Present: Richard McAvoy, Chair of IPC, Denise Savageau, Darryl Newman, Simon Levesque, Vickie Wallace, Dustyn Nelson, Rose Hiskes, Donna Ellis, Jatinder Aulakh, Todd Mervosh, David Laiuppa

1. Chairman McAvoy called the meeting to order at 2:03 p.m. A role call and introductions of new members were

2. Approval of Meeting Minutes The meeting minutes from February 16, 2021 were distributed and reviewed. Vickie Wallace made a motion to approve the minutes. Seconded by Darryl Newman. Motion carried unanimously.

3. Updates

a. Denise Savageau asked about potential eradication efforts of Hydrilla being addressed by CAES and other agencies as she was concerned @ the spread of the plant. She reported that Senator Blumenthal was having discussion with other states to participate with a regional eradication effort. Senator Blumenthal was asking that funds for this effort be included in the Appropriations Bill so that the Army Corps of Engineers could help eradication efforts in CT watersheds as well as other regional states where Hydrilla is a problem. CT Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) Update: No report from IPC members.

b. Jatinder Aulakh mentioned that he had a paper recently published about herbicide resistance of Palmer Amaranth here in CT. Attached is the link to the abstract. If a copy of the full paper is needed, please reach out to Jatinder.

c. Rich McAvoy reported that in late August, the UConn Department of Plant Science & Landscape Architecture will welcome Dr. Sydney Everhart as their new Department Head. The department has also recently hired a soil scientist, a landscape architect, and a plant diagnostician for the Home & Garden Center. Students will return to classes at Storrs in September.

Rich also relayed that: Bill Moorhead (DEEP) will attend the next meeting.

d. Rich McAvoy reported that Bill Hyatt relayed that the Invasive Plant Coordinator position that is to be split between DEEP and UConn has not moved forward. Questions regarding funding of the position has delayed the process. Rich hopes the MOU is in place before he retires (October 1, 2021).

4. Old Business

a. Rose Hiskes asked about the status of Porcelain Berry being moved to the “prohibited” list. Rich said the last IPC meeting did not have the quorum to vote on moving the plant to the prohibited list. A motion was made by Denise Savageau, seconded by Dustin Nelson, to move Porcelain Berry from the state Invasive Species list to the “Prohibited List”. Motion passed.

5. New Business

a. Rich McAvoy asked if anyone had an interest in serving as Chair of the IPC as he will step away from this role when he retires. Darryl Newman suggested it be someone that represents the university or a government department, not a representative that has a financial interest with motions/rulings the IPC may make. A temporary solution would be to name an interim chair, if no one has an immediate interest to serve as chair.

b. Denise Savageau requested that since there has been a large turnover of IPC members at the next meeting to update the group as to who is “new” to the committee and provide a brief refresher about the IPC, statutes, and how members are

c. It was suggested that there also be a discussion at the next IPC meeting to update new members about the role of CIPWG and the IPC.

d. Rich McAvoy mentioned there are 3 meetings/year (typically in February, Late June, October). Moving forward, he asked if these meetings should these be virtual or in- person. It was suggested that 2 meetings be virtual, one in-person. Most liked the convenience of virtual meetings but felt there was value in interactions at an in-person meeting.

e, Wallace will coordinate sending a doodle poll for the next meeting. (mid-October to early November).

f. If the next meeting is to be in-person, we need to determine a location as the CAES meeting room is

6. Adjourn

Respectfully submitted,

Victoria Wallace August 25, 2021

Motion to adjourn was made by Denise Savageau, seconded by Dustyn Nelson. Meeting adjourned @ 4 PM.