Report on the Workshop on New Grass Germplasms
and Invasive Weed Control
30 April1 May 2002
Fort Carson and the United States Air Force Academy
Colorado Springs, Colorado
SUSAN E. HARDY AND ANTONIO J. PALAZZO
1
INTRODUCTION
This report summarizes presentations given at a two-day workshop, 30 April
to 1 May 2002, which provided information on our new introduced- and native-
grass germplasms and presented methods for fighting invasive weeds. The intent
of the workshop was to help land managers choose native herbaceous plants to
rehabilitate sites, reduce soil erosion, and increase training opportunities.
The new plant materials, which are adapted to the western United States,
were developed in a breeding program to improve native and introduced plant
cultivars that establish rapidly, compete with invasive weeds, and are resistant
to land disturbances caused by military training activities. These plants will also
be helpful on other federal lands where managers need to satisfy the Presidential
Order on native plants. The breeding program is a cooperative effort between the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Engineer Research and Development Center
Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (ERDCCRREL) and the
U.S. Department of AgricultureAgricultural Research Service (USDAARS) in
Logan, Utah. The Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program
(SERDP) funded the project under the work unit "Identify resilient plant charac-
teristics and develop a wear-resistant plant cultivar for use on military training
lands (CS-1103)."
The format of the workshop included classroom presentations and field trips
to demonstrate our new germplasms, successful seeding techniques for native
plant establishment, and biological control methods for invasive weeds. The
first day at Fort Carson, located south of Colorado Springs, Colorado, included
morning presentations on new grass germplasms followed by an afternoon field
Previous Page
