Fremont County Weed & Pest

Transcription

1 Fremont County Weed & Pest 2016 End of Year Report

2 Table of Contents Page 2 Supervisor s Introduction Page 3 EDRR Page 4-5 Roads & Irrigation Page 6 Weed Free Forage Page 7 Mosquitoes & Grasshoppers Page 8-9 Biological Controls Pages Federal Agency Work Pages State Agency Work Pages 14 Designated Noxious Weeds District Supervisor s Introduction Dear Reader: Last summer I was discussing a management plan for leafy spurge with a local rancher. According to him, leafy spurge was first noticed near Lander in the 1940s. This rancher believes that leafy spurge got its start here as a hay contaminant from hay being brought in from North Dakota to feed livestock. This story may or may not be the origin of leafy spurge in Fremont County, but it does coincide with true events where hay was dropped into areas of Wyoming to help with starving animals during the blizzard of This is an interesting origin story, but accidental introductions have taken place many times and some have resulted in devastating invasive species such as leafy spurge. Fremont County has been battling leafy spurge for decades. Wouldn t it have been great to identify those first few patches in the 1940s and stop leafy spurge from becoming what it is today? Unfortunately leafy spurge is here to stay, but that doesn t mean we are not successfully managing it. Successful noxious weed and pest management begins with defining expectations based on careful consideration of the limitations, consequences and interests involved. We are limited by funding and resources to control all the leafy spurge in Fremont County and it s possible such an effort would actually cause more harm than good. However, we do expect to reduce the expansion and spread of leafy spurge into new areas and reduce the burden it has on the local community. Invasive noxious weeds and pests impact nearly everyone. Livestock producers lose valuable forage. Hunters and sportsman see wildlife numbers decline when habitat is lost. Small acreage owners have increased fire hazards and altered views. Fremont County Weed and Pest provides services that reduce these impacts by applying integrated pest management practices which consider the environment, the economy and the well-being of our resources. The following year end report highlights some of the successful programs administered by the Weed and Pest and the dedicated crews who make it happen. Sincerely, Page 15 Weed Management Areas Back Page Outreach & Education Contact Us Fremont County Weed and Pest Admin Office 450 N. Second St Rm 325 Lander WY fcwp@wyoming.com Aaron Foster, supervisor Best Wishes in Retirement, Doug and Ken! Heartfelt thanks to Doug Miller and Ken Watts for their years of dedication keeping Fremont County beautiful. Doug served 31 years at FCWP and Ken, 22 years. We wish you guys all the best in your retirements.

3 EDRR: Early Detection Rapid Response Lightning strikes in the forest and a small wildfire begins to smolder. A spotter reports the smoke and a small crew of firefighters arrive. The crew puts out the fire, quickly and relatively cheaply. What if no one had been watching or no strike team of firefighters was available? That small fire could have grown into a giant forest fire, costing millions of dollars to contain with the damage lasting decades. It s a similar situation controlling invasive species. Invasions start small. An Early Detection Rapid Response (EDRR) system is designed to catch invasions early and treat them before they become larger and more expensive and difficult to eradicate. Spotted knapweed, for example, was first found in Montana in 1925 a small number of plants in one county. It now infests nearly every county of the Northern Rockies and Pacific Northwest, reducing range health and habitat diversity on a massive regional scale. FCWP has EDRR staff responsible for detecting, GPS mapping, treating and monitoring small infestations of high priority noxious weeds in an effort to keep them from getting a foothold in our county. Scotch thistle is a high priority noxious weed in Fremont County. Page 3 These before and after photos show a typical EDRR treatment. This small infestation of Scotch thistle was eradicated. With the location mapped in the GIS database, EDRR crews now return to the site annually to check for regrowth. The only known infestation of Dyer s woad in Fremont County is a small but persistent group of plants in Lander. An EDRR crew monitors the site and surrounding area each year and treats any new plants it finds. This EDRR approach keeps the infestation under control.

4 Page 4 Roads and Irrigation Roadside spraying can be considered the frontline in the war on weeds. Vehicles are major vectors for spreading weed seeds that can hitch a ride getting transported and "planted" somewhere else. Controlling roadside vegetation is an important part of FCWP's mission. Buffer zones: Treating roadsides not only limits the spread of weeds to other parts of the county, it protects lands from infestation that are adjacent to road right-of-ways. Also, in many instances, spraying the roadside keeps infestations on untreated private lands from spreading onto the right-of-way. Online readers: Click on the map at left to visit the our GIS Online Maps Page. FCWP s highway crew treats annual weeds on about 1,000 lane-miles of roadsides from spring to mid-summer, including bare-ground spraying tens of thousands of delineator posts, in a contract with the Wyoming Department of Transportation. From mid-summer to fall, road crews control noxious weed species along highway right-of-ways in a contract with the Wyoming Department of Agriculture. FCWP crews also control noxious weeds on nearly 2,000 acres of county roadsides, as well as treating BLM and USFS roads. During winter, a skid steer crew clears woody vegetation from highway roadsides.

5 Roads and Irrigation Page 5 Success story: The right-of-way along Sinks Canyon Road near Lander used to be heavily infested with spotted knapweed. Today spotted knapweed is a rarity along the roadside. Sinks Canyon Road 1968 Sinks Canyon Road 2016 Similar to roads, irrigation systems are notorious carriers of weed seeds. Weed control on waterways helps reduce spread. FCWP crews worked on canals and ditches of the Wind River drainage in contracts with the BIA, A Canal Water Users Association and Crowheart Butte Water Users Association, as well as stretches of the Ray Canal and North Fork Ditch.

6 Page 6 Weed Free Forage FCWP staff in Lander, Riverton and Dubois completed 94 field inspections during the 2016 season, certifying 1,082 tons of hay and straw as Weed Free Forage. That s nearly 1,000 acres of clean fields. To qualify as certified, a field must be inspected prior to cutting and found to be free of any viable weed seeds, according to inspection standards set by the North American Invasive Species Management Association (NAISMA). Feeding your livestock certified Weed Free Forage not only helps to prevent the spread of noxious weeds in Fremont County and beyond, the certification adds value to local agricultural producers products. Find Weed Free Forage: Weed Free Forage is required on most BLM and Forest Service lands in Wyoming. Find out where to buy certified hay and straw by using the interactive online map at forageproducers. This photo shows Russian knapweed infesting hay. You wouldn t want to take this stuff home to your pasture or transport it into the backcountry of a National Forest.

7 Mosquitoes & Grasshoppers Page 7 FCWP monitors mosquito activity by trapping tens of thousands of mosquitoes and testing them for the presence of West Nile virus. The tests inform health officials when and where West Nile virus is most active. The data may also aid researchers in tracking trends and forming prediction models. Traps are set near riparian zones in and around Lander, Hudson, Riverton and Arapahoe. Out of 142 trap nights last summer, six lots of mosquitoes tested positive for WNV four from Arapahoe and one from Riverton in mid-july, and one from Hudson in mid-august. Joseph Berger, Bugwood.org Trapped mosquitoes are brought to the FCWP lab in Riverton where they are counted and separated by species. Culex tarsalis is the local species that can carry and transmit West Nile virus. All Culex species are tested for the disease at the lab. FCWP also administers a grant from the Wyoming Department of Agriculture to help fund mosquito control efforts which are conducted by various Fremont County communities. Grasshopper monitoring: There were very few reports of high grasshopper populations in the county in Spring hatching surveys are conducted annually in areas that have had problems in the past and no outbreak populations were found. Adult grasshopper surveys are completed in late July and early August every year at the request of the University of Wyoming and the Wyoming Department of Agriculture, and very few hoppers were present at most survey sites. In late August, there were a few reports of high numbers south of Lander. These sites will be closely monitored next spring. FCWP provides a 40 percent cost share on selected insecticides for grasshopper control. Joseph Berger, Bugwood.org

8 Page 8 Biological Controls: Using A Weed s Natural Enemies Weed biological control agents are, in most cases, insects that suppress the growth and spread of specific species of weeds, either by feeding on them directly or by other means. For example, the larvae of the Canada thistle stem mining weevil, Hadropluntus litura, tunnel into the stem of a plant where they feed on it (release of adults pictured at left). When the Canada thistle stem-galling fly, Urophoa cardui, lays eggs in a thistle, it forms a gall at the spot stunting the growth of the plant (pictured at right). Cheatgrass bio-control: More than a dozen types of biocontrol agents are active in Fremont County, including trial projects intended to control cheatgrass using a natural soil amendment. Bio-controls are typically used when more traditional control methods would not be feasible or as effective, such as areas of extremely rugged terrain, at environmentally sensitive sites or for economic reasons. Once established, the bio-agents often spread to other infestation sites. Leafy spurge hawk moth caterpillar Spotted/diffuse knapweed root-feeding weevil The effects of the salt cedar leaf beetle, Diorhabda, can be seen around Boysen Reservoir. One of the most successful bio-controls in North America, the leaf beetle feeds on the plants. When beetle populations build up, many acres of saltcedar plants can become defoliated.

9 Biological Controls: Using A Weed s Natural Enemies Page 9 FCWP annually monitors the effects of the Apthona leafy spurge flea beetle at the Christiansen bio-control sites in the Lander area. In the early 1990s, after the first insects were released, leafy spurge canopy cover at all of the sites measured at an average of more than 50 percent. However, leafy spurge canopy cover declined over the years and in 2016 was at only about a 5 percent average at all sites. As leafy spurge diminished, plant species diversity rose. Apthona beetles can be found in several places throughout Fremont County at varying levels of success suppressing leafy spurge. Up-and-comers: The Russian knapweed gall midge, Jaapiella ivannikavi, is a relatively new bio-control that was first released at sites in Fremont County in The insect lays its eggs on the growing tip of a plant, galling that growing point, which reduces the plant s height and virtually eliminates its seed production. The number of Jaapiella galls at monitored sites within the county has increased exponentially recently. In 2012, FCWP staff released a Russian knapweed gall wasp called Aulacida acroptilonica. FCWP personnel are optimistic these bio-agents will become effective at a landscape level. FCWP is currently supporting research projects for bio-controls that could target whitetop, perennial pepperweed and Russian olive, which are all designated noxious weeds in Wyoming.

10 Page 10 Federal Agency Work U.S. Bureau of Land Management Wyoming s BLM lands are valued for oil and gas drilling, livestock production and recreational uses. Typically they are easily accessible, so BLM roads are a major focus to help prevent the spread of weeds. FCWP treats BLM roadsides for noxious species such as black henbane, Russian knapweed and whitetop. Work on BLM lands focused on the Government Draw area managing mostly leafy spurge. Crews also controlled Dalmatian toadflax (pictured at right), saltcedar north of Shoshoni, and a few isolated infestations of Scotch thistle. Early Detection Rapid Response (EDRR) work focused on spotted knapweed in the Dry Creek-Gas Hills area where a reclamation project and plans for road construction make it a high priority area for the BLM. EDRR work also focused on high priority treatments near Green Mountain where the BLM greatly values the pristine condition of the range. BIA: Tribal lands of the Wind River Indian Reservation The backpack crew covered lots of ground on the Wind River Indian Reservation in 2016, including the steep, rugged terrain of Morrison Canyon. Crews controlled saltcedar near Sheldon Dome and Maverick roads, and leafy spurge along the Wind River and near Shotgun Butte. The Crowheart area received several treatments mostly along canals and ditches, plus an important cooperative effort with landowners to control perennial pepperweed. On the west side of the reservation, crews focused mostly on leafy spurge and Russian knapweed treatments around Fort Washakie and other areas north of Lander. Also, FCWP has been working with the BIA to identify idle tracts of land and improve their potential for productivity.

11 Federal Agency Work Page 11 U.S. Forest Service Most treatments on U.S. Forest Service lands took place in the Wind River Range near Lander along the Loop Road and its recreational sites, and above Dubois where work focused on the high country of the Absarokas. Infestations on the forest are typically small in size, so an Early Detection Rapid Response (EDRR) approach is used to protect Wyoming s great outdoors. Noxious weeds are typically species from Eurasia that can displace native forbs and grasses that wildlife such as elk and mule deer depend on for food and cover. Weeds can also impact grazing allotments on national forests. Backcountry work: FCWP hires horse pack crews to treat hard to reach backcountry infestations. This summer horse pack crews focused on leafy spurge in the mountains above Lander and oxeye daisy above Dubois. U.S. Bureau of Reclamation FCWP worked on several projects on U.S. Bureau of Reclamation lands. Crews managed noxious weeds on lands around Pilot Butte Reservoir, Ocean Lake, Bass Lake and Boysen Reservoir, among other areas managed by the BOR. In addition to noxious weeds such as perennial pepperweed and Russian knapweed, FCWP crews controlled saltcedar and Russian olive along the shores of Boysen and other BOR lands.

12 Page 12 State Agency Work Wyoming State Parks Crews controlled musk thistle and leafy spurge in the upper reaches of Sinks Canyon State Park while Early Detection Rapid Response (EDRR) work focused on houndstongue and spotted knapweed treatments in the campgrounds. At Boysen State Park, a multi-year project continued in an effort to improve native willow and cottonwood habitat along the shoreline of Boysen Reservoir. A crew GPS-mapped the lake s shoreline vegetation from a boat and removed nonnative saltcedar and Russian olive, which are both designated noxious species. Working together: FCWP mapped and controlled noxious weeds in the Government Draw area east of Hudson as part of a multi-year project to protect sage grouse habitat. The work is funded by a grant administered by the Local Sage Grouse Working Group with additional funding from the BLM. Other collaborators include the Office of State Lands and private landowners. FCWP has applied with the Wyoming Wildlife and Natural Resource Trust Fund for additional funding for the project. Office of State Lands and Investments Work on State Trust Lands focused on leafy spurge and Russian knapweed management in Also, a State & Private Forestry Grant helped fund horse pack crew labor on the Wiggins Fork, as well as other noxious weed programs and landowner cost shares at various places around the county.

13 State Agency Work Page 13 Wyoming Game and Fish Department Invasive plants can negatively impact native habitats that support Wyoming s wildlife. Protecting recreational access areas and habitat management areas of the Game and Fish Department is a big part of what we do. Near Dubois, horse pack crews and FCWP staff controlled noxious weeds at the Whiskey Basin and Spence & Moriarty Wildlife Habitat Management Areas. Work at the scenic Red Canyon Wildlife Habitat Management Area south of Lander focused mostly on leafy spurge. Crews also treated Russian knapweed, Scotch thistle, Canada thistle and whitetop. At the Ocean Lake Wildlife Habitat Management Area and U.S. Bureau of Reclamation lands, crews worked on perennial pepperweed, Russian knapweed, baby s breath, Swainsonpea and whitetop.

14 Page 14 Designated and Declared Species The state of Wyoming has 26 species of plants listed as Designated Noxious Weeds. Noxious is a legal classification for certain species that are considered detrimental, destructive, injurious or poisonous. The list is formed by joint resolution of the Wyoming Weed and Pest Council and Wyoming Department of Agriculture. A noxious designation provides statewide legal authority to regulate and manage each species, an action that is carried out by weed and pest districts. With state approval, individual counties may also list species as "declared" noxious within their counties. Fremont County has four species of Declared Noxious Weeds: Baby's breath, cheatgrass, puncturevine and Swainsonpea. In 2016, Fremont County proposed adding sulfur cinquefoil as a Declared species. The proposal was approved by the Wyoming Weed and Pest Council in October and is awaiting Wyoming Board of Agriculture approval. Wyoming also has designated pest species: Mormon crickets, grasshoppers, prairie dogs, ground squirrels, mountain pine beetles and beet leafhoppers. Fremont County has two declared pest species: Mosquitoes (Culex tarsalis species) and oystershell scale. Chemical Inventory, Sales and Rentals FCWP stores chemical inventory in Lander, Riverton and Dubois. Each location supplies its crews with herbicides. Each also sells chemicals to the public at a cost share for use on designated and declared noxious weeds and pests. Sprayers, live traps and other equipment are available for rent at the locations. Due to statewide budget cuts, shop hours and days of operation were reduced in FCWP expects similar hours next summer. Labor cost share added: In 2016, the FCWP Board of Directors expanded the 40 percent cost share for Russian olive-saltcedar work to include equipment and labor in addition to the existing herbicide cost share. The cost share is available from November to the end of March.

15 Weed Management Areas Fremont County has three Weed Management Areas: the Lower Wind River WMA based in Riverton, the Popo Agie WMA based in Lander, and the Dubois-Crowheart WMA. Each WMA has unique challenges, characteristics and priorities. Page 15 Lower Wind River WMA: Efforts were increased to abate invasive baby s breath from Game and Fish Department and private lands around Ocean Lake in An aerial applicator applied a biocontrol soil amendment and herbicide on cheatgrass via helicopter in the Gas Hills area in October. The cooperative project was a collaboration of FCWP, BLM, NRCS, State Lands, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and a private landowner. Interest in the Russian Knapweed Special Management program is growing and FCWP continued working with private landowners to help them defend their lands from Russian knapweed. Popo Agie WMA: Leafy spurge remained the most challenging weed to manage in the Lander region in Control efforts focused on lands leading up to the Shoshone National Forest this year in an effort to reduce spread. Work continued in Government Draw on BLM, state and private lands to manage leafy spurge and cheatgrass. Work on the Wind River Indian Reservation north of Lander focused mostly on leafy spurge and Russian knapweed. The Leafy Spurge Special Management program now has more than 500 Lander area property owners enrolled. Dubois-Crowheart WMA: Weed management focused primarily on county roadsides, and lands managed by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department and U.S. Forest Service. The crew eradicated a few new infestations on the national forest. A large forest fire made access difficult for a time but all planned work on the national forest was completed, as well as all planned county and state lands work. A State & Private Forestry grant funded a horse pack sprayer to treat invasive oxeye daisy along the Wiggins Fork.

16 Outreach and Education In 2016, FCWP staff members were very active in the community, and with their colleagues in weed management. Staff participated in Wyoming Farm & Ranch Days, Get Outdoors Day, Wyoming Outdoors Expo, Lander Garden Expo, outreach on the Wind River Indian Reservation, private pesticide applicator certifications, and other events. Staff attended workshops and conferences of the North American Invasive Species Management Association, Northern Rockies Invasive Plant Council, Western Society of Weed Science, Wyoming Mosquito Control Association and Greater Yellowstone Coordinating Committee, among others. FCWP continued to engage the public with social media. In early 2016, we redesigned our website at giving it an updated look and expanding its Weed I.D. pages. Also, through our Facebook page and with hundreds of subscribers to our e-newsletter, and news coverage by local media, FCWP is striving to keep the public informed, killing weeds with education. FCWP also continued to be an active partner in the national Play Clean Go campaign by conducting or participating in outreach events and adding more boot brush stations at trailheads. The goal of PCG is to educate kids and adults about the importance of keeping their boots and other gear free of weed seeds to reduce the spread of invasive plants in recreational areas. The 2016 FCWP End of Year Report is compiled from staff contributions. All photos by FCWP unless otherwise credited. Comments or requests for printed copies can be sent to or call: FCWP Lander Office FCWP Riverton Office