Lake Mead National Recreation Area Vegetation Monitoring and Analysis: Year-End Progress Report, October 1, 2006 to September 30, 2007

Executive Summary The Weed Sentry program surveyed more than 750 miles of federal lands in Clark County for invasive, exotic plant species. Weed Sentry also removed more than 600,000 individual invasive plants from federallands. These removals represent pro-active efforts that may have forestalled largeinfestations difficult and costly to eradicate. In response to a request by the manager of the Fish and Wildlife Service Desert NationalWildlife Refuge, a major effort of surveying springs for plant community compositionand invasive plants provided unique knowledge services by the Weed Sentry program.No such baseline information existed for the Sheep Range. This knowledge service andextensive roadside surveys were provided on the refuge. Monitoring protocols were developed by Research Assistant Dianne Bangle, a botanist,for key rare plant species. These protocols were implemented, and meet technicalrequirements for county Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan (MSHCP) funding. Preliminary plot sampling was conducted, and a proposal for the Federal HighwaysAdministration was prepared in collaboration with ATR Alice Newton to guideecological restoration efforts of gypsum habitat at Lake Mead. A nationally competitive Joint Fire Science grant ($179,000) was secured to supportefforts in this Task Agreement to provide knowledge services to resource managers formitigating community invasibility. ATR Alice Newton was the federal cooperator onthis grant and made a major contribution to the proposal