Dealing with Noxious Weeds

Dealing with Noxious Weeds. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Line On Agriculture.
There's a new noxious weed of concern for Oregon that has the potential to plague both sides of the Cascades. Purple starthistle- which has only been found two other times in the state- has shown up in Eastern Oregon's Wheeler County. Purple starthistle may be considered a poster child for Oregon's invasive species objective of early detection, rapid response. Earlier this month, it was found in a remote area along the John Day River on just a handful of acres. Within 15 hours, the prickly plants were sprayed as part of an eradication effort that may have to continue for years to come.

BUTLER:  We don't know where this site came from. It could have come in on livestock or a piece of equipment or possibly in seed, or it could have come down from a site upriver possibly.

Tim Butler is supervisor of the Oregon Department of Agriculture's Noxious Weed Control Program. He and other officials are doing the equivalent of putting up wanted posters in the area of Wheeler County so that others can spot any new infestations of purple starthistle. ODA's Tom Forney says this is a weed that could spell trouble in many areas of the state.

FORNEY:  It is very aggressive and is adaptive to a lot of different environments. It does very well in dryer areas, it does very well in more wet areas.

In fact, ODA has been battling purple starthistle in a small area of Clackamas County for about a decade. Still, the invasive weed has not gained a stronghold in Oregon. With the help of the public looking for any new sites, it never will. Forney says it is important to have more eyes looking for purple starthistle, both in the immediate area of Wheeler County and in other areas of the state. That's why the public is being asked to help.

FORNEY:  I think the important thing is to educate yourself on what the plant looks like and to report those infestations to the Department of Agriculture and to your local weed control program so we can work with you and try to protect Oregon's resources.

Butler says the new infestation in Wheeler County was discovered earlier this month and treated almost immediately. But he's afraid we haven't seen the last of it.

BUTLER:  We did find sites, plants down in the flood plain of the John Day River. So there is a real concern of it being downriver. So we are in the process of getting information out to the local ranchers and so forth to be looking for it and starting some initial survey.

That’s today’s Line On Agriculture. I’m Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.