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Plants of the genus Cortaderia are considered an invasive alien species (IAS) in Spain, constituting a threat to native species. The project seeks to stop the expansion of the pampas feather duster or Cortaderia selloana in Cantabria, from the coast to the mid-mountain inland valleys, thus protecting native species.

The initiative is part of objective 2.4 of the State Strategic Plan for Natural Heritage and Biodiversity (PEEPNB), “Establish mechanisms for the prevention of the entry, detection, eradication and control of invasive alien species”.

The general objective of the project is to stop the expansion in Cantabria of the pampas feather duster, an invasive exotic species.

Other objectives are:

• Disseminate the Early Warning System to encourage citizen participation in the detection of Cortaderia selloana.
• Develop an efficient web platform that allows citizens to communicate the existence of isolated or dispersed populations of feather dusters.
• Create an agile system to order and prioritize actions.
• Eliminate the pampas duster and replace it with sowing and, where appropriate, planting of native species.

• Creation of the Alerta Plumeros platform for the registration of invasive alien species (IAS) of flora, specifically of Cortaderia selloana, in a quick and simple way (user level), with one or more photos, which will help the validation and use of the Early Warning System. The application allows you to activate an early warning system that consists of the manager receiving an email when a new record of an invasive species is entered.
• Management of the Feather Duster Alert system. Inclusion of the appointments of the presence of the plant and the work of the route of all the valleys of Cantabria with isolated or dispersed distribution of the pampas feather duster, according to the Action Plan of the Government of Cantabria, to introduce appointments in Alerta Plumeros.
• Restoration of spaces in a total of 34 municipalities, in the Cantabrian valleys of Nansa, Saja, Besaya, Pas, Pisueña, Miera, Asón and Villaverde. Tasks of clearing the aerial part of the plants and root extraction and subsequent dense sowing with herbaceous and shrubby species native to the Cantabrian countryside, rustic, which do not require maintenance and, if the future use of the land allows it, a planting of native species.
• Communication and management of the project thanks to the launch of the LIFE STOP Cortaderia web portal (with a version in Spanish, Portuguese and English), the profiles on different social networks and the work with the media for the coverage of the project’s actions.

• The expansion of the pampas feather duster in the valleys of 34 municipalities in the interior of Cantabria has been stopped. Work has been carried out at 507 points with pioneer feather dusters, of isolated or dispersed distribution, in which the feather duster has been eradicated and the native vegetation restored.
• The expansion of this invasive exotic species from the coast to the mid-mountain inland valleys of Cantabria has been stopped.
• All these tasks have been carried out by people with some kind of disability, which is a social plus for the initiative.