County is pacesetter on weed control
Who knew Lincoln County was leading the state with its successful and respected weed program? The head of the county weed department, Dan Williams, says a combination of seeking grants to enlarge the program, using innovative bio control techniques and having supportive commissioners has contributed to the success of the program.
“We’re leading the state, and we’re trying to help everybody as we go and keep these weeds out of the grain crops in Eastern Montana, because that would be devastating” says Williams, laughing ruefully as he explains the obvious: Weed seed doesn’t respect county lines, or state lines. So if the county next door doesn’t have funding, it affects the surrounding areas.
Despite the program’s success, Williams says he has experienced some setbacks.
“The commissioners a few years ago cut our budget way back. This year, they’ve restored my budget. Now I can spray county roads again. I had the roads really clean. Now it’s going to take years to get back there,” says Williams.
The weed program focuses on rush skeletonweed, tansy ragwort and spotted knapweed, and is funded partially through county funding and partially through grants which Williams has been receiving for the past six years. The grants are considerable, this year amounting to nearly $80,000.
Over the last few years, Williams and his crew have introduced about a half million knapweed seedhead weevils and knapweed root weevils into valleys in Libby, Troy, Eureka and around the Fisher River.
The weevils are being raised in a nursery on 20 acres of Department of Transportation land, and cared for by Eureka High School students. The Department of Transportation pays the school to raise the bugs. It’s a program open to Libby and Troy high schools also, but so far they have not participated.
Originally, each weevil costs one dollar. Now, the bugs have a sustainable population and the crew harvests them to spread to different locations. The goal this year is to get them into upper drainages.
“I’ve seen the difference,” Williams says. “The seedhead weevil takes care of the seeds to stop them spreading that way, and from then the root weevil kills the plant.”
Another organization using innovative methods to control weeds in the county is Yaak Valley Forest Council, whose weed program combines hand pulling and spraying with a combination of vinegar, epsom salts and a small amount of biodegradable soap to help the spray adhere to broad-leaf shallow-rooted weeds like hawkweed or oxeye daisy.
“Vinegar is cheap,” said weeds coordinator Pete Leush. “It’s safer than chemicals, especially alongside waterways, and we can cover more ground because it’s also more cost effective.”
Working at popular recreation sites in the Yaak like Dodge Summit and Blacktail trails, as well as some roadside locations, the Forest Council’s four seasonal employees visit the sites several times a year and have seen steady improvement, says Leush.
Also on the agenda for the the county Weeds Department in the upcoming season is helping Fish, Wildlife and Parks survey some of the 442 lakes in Lincoln County in an effort to reduce aquatic weeds. Williams says this year he has funding to employ five seasonals to survey.
“We need a baseline so we know what’s here, but we don’t have the license to treat aquatic weeds, so that’s up to FWP.”