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This Early Detection Rapid Response (EDRR) Handbook for Invasive Species Management is designed for California State Parks (Parks) district natural resource managers and those planning and conducting terrestrial early detection surveys, field crews collecting data and eradicating new weeds, and partners, volunteers, or other groups interested in assisting and following these methods.

California State Parks Natural Resources Division (NRD) embarked on an EDRR pilot project in 2012 with Santa Cruz and Orange Coast Districts volunteering to lead the effort. Their Natural Resources (NR) staff contributed hundreds of hours in development of the methods and tested them firsthand. In 2014, Sierra, North Coast Redwoods, and San Diego Coast Districts joined the training and data collection effort. The original handbook was written in 2015 by Ramona Robison and Nita Barve (NRD) with Tim Hyland and Daniella Schweizer (Santa Cruz District). Technical assistance and review were provided by the Santa Cruz Resource Conservation District and the California Invasive Plant Council (Cal-IPC). Some of the contents of the original handbook have been preserved; we have updated and expanded on various components for greater clarity and utility. This version was reviewed by Tim Hyland (Santa Cruz), Lana Nguyen (Orange Coast), and Michelle Forys (North Coast Redwoods) who are all implementing successful EDRR programs in their respective districts.

Over the course of 2018-19, many of you approached the California Department Fish and Wildlife separately or in small groups to discuss improvements to our processes. The Department wants to share with you our thinking on reforms to help make our work “better, stronger, and faster.” We would like your feedback on improvements to our processes.

December 18, 2019
10:00am-12:30pm

Meeting Goals

1. Share the vision for Cutting the Green Tape
2. Determine shared approach for the initiative
3. Establish process and confirm timeline

December 18, 2019
12:30pm - 4:30pm

Meeting Goals

1. Introduce the CDFW Better, Stronger, Faster Concept and Recommendations, including process and timeline, and link to advancing Secretary Crowfoot’s Cutting the Green Tape Initiative.
2. Acknowledge the participation and contributions of all of the meeting participants in helping inspire and share the recommendations.
3. Gain feedback, identify shared priorities, commitments and timeline for advancing the recommendations.
4. Establish a process, approach, and conditions for collaboration that will result in achieving priorities.

Meeting notes, including summaries of speaker remarks and small group discussions, from the Better, Stronger, Faster roll-out at the UC Davis Mondavi Center on December 18, 2019.

Fundamental to understanding how to manage and steward the natural world, raise awareness, or inspire action is being able to describe how your resources are faring and what needs intervention, and to do so in a credible and compelling way.

One way that natural resource-based agencies, organizations, or partnerships may choose to do this is through an assessment of the state of their resources. While these “ecological health assessments” are often initially developed to create a baseline against which future change can be measured, they can also focus management priorities, educate the public, generate action, and/or increase financial or political support.

The process described here is based on what we did for Mt. Tamalpais. This is one approach you can use, but because every effort will be different, we have tried to make the process scalable—describing a more comprehensive and involved method followed by possible alternative approaches. Each reader will need to assess how, or if, to apply this advice to their own project. That said, we have called out key decision points for elements we feel are truly fundamental, no matter what approach you choose to take.

This paper identifies priority actions that California Governor Gavin Newsom's Administration can take to protect our parks, public lands, and waterways for the enjoyment of current and future generations.

This document summarizes the key findings from a recently commissioned case study exploring barriers to and strategies for improving capacity for landscape-scale stewardship networks. This summary, prepared by the Steering Committee for the California Landscape Stewardship Network, includes direct excerpts from the case study as well as paraphrased findings.

A companion letter to the Resources Legacy Fund's policy recommendations to California Governor Gavin Newsom.