The Ohio River Basin Fish Habitat Partnership is currently working in cooperation with the Central Hardwoods Invasive Plant Network (CHIP-N), an informal partnership between the Appalachian Ohio Weed Control Partnership (Ohio), River to River Cooperative Weed Management Area (Illinois), and Southern Indiana Cooperative Invasive Management (Indiana), on control and management of invasive plant species in the Ohio River Basin, with a focus on hydrilla. Eric Boyda is planning to host a meeting to further identify and discuss control and management methods for hydrilla on the Ohio River. The Ohio River is a complex system, and will have to consider a variety of issues to implement control methods. We hope this meeting will build a foundation for a document that compiles the issues, discussions, literature related to the management of hydrilla on the Ohio River that can be utilized to assist in the creation of management recommendations and identify research needs.
Registration for the meeting can be sent to Eric Boyda at appalachianohioweeds@gmail.com or calling 740-534-6578.
Time
Wednesday June 26th, 9:00 am – 3:30 pm
Location
The meeting will be held at the Thomas Moore College Biology Field Station Conference Center, California, Kentucky. The address is 8309 Mary Ingles Highway, California, KY 41007. (It is located about 25 miles southeast of Cincinnati on the Ohio River.) Additional information can be found at www.thomasmore.edu/fieldstation
The conference center can hold 50 people. The room has capabilities to WebEx with up to 25 additional people (remote access would only need a webcam to join, a link to join the meeting would be sent out before we started). Registration for the meeting can be sent to Eric Boyda at appalachianohioweeds@gmail.com or calling 740-534-6578.
On-Site Lodging
Onsite: There are 12 dorm rooms available for attendees at the Biology Field Station. Each room has a bunk bed & dresser. You may reserve a room for $30/night as a single room or for $20/night as a double room. (Guests must provide their own blankets and towels. Sheets and pillows are available.) To reserve a room, contact the Field Station Director, Chris Lorentz, at chris.lorentz@thomasmore.eduor 859-344-3373. Rooms can also be reserved directly online at: http://thomasmore.edu/fieldstation/room_reserve.cfm
Nearby Hotels: There are two nearby hotels, both in Wilder, KY: a Country Inn and Hampton Inn. They are just about 10 miles away from the Station and right off of I-275, the major beltway around Greater Cincinnati. The links to each are below. There are also plenty of restaurants nearby.
Meeting
We intend to have the meeting be predominately discussion based, but will have several speakers give powerpoint presentations on key issues.
Dr. Michael Netherland is a Research Biologist for the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) in Gainesville, Florida. He researched impacts of plant growth regulators on hydrilla and Eurasian watermilfoil while pursuing a Master’s degree at Purdue University. Upon graduation in 1989, Mike took a research position with ERDC in Vicksburg, MS, and worked on improving the linkage between the biology of invasive submersed plants and various herbicide management strategies. In 1999 Mike earned a Ph.D. from the University of Florida with research focusing on the biology and management of hydrilla with an emphasis on how ecology of the turions can influence management outcomes. Mike went to work in private industry for the SePRO Corporation in Carmel, IN and managed aquatic research projects from 1999 to 2003. In December 2003, he returned to the ERDC and was stationed at the University of Florida Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants in Gainesville, FL. His current research focuses on factors that influence hydrilla growth, improved understanding of monoecious hydrilla biology and phenology, and development of novel management strategies for both the dioecious and monoecious biotypes of hydrilla. Mike was Editor of the Journal of Aquatic Plant Management from 2004 through 2010 and he is currently President Elect of the Aquatic Plant Management Society.
Dr. Greg Cope is a Professor and Extension Leader in the Department of Environmental and Molecular Toxicology at NC State University. He received a B.S. in Environmental Sciences in 1983 from Lenoir-Rhyne University in Hickory, NC, a M.S. degree in Biology with emphasis in aquatic sciences from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse in 1988, and a Ph.D. with a double major in Fisheries Biology and Toxicology from Iowa State University in 1991. Greg’s experience prior to coming to NC State in 1997 includes six years (1991-1997) as a Research Fishery Biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at the National Fisheries Research Center in La Crosse, Wisconsin. His interests and expertise are in the effects of anthropogenic stresses on aquatic organisms, with emphasis on fish and native freshwater mussels, the bioavailability, fate and transport of pollutants in aquatic ecosystems, and public outreach and education. He is active in the Freshwater Mollusk Conservation Society, most recently as President (2009-2011), and is the current President of the North Carolina Chapter of the American Fisheries Society. His laboratory is currently conducting acute and chronic toxicity tests with native freshwater mussels and snails and two aquatic herbicides (fluridone and endothall) commonly used to treat Hydrilla infestations in surface waters.
Dr. Doug Dixon is a Technical Executive for power plant fish protection research in EPRI’s Environment Sector. He is the Program Manager of EPRI’s Clean Water Act §316 (a&b) Fish Protection Issues Research Program. Dr. Dixon has more than 35 years of wide-range experience in environmental science and engineering research, including 20 years assessing the impacts of power plants on aquatic resources. Dr. Dixon’s expertise spans marine and freshwater fisheries biology, design and execution of field sampling studies, and statistical analysis of field data. He has extensive knowledge of fish protection technologies at cooling water intake structures and fish passage technologies for hydroelectric projects. Dr. Dixon earned a BA in Biology (1971), at State University of New York at Geneseo and received his PhD in Marine Fisheries Science (1996) at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, College of William & Mary. Title – Management of Debris at Power Plant Cooling Water Intakes and Anticipating Hydrilla Problems in the Ohio River
Hydrilla control is a very real and growing issue in the Ohio River basin, with environmental and economic impacts alike. So please plan to attend or pass this information on to others who would benefit from the meeting or can bring additional expertise.
Eric Boyda
Coordinator
Appalachian Ohio Weed Control Partnership
