, formed earlier this year, is chaired by Secretary Kawamura and vice-chaired by Mike Chrisman, Secretary for the California Natural Resources Agency. Also serving on the council are Secretary Linda Adams of California's Environmental Protection Agency; Secretary Dale Bonner from the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency; Secretary Kim Belshe from the California Health and Human Services Agency; and Matt Bettenhausen, Acting Secretary of the California Emergency Management Agency.

The CISAC is tasked with making recommendations to the ISCC, including drafting an invasive species rapid response plan. The committee will take input from local government, tribal governments and federal agencies, as well as environmental organizations, academic and science institutions, affected industry sectors and impacted landowners.

Members of the California Invasive Species Council Advisory Committee:

• Linda Arcularius, Supervisor, Inyo Board of Supervisors
• Ted Batkin, President, California Citrus Research Board
• Victoria Brandon, Member, Sierra Club
• Mike Chapel, Wildlife Biologist, U.S. Forest Service
• Gabriela Chavarria, National Science Director, Natural Resources Defense Council
• Christiana Conser, Project Manager, Cal-HIP & PlantRight Sustainable Conservation
• Ricardo De Leon, Microbiology Unit Manager - Quagga, Metropolitan Water District
• Joseph M. DiTomaso, Weed Specialist, University of California Davis Cooperative Extension
• Robert Dolezal, Executive Director, California Association of Nurseries and Garden Centers (CANGC)
• Dennis Faria, Aquaculture, Imperial Catfish
• Andrea Fox, Governmental Affairs Division, California Farm Bureau Federation
• Larry Godfrey, Vice Chair, Department of Entomology, U.C. Davis
• Robert Hoffman, Assistant Regional Administrator for Habitat, National Marine Fisheries Service, Southwest Region
• Doug Johnson, Executive Director, California Invasive Plant Council
• Mary Maddux-Gonzales, Sonoma County Public Health Officer
• Karen McDowell, Environmental Planner, San Francisco Estuary Partnership
• Leigh Melander, Founder, Imaginal Institute
• David Pattison, Member, California Association of Pest Control Advisors
• John Randall, Assoc. Science Director, Nature Conservancy
• Kristina Schierenbeck, Research Leader, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS)
• Zea Sonnabend, Policy Specialist, California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF)
• Rick Tomlinson, Technical Committee, California Strawberry Commission
• Greg Van Wassenhove, County Agricultural Commissioner, Santa Clara County
• Keith Douglass Warner, Lecturer, Santa Clara University

PlantRight project manager Christiana Conser will be giving a talk entitled, "Gardening without Invasives: Protecting Wildlands and Waterways from invasive plants" at the 5th annual Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour on Sunday, May 3rd. Garden talks are scheduled for 11:00 am and 1:00 pm at The Watershed Nursery in Point Richmond. PlantRight will also have a booth with brochures, invasive plant lists, and a display of some of PlantRight's invasive plants and recommended alternatives. The Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour is a free, self guided tour of nearly 50 Alameda and Contra Costa county gardens and nurseries that feature beautiful native California plants that provide backyard habitats for local bird, butterflies, and other wildlife.

PlantRight is excited to announce that Christiana Conser will come on board as the new project manager for Cal-HIP. Christiana has over 10 years of experience in invasive species management and ecological restoration. Prior to working with Cal-HIP, she worked on large-scale riparian habitat restoration and invasive species removal projects in the Sacramento Valley for River Partners. She also served as the Invasive Species Chair for the California Native Plant Society Mt. Lassen Chapter, and helped to create a Central Valley version of Cal-IPC's Don't Plant a Pest brochure. She has also worked on restoration projects for the Insituto de Ecologia in Mexico and Golden Gate National Recreation Area in the Presidio. Christiana received both her BS in Biology and MA in Ecology and Systematics from San Francisco State University. She recently published her thesis research, which looked at restoring coastal habitats invaded by iceplant (Carpobrotus edulis), in the journal Biological Invasions. Welcome, Christiana!

In response to our successful campaign kickoff this spring, PlantRight has garnered attention from well-known media like National Public Radio, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Los Angeles Times and a dozen local papers. In addition, the website has received half a million hits since the start of the campaign. Thank you all for joining us, and for protecting California wildlands from invasive plants!

Click here to download the PlantRight press release.

PlantRight hosted three events around the state to kick off our new campaign to recruit home gardeners to use non-invasive plants. At the Huntington Botanical Gardens in San Marino, Tilden Park Botanic Garden in Berkeley, and UC Davis Arboretum, local opinion leaders, garden writers, and the home gardening community got together to learn about the easy steps we can all take to protect our environment from invasive plants. Attendees toured these beautiful gardens to see examples of environmentally responsible landscaping.

After three years of working with horticultural businesses like plant growers, retail centers, and landscape professionals, the PlantRight campaign is now reaching out to home gardeners! We are excited to share the easy ways that gardeners can protect California wildlands by using non-invasive plants in their yards and landscaping.

Please share the PlantRight brochure with friends neighbors and learn how to Spread the Word about this collaborative effort.