The Transportation Corridor Agencies (TCA) hosted a training seminar, led by the Orange County Chapter of the California Native Plant Society (OCCNPS) to educate public agency environmental specialists with strategies about how to identify and avoid the spread of invasive non-native plants in managed environmental protection areas.
OCCNPS has performed similar trainings over the years with other public agencies and environmental non-profit groups including OC Parks, the Laguna Canyon Foundation and the Newport Beach Conservancy. Participants included not only TCA, but Caltrans, the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) and other open space land managers.
“Some invasive non-native plants can take over areas and make it nearly impossible for native vegetation to grow and thrive,” said Valarie McFall, Chief Environmental Planning Officer. “OCCNPS provided specific training to assist TCA and our partner transportation agencies to properly identify Orange County’s highest priority invasive plant species and give us the tools we need to address these non-native plants and provide tips on preventing them from spreading.”
The half-day training seminar focused on early detection of high priority non-native invasive plants. The training is designed for volunteers, land managers, stewardship groups, key staff from the transportation agencies and others. The training not only provided information regarding tips to identify invasive plant species, but what to do when one cannot identify a plant and where to look to find new invasive species.
You can learn more about the importance of protecting and preserving California Native Plants at www.occnps.org (Opens in a new window) .
The Transportation Corridor Agencies (TCA) are two joint powers authorities formed by the California legislature in 1986 to plan, finance, construct and operate Orange County’s 67-mile public toll road system. Fifty-one miles of the system are complete, including the 73, 133, 241 and 261 Toll Roads. TCA continues to meet the region’s growing need for congestion-free transportation alternatives.
