Acknowledgements
This document was compiled from numerous publications and personal communications with land managers who are engaged in combating unwanted plant species. The primary source of information for many of the guidelines included in this manual is the Illinois Nature Preserves Commission's Vegetation Management Manual. The format for the Illinois manual also served as a model for this manual. The consent of the Illinois Nature Preserves Commission to use their guidelines as a basis for this work is greatly appreciated.
Additional references that were very helpful in preparing this document were the Element Stewardship Abstracts (ESAs) for a number of species which were prepared by The Nature Conservancy. The ESAs provide a wealth of information that is drawn from references across the range of each species. The ESA authors' efforts in compiling comprehensive information which could be incorporated into this manual is gratefully acknowledged.
The participants in the October 1992 workshop "Managing Problem Exotic Plant Species in Missouri and the Midwest" deserve special thanks for contributing their individual expertise and experiences in vegetation management. The interest and enthusiasm of the participants of that workshop spawned the effort to compile management experience into this document. The Natural Areas Association's Compendium on Exotic Species, which was first available at the October 1992 workshop, provides a collection of published articles from the Natural Areas Journal dealing with the management of exotic plants and animals.
Several people in the Missouri Department of Conservation deserve thanks for their part in this project. Rick Thom helped generate initial interest in hosting the exotics workshop and saw the value in providing this management information as a result of the workshop. Don Kurz provided guidance in the selection of species to be included and reviewed the entire document. Kriste Ericsson helped in the early stages of compiling the species guidelines. George Yatskievych and George Hartman facilitated contractual arrangements with Phyllis Bick, who illustrated the plants described in this manual with the exception of kudzu. Martha Daniels and Amy Wieberg guided the layout of illustrations and Barb Singleton provided expert clerical support throughout the project.
The treatment of kudzu was added with the October 1997 revision. For kudzu, Dr. James H. Miller, USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station, Auburn University, AL, provided his research and expertise. Becky Erickson and Chris Dietrich reviewed literature and compiled a rough draft. Dr. Ellen Lissant provided the illustration of kudzu. Carol Davit assisted in layout of the revision.
