Pull Your Share of Noxious Weeds

Spring has sprung, and plants are blooming throughout the Valley. While we are excited to see the emergence of our native flowers and grasses, such as purple prairie clover and lewis flax, the presence of noxious and invasive weeds threatens to push them out. Non-native, noxious weeds have the potential to destroy Montana’s wildlife habitat and negatively impact recreational experiences. Noxious weeds are weeds that have received designation from federal, state, or local government as being harmful to public health, agriculture, recreation, wildlife, or property. So, what can we do about it?

A relatively low-impact solution is mechanical management. This can involve hand pulling weeds or timely mowing. In conjunction with this management method, last year, the Madison Conservation District began a partnership with 8^th grade science students from Ennis Middle School, the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest (BDNF), and the Pull Your Share (PYS) program to combat the presence of spotted knapweed throughout Montana. Pull Your Share is an invasive plant education and control program that was started several years ago in Great Falls. The program mainly focuses on controlling spotted knapweed, but its general purpose can be adapted to control your weed of interest, so depending where you are in the state or the country, you can pull your share of invasive weeds.

As a part of the program, this year, students first attended a classroom presentation led by Big Sky Watershed Corps member Maia Schweikert. During the presentation students learned about the goals of the PYS program, invasive and native species, as well as the origin and impacts of spotted knapweed. Students were also led in a musical chairs inspired activity that allowed them to simulate the invasion of noxious weeds on a riparian habitat.

Figure 1: BSWC member Maia S. leads classroom presentation on spotted knapweed

After completing the first annual PYS field trip in Madison County last year, students, USFS employees, and the Madison Conservation District adopted the Bear Creek Trailhead as an annual weed pull site. Attendees collected 15 large trash bags of weeds from the site, greatly reducing knapweed’s presence and hopefully allowing for other methods of control, such as spraying or biocontrol, in the future. We were unable to return to the site this Spring, due to weather concerns, but we plan to continue this program in the years to follow.

It is important for all outdoor recreators to clean all of their gear after every time they recreate to prevent the spread of noxious weeds and other invasive plants into new areas. Ensure your livestock is weed seed free before entering the back country. Please remember to spend 5-15 minutes per outing Pulling Your Share!