Friday, July 25, 2008

By SANDRA HANSEN
Ag Editor

TORRINGTON, Wyo. - A second season of Russian olive removal along the North Platte River is underway. In a continuation of the Goshen County Weed and Pest Department project, 300 acres are expected to be cleared this summer near the Wyoming/Nebraska state line and along two tributaries.

About $250,000 has been secured through grants, a state allocation, and other governmental agencies. According to Brill, the Wildlife Trust provided a $50,000 grant, the Natural Resources Conservation Service supplied a $100,000 grant, and the State of Wyoming contributed $79,000. Additional funding comes from the Bureau of Land Management, Game and Fish, and Goshen County Weed and Pest.

Brill said he attends several meetings with various organizations and government agencies throughout the year to update them on the program's progress. He said keeping them informed is vital to funding for the project.

The removal process includes shearing the trees off near the ground. The stumps are then sprayed with triclopyr by Weed and Pest employee Rudy Hackett. The spraying must be done within 15 minutes of being cut in order to prevent new growth. Saplings and very small trees cannot be sheared or pulled out by the large track hoe, so they are sprayed. The severed trees are then piled so they can dry down before being mulched later this year.

According to Gary Olson, owner of TDS in Torrington, who is contracted to do the work, the mulch is popular in this area, and orders are coming in for spring and summer landscaping.

"It's going real good, and in about three months, the grass in there will be so high it falls over," Olson predicted.

Brill said this summer's Russian olive clearing project will probably be the last for a few years, so treatment can be done on the tributaries. Horse Creek and Bear Creek, both in the southern part of the county, are first on the list. About 300 acres were removed, chipped and stumps treated in Goshen County during the summer of 2007. An additional 2,000 acres of individual saltcedar plants were treated beginning the fall of 2006 and through the summer of 2007.

"I think the landowners are going to be very pleased with how their property looks when the trees are gone," Brill said. "You can already see the improvement around Little Moon. Once we get the trees out, there will be good grazing in there, and they can do some other conservation by planting more native plant. They have a lot of wildlife in there now, and I'm sure this project is going to bring more."

According to Brill, the cottonwood trees along the river will remain in place. They are the State Tree for Nebraska and Wyoming. He said some new cottonwoods might get started with more water and less competition from the Russian olives and saltcedar.

The Wyoming project is one of the presentations and a stop on the tour of the Invasive Species Control Summit that will be held in Gering on May 6, 7 and 8. Panhandle control projects are also on the agenda, including Nine Mile Creek, and stops near McGrew and Minatare and south of Henry.

The Summit also offers opportunities to earn continuing education units for certified managers of invasive plants for the North American Weed Management Association (3.25 CEU), and for certified crop advisors with the American Society of Agronomy (6.5 CEU).

For more information regarding the Summit, call Mike Sarchet of Twin Cities Development at (308) 635-6715, or Dennis Beyer, High Plains Weed Management Association project director, (308) 632-1311.