War on Weeds in the Bitterroot

[BigHornRam]

Looks like they are going to hit it hard. Mostly south facing elk, deer, and sheep winter range locations from the maps.

Bitterroot National Forest planning aerial spraying for invasive weeds

Aerial application of herbicides by helicopter is scheduled for Sept. 18-29 on the Darby-Sula Ranger District in the areas of Sleeping Child, Little Sleeping Child, Gird Creek, and Tolan Ridge.

ravallirepublic.com

 

[Carnage2011]

Good deal. The bitterroot has an insane noxious weed problem.

 

[MThuntr]

The amount of cheatgrass and knapweed in these areas is alarming. The Salmon-Challis just posted a couple before and after pics of some cheatgrass treatments and it looks promising.

 

[Irrelevant]

Good deal. The bitterroot has an insane noxious weed problem.

Man IDK, have you been to ID or eastern OR? I feel like I struggled to find a native species floating the John Day this spring. And the lower portions of the Boise River were just as bad.

 

[BigHornRam]

For those that don't like to read links, this is a 4 year deal to treat 35,000 acres. Big project!

"Treatment of these aggressive species has become a priority for many agencies in the western United States. Partnering with the Ravalli County Weed District, this treatment is being funded through grants from the Wildlife Habitat Improvement Program (WHIP), and the Ravalli County Resource Advisory Committee (RAC). The grants will fund integrated weed treatment on approximately 35,000 acres of the forest over the next 4 years, to include herbicide treatment, reseeding, and biological control."

 

[BigHornRam]

What is WHIP?

Wildlife Habitat Improvement Program Grants | Montana FWP

The Montana Wildlife Habitat Improvement Act was passed into law by the 2017 Legislature. The purpose of the act is to make federal funding available to restore priority wildlife habitats by managing noxious weeds. The legislation makes available up to $2M annually in federal Pittman-Robertson...

fwp.mt.gov

 

[TheTone]

Everywhere has an insane problem. Totally sucks and landowners (public and private) aren’t held responsible enough

I talked with a contract sprayer this summer. Kinda felt bad for him, one guy with a utv and thousands of acres to cover. He told me he doesn’t even bother to spray knapweed as it’s so well established. He was mainly concentrated on new patches of skeleton weed that were popping up and other patches of things he has been spraying for years

I have a love/hate relationship with the years I spent spraying. I felt like I was doing something great but it was a drop in the ocean. It also led me to spot and get angry about weeds all the time. I tend to do a lot of pulling when I’m hiking, hunting and driving around

 

[Caseknife]

One of our major timber companies in NE WA likes to nuke the land after timber harvest to eliminate competition for the new seedlings planted one to two years later. Problem is, every cut looks horrendous, has no good habitat for wildlife and is one huge weed patch, but nobody seems to care, all for the shareholders. Nothing said about the 7 or 8 different chemicals that are aereal sprayed that will enter the waterways.

 

[BigHornRam]

Well this is one of the sites that is scheduled to be sprayed, and the wildlife WILL benefit from the reduction in cheatgrass and knapweed, and reseeding of native grasses that take the invasive weeds place.

Post in thread '‘Self-serving garbage.’ Wildfire experts escalate fight over saving California forests' https://www.hunttalk.com/threads/se...saving-california-forests.309699/post-3276377

 

[SAJ-99]

Man IDK, have you been to ID or eastern OR? I feel like I struggled to find a native species floating the John Day this spring. And the lower portions of the Boise River were just as bad.

Driving through Eastern WA, you would think the spotted knap-weed is the state flower.

 

[Irrelevant]

Driving through Eastern WA, you would think the spotted knap-weed is the state flower.

No where in WA I've ever been compares to those two places I pointed out. It was absolutely shocking how much worse things could get.

 

[TheTone]

One of our major timber companies in NE WA likes to nuke the land after timber harvest to eliminate competition for the new seedlings planted one to two years later. Problem is, every cut looks horrendous, has no good habitat for wildlife and is one huge weed patch, but nobody seems to care, all for the shareholders. Nothing said about the 7 or 8 different chemicals that are aereal sprayed that will enter the waterways.

Cuts around me used to get burned before replanting, it was pretty nice and you got a decent suite of plant life afterwards. Now we are on the herbicide treatment route. Tons of slash left on the ground then sprayed killing off everything and then afterwards a giant weed patch with way way too many seedlings planted

 

[BigHornRam]

The amount of cheatgrass and knapweed in these areas is alarming. The Salmon-Challis just posted a couple before and after pics of some cheatgrass treatments and it looks promising.

Links for these treatment pics?

 

[Carnage2011]

Man IDK, have you been to ID or eastern OR? I feel like I struggled to find a native species floating the John Day this spring. And the lower portions of the Boise River were just as bad.

I haven’t spent any time in the areas you’ve mentioned. I own a noxious weed spraying business a couple hours east of the bitterroot. I’m considering opening another location over there just based on what I’ve seen while scouting this year.

 

[BigHornRam]

I haven’t spent any time in the areas you’ve mentioned. I own a noxious weed spraying business a couple hours east of the bitterroot. I’m considering opening another location over there just based on what I’ve seen while scouting this year.

You will have no shortage of business over here. Guaranteed!

 

[TheTone]

I haven’t spent any time in the areas you’ve mentioned. I own a noxious weed spraying business a couple hours east of the bitterroot. I’m considering opening another location over there just based on what I’ve seen while scouting this year.

Get a handle on yellow starthistle in the hells canyon country and you’ll be a millionaire.

 

[BuzzH]

Well this is one of the sites that is scheduled to be sprayed, and the wildlife WILL benefit from the reduction in cheatgrass and knapweed, and reseeding of native grasses that take the invasive weeds place.

Post in thread '‘Self-serving garbage.’ Wildfire experts escalate fight over saving California forests' https://www.hunttalk.com/threads/se...saving-california-forests.309699/post-3276377

So how soon do the cattle show up?

 

[BigHornRam]

So how soon do the cattle show up?

Not a lot of cattle left in the Bitterroot. You will have to BYOC if you want to graze there, Buzz.

 

[BuzzH]

Not a lot of cattle left in the Bitterroot. You will have to BYOC if you want to graze there, Buzz.

2600 cattle graze on the Bitterroot National Forest.

 

[mtmuley]

2600 cattle graze on the Bitterroot National Forest.

Where? mtmuley