Huron Pines is partnering with other agencies to address invasive plant species found along Lake Huron's shoreline in Northeast Michigan.

In December 2008 Huron Pines began meeting with entities including Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Michigan Sea Grant, the Nature Conservancy, Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service to gain partners and support for creating an invasive species program to protect coastal resources.

The support and interest from the meeting resulted in a resolution to create a cooperative weed management agreement, which covers Lake Huron Shoreline in Iosco, Alcona, Alpena, Presque Isle and Cheboygan counties.

"Huron Pines recognized the need to address invasive species in Northeast Michigan," said Timothy Engelhardt, Huron Pines AmeriCorps invasive species coordinator.

On Tuesday, members of the agencies met for a second time at the Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center in Alpena to discuss activities since the last meeting and determine plans for the upcoming months. A management plan drafted by Engelhardt was presented to members.

"The meeting today, was to go through it and make sure everyone agreed to it," he said.

The different agencies will assist by providing funding or technical assistance. Collaborating will allow the agencies obtain the same information in a consistent manner, which can then be shared between them, Engelhardt said.

The plan will target three plant species that were selected by the Huron Pines resource advisory group - purple loosestrife, buckthorn and phragmites. These target species may not always be the focus of this agreement, as there are new and emerging invasive species on the horizon which may threaten the area in the future, Engelhardt said.

"We kind of see these as a potential for the highest threat to Northeast Michigan. The populations for them aren't beyond control yet," he said of the current target species.

The mission of the plan is provide a framework that will guide efforts to control invasive plants in the area, acquire and allocate resources and set goals or objectives to work toward. The goals of the plan include identifying specific invasive species to target; develop management partnerships with public and private partners to attack shared problems; implement efficient, economical and environmentally friendly control methods; implement an early detection and rapid response system and reduce extent and density of established populations.

Engelhardt said Huron Pines would like to expand the partnerships to include volunteer organizations for assistance with rapid response programs or removal.

"We are trying to look for groups that would like to be involved with it so we can do trainings with them, so they know how to properly identify species and inventory. We just don't have the manpower to do all of it," he said.

The plan does not have a specific time length to allow it to be revised rather than rewritten each time it's reviewed. Implementation began recently when Engelhardt went to Iosco County to conduct a phragmites inventory, he said.

Patty Ramus can be reached via e-mail at pramus@thealpenanews.com or by phone at 358-5687.