Brought to you by the Missoula Valley Land Managers LEAVE NO WEEDS Brought to you by the Missoula Valley Land Managers Leave No Weeds is a presentation about noxious weeds and is sponsored by several land managing agencies b/c noxious weeds are an issue that affects a lot of different people. Who can name some land managing agencies? USFS-federal agency in charge of managing forests. BLM- federal agency Montana DNRC-logging money goes towards funding schools Plum Creek-private forestry agency Missoula Conservation District-give permits to people who want to build along streams University of Montana- own the M trail and in charge of getting rid of weeds on it. Montana Fish, Wildlife, Parks Missoula County-I work for them

Leave No Weeds Principles Be aware and prepare Camp and travel in weed free areas Pull and pack out weeds when possible Report weed infestations Read these to kids We will talk about these principles more later.

What is a weed? What is a noxious weed? An unwanted plant This depends on your goals and values What is a noxious weed? A weed that the state and/or federal government has identified as a serious threat- they must be controlled Not all natural area weeds are noxious weeds What is a weed? Who here has a garden? What do you grow? Say that you have a tomato garden and sunflower pops up. You might consider that a weed and pull it out. Maybe if a sunflower came up in your neighbor’s tomato garden they might like that b/c it attracts birds. Who gets dandelions in their lawns? This is another example of a weed. You may not like them but your neighbor might because they might make dandelion wine or put the leaves in their salad. The butterflies also like dandelions. So your definition of a weed may be different from someone else’s. It all depends on your goals and values. Explain what a noxious weed is. How many species of noxious weeds do you think are in Montana? 27 How many in California? 300. Why? Because CA has a much bigger population and a longer growing season. Today when I talk about weeds I am talking about noxious weeds.

Weeds: What’s the Problem? These plants did not evolve in this system These plants did not come with natural controls such as insect predators, plant pathogens, and other competing plants Grow rapidly and exclude desirable native plant species What does it mean to be a native to Montana? It means that you were born here. Non-native species were not born in Montana. All of Montana’s noxious weeds were born in other parts of the world. They did not come here w/ natural controls such as insect predators, plant diseases, etc. Noxious weeds grow very quickly and have been taking over our native species. Missoula Hills Today

North Hills in 1974 prior to weed invasion! Name the species in the picture: arrowleaf balsamroot, indian paintbrush (lots of it in Glacier N.P.), lupine. Lupine is a special plant b/c it takes nitrogen from the air and makes it available for the other plants in the soil. It is a native plant but some ranchers consider this a weed b/c it has a poison in it that makes livestock sick. So this is an example of one person thinking a plant is weed but another person thinking it is not a weed. A prairie like this can have over 100 different plant and grass species! In 1974 the area was overgrazed which is why there is so much lupine.

North Hills May 2004. In 1980, it was sprayed for leafy spurge and spotted knapweed with Tordon at 3-4 pts. per acre every 2 years until 2000. Tordon was broadcasted over everything. Because of the high rate of Tordon, the forbs were sprayed out over time. The area was also grazed heavily with horses and cows. Now it is under new ownership so grazing has ceased but the spurge is still in the background with cheatgrass and mustards.

Weeds use more than their fare share of sunlight Weeds use more than their fare share of sunlight. Some weeds like common tansy grow over 6 feet tall and shade out native plants. What is it called when a plant takes the sun’s energy and convert it to energy? Photosynethesis.

Water. One salt cedar or tamarisk can soak up to 250 gallons of water a day! That is 5 bathtubs full of water. This plant is a problem especially in Eastern MT. Water is a precious resource and farmers and ranchers can’t afford to have plants like salt cedar hogging up the water. Some people in Missoula have been planting these in their gardens so we’re trying to keep them from doing that.

Use more than their fare share of nutrients in the soil Use more than their fare share of nutrients in the soil. What nutrients do you need to grow? Calcium, protein, etc. Plants needs three main nutrients to grow. N, P, K. Ex. Show leafy spurge root. Leafy spurge has a 26 foot long root to access more nutrients than native plants. Point out root buds and how they help the plant spread laterally.

Economic and Ecological Problems with Weed Invasions Decrease the economic value of land and crops Increase soil erosion and sedimentation Decrease fish habitat Decrease forage for livestock and wildlife Displace native plant species Lower plant biodiversity Affect recreational value Decrease economic value of land and crops: Say that a wheat farmer has 100 acres and 1/2 are taken over w/ weeds. That means less money for the farmer and it will be harder for him to sell his land. Increase erosion-we’ll talk more about that Decrease fish habitat-talk more about that later Decrease forage for wildlife and livestock: What do wild animals and livestock like to eat? Grasses. Displace native spp. Give example of knapweed releasing catechin into soil and killing natives. Lower plant biodiversity: Biodiversity means that all of you have dif. Families, names, and genes. So do plants and animals. They all serve an important purpose in the world just like you do. Affect recreational value: How does if feel to walk thru a field of knapweed? Not good.

Increases erosion into streams and rivers Knapweed releases a chemical into the soil that kills plants so you get a lot of bare soil. Lets say that there is a bare hillside above a river. What happens when it rains? Mud. That mud will flow into the rivers and streams and decrease the oxygen in the water making it harder for fish to breathe. Too much erosion causes the river to shrink so that means less places for fish to lay eggs.

Degrades fish habitat

What is this a picture of? What do elk like to eat? Noxious weeds decrease food for wildlife. Talk about how elk like on Mt. Jumbo and how there’s not as much grass for them to eat anymore. Have kids name some different kinds of wildlife like elk, deer, butterflies, birds, and insects.

If so, you want to control noxious weeds.

How many different kinds of plants do you see? Lowers plant biodiversity and creates monocultures. Biodiversity: We talked about that definition earlier. We have only 2 weeds growing here, not 100 spp. like that picture of the man standing in the field of flowers. Monoculture: Does anyone know what the prefix “mono” mean? It means one. So in this picture we have two monocultures. Name the 2 monocultures.