Just what we need, a new invasive weed to look out for . . .
The latest “Wanted” poster in western Montana isn’t for a person, but rather, a plant.
Authorities from three counties and the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes are asking people to be on the lookout for medusahead.
The invasive weed has been detected in the north Valley Creek area of the Flathead Indian Reservation. It is capable of drastically reducing the livestock carrying capacity of rangeland.
You weed wranglers out there might be interested in the next Flathead Forest Friday get-together. Here’s the press release . . .
Everyone Invited for a Breakfast Chat on Friday, September, 20th
KALISPELL, MONT. – Nearly 30 species of invasive plants, or weeds, can be found on the Flathead National Forest. Each year forest employees strategize when and where to put its resources in the fight against these invaders. The tools used to kill the weeds are constantly changing as botanists consider everything from plant sniffing dogs to plant eating insects. Come chat with us about our efforts.
Forest Botanist Chantelle Delay and others invite you to have breakfast with us (no-host) at the Perkins Restaurant (1390 U.S. 2, Evergreen, Montana) starting at 7:00 AM on Friday, September 20, 2013.
Every other month, the Forest Service will coordinate these no-host breakfast meetings at a local restaurant with the goal of sharing good food, great company, and a little information about what’s happening on our National Forest. We hope the event will be a great way to discuss public land management opportunities and challenges that are important to us all.
If you plan to attend or have any questions, please notify Public Affairs Officer Wade Muehlhof at ewmuehlhof@fs.fed.us or (406) 758-5252. Your response allows us to plan accordingly with the restaurant.
Glacier Nation Park is sponsoring their fourth annual Noxious Weed Blitz on Tuesday, July 23. For those who can’t make the event, there’s also an online course. Here’s the press release . . .
Glacier National Park’s Citizen Science Program announces two opportunities to help with early detection of invasive plants along park trails: Noxious Weed Blitz on July 23 and an on-line training course for the Invasive Plants Citizen Science program. Both opportunities are free of charge and open to the public.
The fourth annual Noxious Weed Blitz will take place on Tuesday, July 23 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., meeting at the park’s Community Building in West Glacier. Participants will be trained to assist the Invasive Plant Management Program by learning to identify, map, and pull invasive plants. A free lunch will be provided by the Glacier National Park Conservancy. Be prepared to spend the afternoon in the outdoors, pulling invasive plants. Please bring gloves for hand pulling, footwear for hiking, and drinking water. Please RSVP if you would like to attend.
An on-line training opportunity teaches participants how to identify five targeted invasive plants, conduct surveys, and map locations of invasive plants using GPS units. Once training has been completed, visitors may check-out GPS units from the Crown of the Continent Research Learning Center to detect invasive plants while in the park. The on-line training program can be accessed at http://www.nps.gov/glac/naturescience/ccrlc-citizen-science_weeds.htm.
If you are concerned about invasive plant species — noxious weeds — there are plenty of opportunities to do something about it within the next few weeks.
The North Fork Landowners’ Association has two “weed roundup” events scheduled. The first, on Tuesday, July 26, will concentrate on the area from the border to Ford Station; the second, Friday, August 19, will work from Ford to Polebridge. See the NFLA online calendar for details.
Glacier Park is also kicking off their second annual Noxious Weed Blitz on Thursday, July 28th from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the West Glacier Community Building. You get training on weed identification, surveying and mapping. You also get a free lunch out of the deal. Here’s the core part of the press release announcing the event:
Participants will spend the morning learning how to identify five targeted invasive plant species. After lunch attendants will learn how to conduct invasive plant surveys and map the locations of invasive plants using GPS units. Attending the Blitz will give you the option to continue as a citizen scientist weed warrior during future hikes. The event is free and open to all ages. Lunch will be provided for those who sign up for the event. Please bring gloves for hand pulling weeds, footwear for hiking, and drinking water. To sign up or to find out about other invasive plant opportunities, please contact the Crown of the Continent Research Learning Center at (406) 888-7986 or glac_citizen_science@nps.gov.
Read the full press release for more details.
In this week’s column, Larry Wilson covers a broad range of topics, including the Border Patrol’s seemingly excessive secrecy about their operations . . .
It has been another action-packed, fun-filled week on the North Fork, with community service, educational, informative and just plain fun social events. The biggest gathering was for the interlocal meeting, which I would call informative and educational.
For several years, the Border Patrol has been asked about the threat level on the North Fork and whether or not arrests have been made here and, if so, for what offense. The Border Patrol’s reply is that they can tell us arrests have been made but they cannot provide details or inform us about the threat level.
I can understand not being informed about the threat level – that might fluctuate from day to day subject to nationwide possibilities. I don’t understand why we cannot be told about North Fork arrests and what the violations were. Even assuming continuing investigation of a particular event, they could give us details of 2008-2010 arrests. We would then know what to watch for and could even aid the Border Patrol with information.
It’s that time again. Here’s a good overview from today’s Flathead Beacon on dealing with noxious weeds, especially knapweed . . .
As the summer weather begins to wane and most guests head home, a rather unwelcome visitor makes its presence known in the Flathead Valley. Knapweed is in full bloom, and officials say the valley is approaching the best time to attack them.
“It’s definitely that time of year,” Flathead County Weed Control and Parks and Recreation Director Jed Fisher said. “Most noxious weeds are going to seed right now.”
Today’s Missoulian has an article about a new publication regarding invasive plant species (i.e., weeds). Beware of one bad pun . . .
Go ahead. Pick the flowers.
And to be sure you’re picking the right ones, the botanists at Glacier National Park have published a brand-new field guide. Several field guides already cover the park’s wilds – guides to mammals and guides to birds, rock guides and track guides and star guides and even an outhouse guide.
But this latest – “Invasive Plants of the Crown of the Continent Field Guide” – is the first of its kind, a window into the wide world of weeds.