Equinox Environmental – Environmental Planning Environmental Conservation Landscape Design Environmental Design



Evaluation Monitoring of Invasive Exotics Natural Resource Inventories & Monitoring From 2002 - 2005, Equinox coordinated invasive species surveys in the Pisgah National Forest on 35 miles of forest service and state roads, trails, and other rights of way for the Southern Appalachian Man and the Biosphere Foundation. Equinox recruited interested citizens, trained them on the identification of target species and the survey methodology, and managed and mapped all data collected by the volunteers. Seeing the value of this information, the USDA Forest Service – Southern Research Station (SRS) contracted with Equinox to extend those surveys along rights of way into forest interior areas. These Level II surveys were designed to identify which of the primary species of concern are actually encroaching into intact forest areas from the rights of way, which represent disturbed areas. Upon completion of the Level II surveys (which is forecasted to take 1 – 2 years), Equinox will establish permanent Forest Health Monitoring plots to detect impacts to forest condition from exotic species invasions. Equinox wishes to acknowledge the assistance given this project by Ken Stolte, Research Ecologist with the SRS; Jack Ranney, Forest Ecologist (retired) with the University of Tennessee; and Gary Kauffman, Botanist with the National Forests in North Carolina.

ECOLOGY • CONSERVATION PLANNING • ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN