05/23/07 Weeds

Weeds. I'm Greg Martin with today's Line On Agriculture. Noxious weeds have a propensity for invading every place you really would rather they didn't, causing environmental and economic harm throughout the Pacific Northwest. In Oregon, Governor Kulongoski has proclaimed the week of May 20 as Weed Awareness Week. And there are plenty of invasive noxious weeds in the state to be aware of. BUTLER: The weed issues have been termed as a biological pollution or a biological wildfire, you might say where, in many cases, it's burning out of control. Tim Butler, supervisor of the Oregon Department of Agriculture's Noxious Weed Control Program, says noxious weeds cause an estimated 83 million dollars in annual losses due to the impact on agricultural production, impacts to watersheds and ecosystems, and the cost of treatment. BUTLER: You have to look at every situation differently, each weed species differently as far as management strategies. We certainly look at things from an integrated approach using all the tools in the toolbox from biological control to manual and chemical control to keep these things in check. Butler says invasive noxious weeds are a problem throughout Oregon and are not confined to just one area of the state. Gorse on the Oregon coast, giant hogweed in the Willamette Valley, yellow starthistle in southwest Oregon, spotted knapweed in central Oregon, common bugloss in northeast Oregon, and perennial pepperweed in southeast Oregon are among the nastiest weeds being dealt with by ODA and its partners at this time. BUTLER: All of the regions of the state, from the coast to the Wallowas to southeastern Oregon, central Oregon all have invasive weed and noxious weed issues that we're trying to deal with. Butler says the public can help in the fight against noxious weeds by not contributing to the problem in the first place. That includes cleaning off camping equipment, boots, and vehicles that might have come in contact with noxious weeds: BUTLER: That's one of the things that we really feel we can make the biggest difference in is prevention. Keeping these things from being moved either initial introduction into the state moving them from point A to point B within the state. That's today's Line On Agriculture. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.