1. The Blue Ridge PRISM Quarterly Meeting – October 2017
The mission of the Blue Ridge PRISM is to reduce the impact of invasive species in our targeted geography.
Rod Walker, Landowner
Ashton Fisher, Program Director
October 18, 2017
PRISM = Partnership for Regional Invasive Species Management

2. Plan for Today Plant ID for plants brought in Introductions
RCPP and PRISM updates – Rod et al
Landowner panel – Ashton Fisher - Moderator
Jim Hurley
Marcia Mabee
Brian Morse
Bernice Thieblot
Rod Walker

3. Introductions and Background
Go around the room for introductions
Where is your land – county or town?
Why are you here? What are your interests?

4. Recent Events Trainings: Presentations: Tablings:
RappU Landowner Course – 5 Friday sessions
Rockfish Valley Foundation Fall/Winter course
Presentations:
Dogwood Garden Club – Charlottesville
Renaissance School and Camp Albemarle
Pure Water Forum Annual Meeting – Bluemont
SW VA group considering starting a CWMA – Lebanon
Albemarle County Farm Bureau – Crozet
Tablings:
Albemarle County Riverfest
Monticello Harvest Festival
Augusta County Fair

5. Upcoming Events Training sessions
Oct 24 or Dec 5 – Intro to Invasives
6:30 to 8:30 pm - Albemarle High School, Charlottesville
Fall/Winter landowner information sessions
Plant ID, treatment options, walk-about, equipment demo
Oct 25 – JMU, 28 – SCBI (Front Royal), 30 – Ivy Creek
Quarterly meeting - Jan 24 – Ailanthus biocontrol research update
Lead researcher from VA Tech
Ivy Creek Natural Area – Charlottesville – 1pm

6. Upcoming Events Presentations: Tabling opportunities:
Tree Stewards meeting – Oct 23 – organizing invasive plant removal efforts
Five minutes at the Dugdale award ceremony – morning of Oct 27 at the Paramount Theater in Charlottesville
Tabling opportunities:
Harvest Gathering – Clarke County – Oct 21-22
See
Garden Club of Virginia – morning of Oct 27 at the Paramount Theater in Charlottesville
Albemarle Ciderworks Harvest Festival – Nov 4

7. RCPP Status History $894,000 award announced a year ago
$640,000 net to landowners
Signed our contract with NRCS Sept 2016
Public announcement in October 2016
Conducted training sessions
2 for NRCS and VDOF staff
1 for contractors
Started accepting applications mid-November

8. RCPP Status Status as of September 2017:
96 signed contracts
2,155 acres
All funds committed
East of the Blue Ridge (Nelson, Albemarle, Greene, Madison and Rappahannock)
58 contracts, 1,503 acres, 71% of funds
West of the Blue Ridge (Augusta, Rockingham, Page, Warren and Clarke)
38 contracts, 651 acres, 29% of funds
No longer advertising availability

9. RCPP Status by County

10. RCPP Status by EQIP Practice

11. PRISM Updates
The Garden Club of Virginia has chosen the PRISM as the recipient of their annual Elizabeth Cabell Dugdale Award for Meritorious Achievement in Conservation
Actual award will be made at the Paramount theater in Charlottesville on October 27th
See
Great recognition for what a great team can do in three years!!

12. PRISM Updates VA Dept of Forestry invasive plant treatment chart
Other CWMAs in Virginia
Progress on new regulations for the VA Noxious Weed Law
Drone project with UVA
672 people on our mailing list

13. Funding Sources Fundraising progress
Raised the $15,000 we needed – THANK YOU
Freed up the $15,000 grant (in three payments) from the Virginia Environmental Endowment and another matching $15,000 from a family foundation
Gives us funding through next summer
Need to start work on next round of funding
Grant proposals – answers at the end of the year
$100,000 proposal to NFWF for wavyleaf funding – Dec
$900,000 proposal to DuPont settlement program for wavyleaf funding – Dec
Rejected by NRCS for another round of RCPP
Try again next year
Will write a proposal in January for drone project

14. Next Steps Need volunteers for:
Oct in Clarke County
Nov 4 at Albemarle Ciderworks Harvest Festival
Sign up for landowner information sessions
Oct 25 – JMU, 28 – SCBI (Front Royal), 30 – Ivy Creek
Attend the Garden Club of Virginia event at the Paramount in Charlottesville – morning Oct 27
Add your name to the mailing list if you are not already on it
Landowner panel is next after a short break