Nov. 21, 2007
Contact: Mike Phillips, media relations manager, (480) 312-7825
Scottsdale commissioner honored for his work to eliminate
invasive plants in McDowell Sonoran Preserve
With a pick, a shovel and a keen eye for destructive plants, Jerry Miller serves on the front line of a battle to protect Scottsdale’s McDowell Sonoran Preserve.
Hand tools are not the only weapons Miller wields in his effort to hunt down and remove invasive plants – a menace to native species and a significant fire hazard in the beautiful, yet fragile preserve.
Miller, a member of the city’s McDowell Sonoran Preserve Commission, has helped develop and implement a comprehensive action plan to combat the threat – from brochures and public outreach to heading up volunteer teams who scour the terrain to eliminate invasive plants in the McDowells.
His efforts were recognized recently when the Southwest Vegetation Management Association presented Miller with its “Weed Manager of the Year” award at its annual conference in Tucson.
Marilyn Hanson, leader of the Tucson Weedwackers and a pioneer in the effort to control buffelgrass in southern Arizona, was a co-recipient of the award. The association was organized in 1997 to increase awareness about invasive vegetation and foster cooperation among vegetation management groups.
Association Chair Francis Northam said the awards committee was impressed with everything Miller had accomplished since establishing the McDowell Sonoran Preserve’s invasive plants team two years ago.
Miller and his team collaborated with the Scottsdale Fire Department and Preservation Department to expand the public education campaign on fire prevention to include the fire threat posed by invasive plants.
With the creation of an invasive plants brochure, the Fire Department includes the topic of invasive plants when speaking to citizens and homeowners associations about fire prevention. Miller – shovel and pick in hand -- also leads volunteer teams that regularly hunt down and remove the most dangerous invasive plant species.
Miller says his efforts and those of others active in the Preserve’s invasive plant program are essential if the Preserve is to be protected for the long-term benefit of all Scottsdale citizens.
Invasive plants cause a substantial increase in the available fuel and increase the risk and intensity of wildland fires. Further, these plants can more quickly regenerate, giving them a distinct advantage over native species which take longer to recover. The result of no action on invasives is the invariable loss of our unique desert habitat, he said.
The most threatening plants identified in Scottsdale’s Preserve are fountain grass, buffelgrass, tamarisk, red brome grass, malta starthistle, Saharan mustard, desert broom (a native but very invasive), and Bermuda grass.
Homeowners can augment Miller’s efforts by removing invasive plants from their yards, asking local nurseries to stop selling fountain grass, working with their landscapers and gardeners so native plants take priority in landscape plans – and by getting involved in the McDowell Sonoran Conservancy or other volunteer programs.
The City of Scottsdale Invasive Weed brochure with photos of the invasive plants is available online at: http://www.scottsdaleaz.gov/Assets/documents/bldgresources/invasiveweeds.pdf
Prior to retiring, Miller was a physics and engineering professor at the University of Utah and a business development manager for several corporations.