Developing, managing, maintaining and testing an early detection and rapid response program (EDRR) will enable property owners to combat new weeds before they become a problem. EDRR is a system used to find new weeds and then treat those weeds before they spread and become an even greater problem. An early detection and rapid response program has four main components: education, monitoring, assessment, and management.
Education: Education includes teaching people to look for weeds and providing information on some of the most likely weeds to invade your area and identifying unknown specimens. In California, a variety of agencies and programs can be used to learn about weeds in your area from UC Cooperative Extension advisors, to your local Resource Conservation District (RCD), County Agricultural Commissioner, and State and Federal agency biologists. There are several books and websites available (UCANR's Weeds of California, Cal-IPC's website, CalFlora, CA Dept. of Food and Agriculture Plant Health and Pest Prevention's website), which work well for established weeds. Some sources do not have the newest invaders.
Monitor: To know if your property has been invaded, someone has to be on the land surveying and monitoring for weeds. It's pretty obvious that if no one is watching a problem can't be detected.
Assessment: Once a problem weed has been found, the situation needs to be evaluated given the local and regional context. Is it a weed that is new to North America, or is it new to your property, but found throughout the region. Equally important is alerting others in your area or organization so proper resources can be used to control the population.
Most weed seeds do not move far. A few weed seeds do get very lucky and can hitchhike very far. What are the odds a newly discovered weed population hitched for a long ride or dispersed from a local population? Alerting others to be on the lookout for a new infestation will help answer that question, and they can warn you if they find a weed before you do.
Management: New weeds will need to be managed and in some circumstances eradicated. I hope that is obvious. Exotic plants can create problems for land managers from reduced yield, decreased property values, to harming native species. The fewer exotic species on a landscape the better chance we have less weed management problems. Managing a weed population should start as soon as possible. The longer a problem weed lingers the harder it is to remove and the more likely it is to spread.
I also argue that preparation is crucial part of weed management. We prepare our gardens, our restoration sites and our fields; we should be prepared for weeds. Many weed populations are spreading, so we should be able to know if we have enough resources in place to manage a newly discovered weed infestation. What if you notice a new weed on your neighbor's property? Do you have a strong enough relationship with them to make sure the problem doesn't cross the fence line? The best way to answer these questions is to conduct a drill: A weed drill. Emergency responders conduct drills all the time. Wildland firefighters use prescribed fires partly as training to ready their teams in the spring before the fire season gets into full swing. We can be doing similar measures with our properties.
Imagine the worst kind of weed has infested your property. Are the four components of an EDRR program strong enough to stop it from spreading and creating a loss on your and your neighbor's properties? Do you or your staff have enough knowledge about weeds to recognize it is a problem? Would you be able to detect the weed if it was on your property (or would it spread without detection)? Can you assess the situation (i.e. can you determine how much of a problem it could become)? Do you know who to alert for help once it is found? Can you and your neighbors gather enough resources, and if you are working on public land can you comply with environmental laws (and/or gather permits) quickly enough to manage the population and stop the spread? Conducting a drill is an excellent way to find out if you are ready!