COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES
ELSA Committee Formation and Planning of Future Events
At the February 2008 ELSA meeting,
the group in attendance voted to form ELSA committees to address the following four issues, and then suggested issues that they felt
were important to be addressed by the different committees. In an upcoming meeting, we will pursue further development of these committees,
and prioritize (and perhaps add to) our current goals for each committee. (We are already currently working on addressing some of
the suggestions!)
Committees
1. Education
2. Organization
3. Inventory (Inventory and ID problem areas)
4. Control Techniques
For
each of these committees, the following goals/priorities were suggested (in no particular order):
Education
- More newspaper articles
- Media alert to problem
- Education about appropriate sprays and time to spray or alternative methods
- The beetle infestation -
control education pamphlets
- Educate a task force to help people ID nonnative and native plants, including plant ID hikes
- Demonstration
areas for various control techniques
- Create a help line
- Speak at HOA meetings
- Perhaps develop a website
Organization
Identify
a local leader for the group (currently the folks helping to facilitate the meetings come from Fort Collins and other towns outside
of Estes Park, and we need a local individual(s) to step up to help drive the group)
- More coordination between homeowners within
HOA’s
- Respect those who do not want exposure to toxins
- Find supportive money
- Active participation of government entities/neighbors
- Agency/landowner collaboration to do roadside weed control
- Form group to provide info
- Organize leadership, communication, partnership,
overseeing, timelines, and updates
- Clear statement of scope and objectives of ELSA
- Eventually expand beyond weeds to mountain
pine beetle, fire prevention, etc
Inventory
Identify problem areas
Prioritize weeds to be addressed
Control Techniques
- Disseminate
best management practices (BMP’s) such as the best controls for the top 10 weeds in the area
- Promote reseeding/replanting with native
plant materials
- Provide control resources (service providers, materials, technical support), including information on local herbicide
sprayers
- For concerned users, distribute information on the least toxic chemicals and using chemicals only as a last resort
- For
concerned users, state effects of toxins/herbicides to humans, environment, and wildlife
- For concerned users, potentially develop
a research panel to assess toxicity of herbicides and determine best alternatives for each specific weed