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Cooperation key to successA unique Wyoming partnership aimed at controlling a Dalmatian toadflax infestation has changed the way weed problems are handled in across the country "Great discoveries and improvements invariably involve the cooperation of many minds." - Alexander Graham Bell For more than three decades, a collection of people in northwestern Wyoming has struggled to prevent invasive weeds from harming native habitats along the Shoshone River. In the process, the group revolutionized the way in which invasive weeds are fought throughout the United States. In this part of Park County, Wyo., the primary culprit invasive weed is Dalmatian toadflax. Infesting more than 3,000 acres of riparian areas, scrubland, grassland and forestland along the south fork of the Shoshone River watershed, Dalmatian toadflax threatens the existence of multiple grazing wildlife species and nearby human residents who rely upon the watershed for drinking and irrigation water. Meet the culprit Dalmatian toadflax is a state-listed noxious weed in Wyoming. Since it earned this classification, private landowners have been required by law to manage Dalmatian toadflax infestations on their properties. In the South fork of the Shoshone River valley, where infestations have escalated since the 1970s, the Park County Weed and Pest District works with landowners and land agencies to ensure infestations are watched and controlled. "We've been tracking Dalmatian toadflax in this area since 1973," said Bob Parsons, Park County Weed Supervisor. "At that time, there were two acres of infested property spread over a 180-acre area of U.S. Forest Service land. Although we were able to keep the infestation from growing, we were never able to eradicate it with the herbicides we had available at the time." Because the infestations were minute compared to other weed problems, they were not prioritized in USFS management plans. When the federal government reduced the funding available for weed management programs, the USFS did not have the resources to keep Dalmatian toadflax control at the forefront of land management programs in the Shoshone Forest. Within three years of this decision, Dalmatian toadflax spread to cover a 2,000-acre area of national forestland and nearby private properties. "It literally took off as though it were running a race," Parsons said. "The worst part about it was that it began showing up down by the river's edge and in the streambed, where it can spread quickly once seeds get into the water." The expansive infestation posed a growing threat to big horn sheep grazing in the area. As it flourished, Dalmatian toadflax began to take the place of native plants, which provide important nutritional food sources for big horn sheep and other grazing wildlife in the Shoshone River valley. Though the pesky weed's presence in the area isn't a new development, both the way it's controlled and the means of funding control efforts are innovative. The sum of our parts ... Just as educational campaigns got under way, a surprise swept through the region: The Yellowstone Fires of 1988. Because Dalmatian toadflax is usually the first to populate an area after a wildfire - along with other invasive and noxious weeds such as cheatgrass - land management agencies prepared to fight the invaders in the aftermath of the fire to limit regrowth. Park County Weed and Pest Control District partnered with the Bureau of Land Management, forest service and National Park Service and departments of agriculture from neighboring states to develop the "Guidelines For Coordinated Management of Noxious Weeds in the Greater Yellowstone Area" to address the encroaching threat. The culmination of this project resulted in the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between these agencies and states. This document outlined a management concept that would eventually evolve into the formation of a weed management area. The weeds were invading borders without restraint and land management professionals realized that in order to control the infestation they had to breach traditional agency lines to co-manage weeds across borders. "It was the first documented effort of a wide scale inter-state and interagency effort to beat invasive and noxious weeds, and would allow for federal and state funding to assist weed control beyond individual political borders," Parsons said. The Yellowstone guidelines set the stage for the formation of the South Fork Weed Management Area in 1994. The Cody Conservation District and Park County Weed and Pest Control District led the effort. Through co-operative grant writing the SFWMA received its first Pulling Together Initiative grant through the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. The PTI grant provided the money necessary to inventory the current Dalmatian toadflax infestation in the South fork, and begin a more aggressive control regiment. In recent years, the success of SFWMA has led to the replication of the weed management area concept throughout the United States. "At the time, we were just working to control a specific problem," Parsons said. "We had no idea that the concept would be so well received, much less help create a model for others to duplicate." Control efforts Organizational innovation was just the beginning. In order to fight Dalmatian toadflax, the coalition needed innovative control methods, as well. In 1998, Jennifer Vollmer, environmental resource specialist for BASF Professional Vegetation Management provided the Park County Weed and Pest District with a new tool for controlling Dalmatian toadflax. She introduced them to Plateau herbicide from BASF. While Park County officials had used Tordon and 2,4-D in the past to control Dalmatian toadflax, the current treatments were limited to non-riparian areas. As a result, they could not apply this herbicide mix to the water's edge, where Dalmatian toadflax had reached. Because Plateau can be sprayed nearer to water, using it could help treat those previously untreated regions. The application timing of using Plateau presented another strategic advantage for Park County, although they had to see it first to believe it. Instead of applying herbicide in the summer as they had always done, Vollmer recommended they apply Plateau in the fall or early winter, after the first hard freeze of the year. "We had a hard time believing we should wait that long to apply Plateau," Parsons said. "We tried it once, after a hard frost but before a freeze, and were not as impressed with the results. The next time we tried it however, we waited until after the freeze to apply it, and the results blew us away." What Parsons and his crews witnessed was better Dalmatian toadflax control than they had seen for years. The trial results revealed that they might not need to treat the areas again the following year. In addition to putting a dent in the Dalmatian toadflax infestations, the Plateau resulted in a better control solution for the entire surrounding ecosystem. Because it's a selective herbicide, Plateau did not wipe out other native forbs or grasses as other herbicide mixes had done in the past. When this would occur, cheatgrass would re-populate in the treated areas, leading to an equally, if not more destructive, plant monoculture. With Plateau, however, desirable native species were not impacted by the herbicide treatments, and cheatgrass was not allowed a foothold. The Park County Weed and Pest District's best results in controlling Dalmatian toadflax have come from a combination of Plateau and bio-control with European weevils, specifically Mecinus janthinus. Because of the rocky terrain along the Shoshone's south fork, many Dalmatian toadflax infestations aren't accessible to spray from ATVs or horseback. In the last 10 years, more than 20,000 weevils have been released in these areas. "The weevils are an important part of our control plan," said Josh Shorb, assistant supervisor of the Park County Weed and Pest District. "We spray Plateau where we can, let the bugs do what they can do and do our best to contain Dalmatian toadflax by hitting it hard near the river and roadways, where seeds are likely to spread." Parsons said the combination of herbicides and bio-control has been a recipe for success. Though Dalmatian toadflax may never be eliminated in the region, the amount of toadflax has decreased because of control efforts. "I'm surprised at how well we've been able to contain Dalmatian toadflax in the past few years," Parsons said. "I never guessed we'd be as successful as we have. It's nice to see all of our hard work and cooperation paying off." 4/12/08 Date: 4/11/08
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