Twenty Years of Success: Managing Tansy Ragwort in Northwestern Montana

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Twenty Years of Success: Managing Tansy Ragwort in Northwestern Montana

The Little Wolf Fire began in August of 1994, burning over 15,000 acres of national forest and private timber lands in northwestern Montana.  Open sites created by the burn and disturbance from fire-fighting activities provided ideal habitat for tansy ragwort. The County Weed District and other partners organized a cooperative weed management area (CWMA) and developed management plans to contain tansy ragwort.

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Restoring the Bosque: Lessons from 32 Years of Riparian Management

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Restoring the Bosque: Lessons from 32 Years of Riparian Management

The Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge lies in the heart of New Mexico’s middle Rio Grande Valley. These valuable wetlands serve as a winter home for tens of thousands of migratory waterfowl. and provide critical habitat for a variety of wildlife. Today, the refuge is one of the largest riparian restoration programs in the southwestern U.S. This article reviews 32 years of wetland restoration and paradigm shifts that resulted from testing and implementing various saltcedar management tools.

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Long-term Control of Crown Vetch at a Wisconsin Wildlife Refuge

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Long-term Control of Crown Vetch at a Wisconsin Wildlife Refuge

Field trials were conducted in 2007 on a crown vetch infestation located on Boomerang Island in the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge in Wisconsin. 

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Herbicide Incision Point Injection for Woody Plant Control Saves Time and Resources

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Herbicide Incision Point Injection for Woody Plant Control Saves Time and Resources

Studies were initiated by the University of Hawai’i Cooperative Extension Service Invasive Weed Management Program to find a method to improve individual plant herbicide application techniques and determine efficacy of various herbicides applied as undiluted formulations.

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Boots On the Ground: Managing Invasive Plants in the Nation's Largest County-Owned Park→

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Boots On the Ground: Managing Invasive Plants in the Nation's Largest County-Owned Park

Beaver Creek Park lies in north-central Montana where the prairie meets the Bear Paw Mountains. Within this 10,000-acre natural area are riparian meadows, rolling grasslands, pine forests, aspen and cottonwood groves, rocky cliffs and cascading waterfalls. This interface of prairie and mountains supports a diverse mix of geology, wildlife and vegetation that remains as unique today as it was centuries ago. Managing a park this large with limited resources requires sound vegetation management practices. 

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Dolores River Restoration Partnership

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Dolores River Restoration Partnership

In 2009 a coalition of concerned individuals and agencies took action to restore about 175 miles of riparian habitat along the Dolores River between McPhee Reservoir and its confluence with the Colorado River just north of Moab, Utah. 

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Tamarisk Coalition Unites Partners in Watershed-Scale Restoration

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Tamarisk Coalition Unites Partners in Watershed-Scale Restoration

Along the Colorado River near Grand Junction, a group of river guides, biologists, concerned citizens, and conservationists gather for an annual float trip to observe riparian restoration efforts. Rusty Lloyd, program director for the Tamarisk Coalition, and others in this group share concerns about the health of the Colorado and other rivers in the West.

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Logging Debris and Herbicide Treatments for Controlling Scotch Broom

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Logging Debris and Herbicide Treatments for Controlling Scotch Broom

Researchers conducted a study near Matlock, Washington investigating the potential of logging debris and herbicide combinations to inhibit germination and development of Scotch broom (Cytisus scoparius) seedlings. The study site was a mature Douglas-fir forest that was scheduled for harvest. The forest understory included occasional Scotch broom plants that invaded from a previous disturbance, indicating the likely presence of soil-stored seed. 

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Celebrating the Centennial: Volunteers Unite in Glacier National Park Weed BioBlitz

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Celebrating the Centennial: Volunteers Unite in Glacier National Park Weed BioBlitz

More than 90 volunteers gathered in July to be trained on noxious weed identification, monitoring and control in Glacier National Park as part of the Weed BioBlitz. Participants included volunteer youth and adults from Montana, Wyoming and Idaho.

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Landowner-Hunter Partnership Supports Habitat Conservation: Controlling Invasive Plants Enhances Diversity

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Landowner-Hunter Partnership Supports Habitat Conservation: Controlling Invasive Plants Enhances Diversity

Chris Hitzeman, a farmer and owner of U-Guide South Dakota Pheasant Hunting, gathered the group to discuss the challenges and benefits of restoring wildlife habitat. This diverse collection of individuals shares an interest in expanding and improving habitat for wildlife in the prairie region.

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Integrative Management of Sericea Lespedeza in Prairie Restorations

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Integrative Management of Sericea Lespedeza in Prairie Restorations

Researchers at Southern Illinois University conducted a study on sericea lespedeza in the Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge. The goal of the research was to explore a comprehensive approach to reducing the abundance of sericea lespedeza by: 1) measuring the level of sericea lespedeza control and forb tolerance to varying rates of herbicides applied in spring and summer, 2) comparing effectiveness of summer-applied to spring-applied herbicide treatments, and 3) determining how supplemental seeding of native grasses and forbs enhance restoration success following herbicide treatment. 

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Impact of Canada Thistle Cover on Plant Community Structure in Early Stage Prairie Restoration

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Impact of Canada Thistle Cover on Plant Community Structure in Early Stage Prairie Restoration

A field study was conducted in Minnesota to determine if there was a threshold of Canada thistle cover that would impact desirable plant community structure.

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Belwin Conservancy Tackles Grecian Foxglove in Minnesota

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Belwin Conservancy Tackles Grecian Foxglove in Minnesota

The restored prairies and woodlands within Belwin Conservancy also serve as models for ecological restoration in the St. Croix Valley. Non-native invasive plants such as Canada thistle (Cirsium arvense L.) have historically been problematic in prairie restorations. However, a new invader, Grecian foxglove (Digitalis lanata) is impacting desirable plant communities especially on prairie sites.

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Partnerships Expand Invasive Plant Management in Dakota Prairie Grasslands

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Partnerships Expand Invasive Plant Management in Dakota Prairie Grasslands

THE RUGGED LANDSCAPE OF THE DAKOTA PRAIRIE NATIONAL GRASSLAND stretches over 1.2 million acres in two states. These grasslands support a diversity of uses including livestock grazing, wildlife habitat, paleontological and archeological digs, oil and gas production, and recreation.

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