Vegetation Management Under a Changing Climate

The Southwest Vegetation Management Association (SWVMA) will host its 22nd Annual Meeting at the High Country Conference Center, 201 W Butler Ave, Flagstaff, AZ on October 22-24, 2019.

Overview – Download the program by clicking here.

When registering, select “PayPal” to pay by credit card, then click on the type of card below the PayPal buttons that appear.

Registration Rates

Tuesday and Wednesday will be devoted to presentations.  On Tuesday evening SWVMA and sponsors will host an evening reception and poster session. On Wednesday, there will be a luncheon banquet during our annual business meeting.  The business meeting will include presentations by the Board on activities they have worked on this year, and elections for Vice President, Secretary, and three members at large.  Consider running for the SWVMA Board or think of nominating someone you know for one of these very important positions – we need good leadership to achieve our mission!

As always, we will have a 1/2-day field trip on the last day of the meeting.  Please indicate on your registration form whether you intend to participate in one of the field trips, it’s FREE!

Evening Reception, lunches for both days, light breakfast and field trip are all included in your registration.  There are a variety of restaurants in the vicinity available for breakfast and dinner.

Field Trip

There are 2 field trips to choose from on Thursday, 10/24:

• Tovar Trail Invasive Plant Removal, led by JD Brice (Coconino County Public Works) and Cathy Scudieri (Natural Channel Design, Inc.). This field trip will focus on a project that was supported by an Invasive Plant Grant from SWVMA and is part of the recently revamped CCPW weed management program. The goal was to control diffuse knapweed and Scotch thistle populations that were encroaching on the Pumphouse County Natural Area. The field trip will visit the project area and discuss best practices and lessons learned for treatment of invasive plants.
• Riparian Habitat Restoration and Climate Adaptation along the Little Colorado River of Northern Arizona, led by Catherine Gehring (Professor, Northern Arizona University) and Ian Torrence (American Conservation Experience). This field trip will visit a 100-acre demonstration restoration project along the Little Colorado River on Babbitt Ranches land adjacent to the Navajo Nation. This area was degraded by wide-spread invasion of tamarisk and camelthorn. Tamarisk has been removed and native cottonwood and coyote willow have been planted. The project is also testing the use of native grasses to reduce the presence of camelthorn. In addition to a tour of the site, field trip participants will have an opportunity to plant cottonwood trees using mycorrhizal fungi.

Continuing Education Units

Continuing Education Units have been approved by Arizona’s Pest Management Division and the Arizona Department of Agriculture.  There will be 8 CEUs total for attending the presentations on Tuesday and Wednesday and another 4 CEUs for attending either of the field trips. Remember to bring your certification number with you, because you will need it to fill out the CEU forms.

Sponsors

Sponsors who have products and services of interest to vegetation managers will be there with information booths.  Representatives will be available for discussion and questions at the members’ reception/happy hour on Tuesday evening.

If you are interested in becoming a sponsor, click HERE or email info@swvma.org.

Hotels

We did not reserve a block of rooms for this year’s meeting. The Drury Inn is connected to the High Country Conference Center; there are also other reasonably priced hotels in the vicinity of the meeting location.