Ask the Experts.......Ravalli County Home & Property Education Series

Do you have horticulture questions or small acreage problems? If the answer is yes or if you are just curious about these topics you might want to consider attending all or some of the educational seminars organized and presented by The Department of Agriculture, Nature’s Enhancement, Inc., MSU Extension, Cenex – Mountain West Coop, Bitterroot Nursery, Earth and Wood, Lakeland Feed & Supply, and Ravalli County Weed District.

The hot topics that will be presented in this series are: Composting and Gardening Basics, Your Living Soils and Pastures, Calibration and Pesticide Applicator Training, Firewise Landscaping – More than Just Rocks Around Your Home and Pine Bark Beetles 101, Organic Pest Control, Noxious Weeds and Poisonous Plants, and Sustainable Landscapes. Each topic will be presented independently of every other. Most of the classes will be held on Saturdays from 10 am–12 pm but one is a full day on Saturday and one is on a Wednesday evening. The first seminar will take place in mid March and the last will be in late June. The location for each seminar will vary with an emphasis on sites at which the topics can be presented in a hands on way. All topics will be presented by one or multiple experts on the subject and are FREE to everyone in attendance. All attendees will also receive a goodie bag jam-packed with information on any property management topic you can think of.

If you have any questions about what is being offered or anything else related to these seminars please contact us at 777-5842. Some of these classes require registration, so call ahead to get signed up.

Yes! The weed district does spray Herbicide on roadside.

In continuing the effort to inform Ravalli County residents of what the weed district does and what we can offer to landowner, we want to address roadside spraying in more detail since that single issue is where 90% of the criticisms towards us comes from (the other 10% is not enforcing the state weed law). The criticisms come from two diametrically opposite camps; one that does not want us to spray herbicide at all, and one that says we aren't doing enough to control roadside weeds. Many words could be written addressing each side individually but here we will deal with some of the simple facts with controlling roadside weed problems.

There is a Montana State Law that says (in a nut shell) a landowner must not let Noxious Weeds propagate on their land. Not all weeds are 'noxious weeds' .

Noxious weeds are those exotic (non-native) plants that are so invasive and detrimental to our agriculture and natural environment that the state of Montana or individual counties will designate the plant as a 'noxious' weed, then by which it then falls under the 'Weed Law' and it is regulated by the county weed districts across Montana. There are many other 'exotic weeds' that do not meet the criteria 'Noxious' although they may look bad and can cause occasional problems in some areas. These weeds are referred to as nuisance or ob-noxious weeds and these are not fall under the 'Weed Law' and are not regulated by the county.

County Weed Districts and there boards are the authoritative body that write and implement a weed management plan for their particular county under the state of Montana "County Weed Control Act". County plans will differ depending on priorities of that particular county but need to follow state law in efforts to directly and indirectly manage their noxious weed populations through various avenues. One Major responsibility is to directly control the 'noxious' weeds on county property and county & state right-of-ways (ROW).

Why roadsides? They and the vehicles that travel them are the single biggest reasons weeds spread across the county. Thus the control and monitoring of noxious weeds on our roads are a high priority to prevent new infestations and to slow down existing ones.
County and State road easements fall under the responsibilities of the county and state to maintain for multiple purposes. Road departments will do vegetation management for safety such as tree and shrub removal and mowing. Weed Districts are responsible for the 'noxious' weed control and the method most often used is herbicide application although other methods such as hand pulling, mechanical, and biological controls are also used.

Ravalli County’s weed program includes broadcast and spot treating with herbicides on all county and state ROW. Spraying is not as simple as turning on a nozzle and driving; not even close. We must be very aware of a plethora of things so that we spray what should be sprayed while avoiding what should not as we move along the roadside. Besides keeping our speed, and position in check, we are looking for the presence of noxious weeds vs. native forbs, roadside hazards such as water, mail boxes, people, pets, livestock and wildlife, traffic hazard, and changing weather conditions. We also keep an eye on what is on the other side of the fence giving crops and livestock a buffer.
Our overall goal is to safely apply herbicide to noxious weeds on the roadside minimizing herbicide exposure to anything non-target. Not all herbicides have the same level of toxicity. The levels from ‘least’ to ‘most’ are respectively ‘Caution, Warning, and Danger’. There are commonly used herbicides in all of these categories. The weed district currently uses only ‘Caution (least toxic)’ herbicides most of the time and if we use a ‘Danger’ product, it is only on particularly tough noxious weeds and by spot treating be hand with a backpack or hand line sprayer. You will also see us walking the road using our hand line much more now than in the past. This allows us to more easily target the noxious weeds where populations are not to dense and give us extra caution near water. This method also uses less herbicide overall putting less herbicide in the environment and saving money. The drawback being the time it takes by this method and thus less total roadside is covered in a season. So like anything it is give and take as to the best methods to use on which particular road but we will always side on the safest way.

Our three permanent staff members are trained and licensed in the proper and safe use of herbicides on our roadsides we are also well educated on many of the weeds and plants growing in this valley, exotic and native, and how to control or promote them and many land management issues you might have. We are always available to schedule a visit with landowners to identify the weeds and plants and how to manage them and help them with ideas towards their goals. We thoroughly train our seasonal employees on all the hazards associated with applying herbicide

Hey! Is anyone, at all, out there that wants to see more Information?

We know that this year we have not put much effort into this blog sight. The reason is that we no longer believe that anyone is looking at it. One of our fans moved, others who are adversaries tell us we are a lost cause and our words are not worth their time to read. This we know. What we don't know is, who out there reads our posts but gave up do to our inactivity. If anyone checking this blog would like to see more, make a comment so we know you are out there and let us know if you have any subjects you would like to see.
Thanks for stopping by our blog!

Leafy Spurge and Dalmation Toadflax

Dalmation Toadflax is a very problematic weed in this valley and is getting worse. In 2003 and 2004 the weed district had grant funds available for help to spray this weed on private land. We have not had that funding since. Also since that time only a handful of landowners have continued to work on their Toadflax problem and most have not and are beginning to see it get so bad again that they are alarmed and calling our office asking for further help. We are sorry but currently we do not have funding to devote to this weed on private land. But the question we have to ask is why did most of these landowners ignore their problem all these years,when as landowners in the State of Montana, they have obligation and legal responsibility to manage noxious weed on there property?! Now as the problem is obviously worse, they want our help again and we can't give it to them. All we can currently give is advice. This doesn't mean that we may not be able to help in the future if the right grant opportunity came along or the organization of an landowner "cooperative weed management area" to deal with this problem. Cooperation being the key word and yet the hardest to attain in this county. The folks that want no part and those few who fight anything we try, end up being successful to stop true cooperation and work performed is spotty and non-cohesive. As landowners, we all need to manage our noxious weeds even if it is a small part every year. All it means is to develop a plan, what weed do you have, where are they, what is the highest priority for your land and how does that affect your neighbors. It's all about land stewardship trying to be a considerate neighbor.
I know I digressed, but I feel it is always important to promote cooperation or point out the lack there of and hope for improvement. Stay tuned for future assistance programs that may develop and if you think you might be someone who could energize and organize a large group of landowners, give us a call at the weed district office 777-5842.

Leafy Spurge: Now if you have Leafy Spurge and your land boarders Bitterroot National Forest land, then we do have some assistance for those landowners through cooperation with the forest service. If you fit the bill please call us at 777-5842

Herbicides - Use them Safely!

Herbicides are chemicals designed to kill or suppress plants. That being said, there is a lot of misconception concerning their toxic affect to animals and humans. Herbicides are not to be taken lightly and must be used properly, but so do many other chemicals we use regularly. The fact of the matter is that the use of herbicides, used correctly, can be no better or worse for you then chemicals you are around regularly. It is a matter of exposure and dose. Let’s face it; we are surrounded by hundreds of chemical products everyday. When used correctly, they have very low risk to your health, but used incorrectly, they could have an adverse affect on your health. That’s why it is so important to read the label and follow the instructions on anything you use because they all have risks. Even 100% natural products can cause problems if not used correctly. So, if you don’t take anything else from this article, learn to read product labels and follow the instructions. It will keep you, your family and the environment safer.

Chemicals surround us in our lives everyday. There is an incredible array of different chemicals we may be exposed to, some occur naturally, some manufactured, and many are manufactured versions of natural occurring chemicals. Chemicals come in the form of pesticides, cleaning products, pharmaceuticals, food additives and substitutes, personal care products, and the list goes on. No matter what the chemical, it always important to use it in a safe and responsible manner by always following the directions on the label. All products that we use have a dose at which they can become toxic to humans. This is called acute toxicity. For example some industrial chemicals have toxic affects with just a drop, while with others you could ingest a gallon before you would reach a level of toxicity. Even water has its dose of toxicity albeit very high. Try an internet search on “water toxicity” sometime; it’s interesting. All this means is, that we all need to use these products the way they were intended to be used. If a shampoo bottle says ‘avoid getting in eyes’ then be conscious of keeping your eyes closed. If your toothpaste says “do not swallow” then please don’t. If a medication says to only take 2 with meals, then there is probably a good reason why. Instructions on products we all use are there to keep us safe from miss-using them. There are thousands of chemical based products that are safe when used of taken as directed. It is all a matter of exposure and dose. Before you use it - Read the Label!

Herbicides are classified as non-selective (kills all plants) or selective (kills specific broadleaf or grass plants). Their chemistries mimic or inhibit natural chemical processes that are specific to plants and is not shared by animals of any kind. They also have a wide range of acute toxicity to animals if used incorrectly as stated before. Many of the most common herbicides used for common weed control have a low risk of acute toxicity, others are more hazardous. On the front of every label there is a “Signal Word” which indicates its relative toxicity. These words are caution, warning, danger, and danger/poison (skull & x-bones), caution being low and danger/poison being the most toxic. Many commonly used herbicides fall in the caution category, including the herbicides we use on our roadsides.
Herbicides are usually purchased in a concentrated form which needs to be mixed with water before sprayed. To determine how, when, and in what amounts (rate) to be sprayed, you must read the label and all the labels are different. All the information concerning its use is in that label and the law requires that these products must be used as directed by the label. Following the label helps protect you, your neighbors, and the environment. The label will tell you what PPE (personal protective equipment) you will need to safely mix and apply the product. As an applicator, you are at most risk of being exposed to the herbicide and the proper clothing is important including always wearing long sleeved shirt, pants, socks, shoes and water proof gloves. When mixing, use measuring devices that will be used only for herbicide use and do not allow herbicide to come into contact with anything that will be used for another purpose such as a garden hose.
Calibration of your spray equipment is essential to mixing the right amount of herbicide whether you are using a small hand sprayer, backpack, or ATV. Herbicide application rates are usually expressed in ounces or pints per acre, not as simple ounces per gallon. For example, Milestone herbicide is commonly used at a rate of 5 ounces per acre which means that only 5 ounces of the herbicide is spread out over 1 acre of land. So you will need to know how much liquid you and your spray equipment sprays out on an acre of land. Then you will know how much herbicide to mix in. Our website www.rcweeds.org, has worksheets and instructions on how to calibrate your equipment. Applying the proper amount of herbicide over a given area ensures good weed control and reduces it’s over exposure to you and the environment.

If you want to do your own spraying every year, consider taking the private applicators course through the county extension office. Although not required to use most herbicides, it will give you a very good education on their safe and proper use. You can also hire professional applicators which there are many good ones in our area. Our website has a list of them. Remember that the goal of any spraying activity should be to reduce the weeds you don’t want and establish the plants you do want further reducing the problem weeds.

Montana’s Noxious Weed Law

Under the Montana County Noxious Weed Control Law it is unlawful for any person to permit noxious weeds to propagate or produce seeds on his or her land. This was decided upon because of the serious ecological and environmental threats noxious weeds pose to our natural resources and economy in Montana. They displace native plant communities, alter wildlife habitat, reduce forage for wildlife and livestock, further displace endangered species, increase erosion, and lower biodiversity. The seriousness of these threats make it critical for Montanans to implement and abide by the Montana County Noxious Weed Control Act.

This law only pertains to state or county listed noxious weeds. A noxious weed is defined as being any exotic plant which may render land unfit for agriculture, forestry, livestock, wildlife, or other beneficial uses or that may harm native plant communities. The Montana Department of Agriculture has the final authority over what plants are listed as state wide noxious weeds and the county weed board demes county listed noxious weeds. To see a complete list of the 32 state listed noxious weeds visit the Department of Agriculture website at http://agr.mt.gov/ and click on weeds and pests. In Ravalli County, there is only 1 county listed noxious weed and it is common bugloss.

The act outlines a process in which the county weed board may lawfully enforce this law on lands where noxious weed infestations occur. Much of the time enforcement is initiated through a complaint process. If a complaint is made to the weed district about a landowner that has property with existing noxious weeds and they are making no attempt to control the weeds, they are considered to be in noncompliance. In cases of noncompliance, that person must be notified by mail or telephone of the complaint. At the time of notification, a walk through of the land in question will be scheduled with the landowner. If noxious weeds are found by a weed specialist the landowner will be asked to comply with the law. Compliance can be achieved by writing and implementing a weed management plan. If voluntary compliance is not possible a certified letter will be mailed notifying the landowner of noncompliance. The landowner would then be given a reasonable period of time, not less than ten days, to begin compliance measures. A written weed management plan outlining the control measures must be submitted to be reviewed by the weed board. If it is approved the landowner must implement the plan and would then be considered to be in compliance. Economic impacts to the landowner as well as biological and environmental limitations will be considered before accepting or rejecting a proposal. However, if corrective actions are not taken and a proposal is not submitted by the landowner the weed district may enter the person’s land and institute appropriate weed control measures. If this is the case, the landowner will be sent a bill to cover the cost of the control plus a penalty. This bill must be paid within 30 days from the date sent or the county clerk will certify the amount and assess a special tax on the land. The weed district will do everything in our power to persuade the landowner to cooperate and control their noxious weeds, before we have to control the weeds for them.

This law is not yet fully enforced in Ravalli County but it is possible that it will be in the near future. As of right now we do follow up on complaints with letters of notification and we offer to meet with the landowners to give them suggestions on control methods. There are counties in Montana that do enforce this law to the full extent by entering noncompliant landowner’s property, controlling the noxious weeds found, and sending a bill. We know that the enforcement of this law will make some resident very happy, while making others very angry. If you would like to voice your opinions, which we are interested in hearing, please enter a comment at the end of this blog. Scroll down to the end and click on “comments click here” to enter your comments.

Noxious weed control is not a one time treatment. It often takes many years to get infestations down to a level of maintenance, which has to be kept up on. As landowners we all need to do something to control our weeds since doing nothing is unacceptable. Please feel free to contact us with any weed related questions at 777-5842.

We want your input!

I know many people look at this blog and do not leave a comment. Believe me when I say that constructive comments, good and bad, anonymous or not, are looked at and discussed by us. Many people stopped our spray crew(s) over the season for various reasons and in various ways. Some were threatening, some risked their personal safety just to yell, some actually engaged us in a pleasant discussion which broadened common ground and understanding. Albeit the latter was rare.

Anyway, one reoccurring concern from these encounters is the surprise (shock in some cases) that we (the county weed district) spray herbicides to control noxious weeds on county and state road easements and right-of-ways. You would think after all these years of doing this, we would not have many folks that are ignorant as to what we do. We encouraged all these people to fill out 'concern' forms and to enter into an agreement with us that allows them to mange the noxious weeds on their own roadside. Not one of these couple dozen or so people have gotten back to us. This makes it extremely difficult for us to proceed with the Ravalli County's weed management plan which the weed district and its board are required to do. Will we have the same issues with the same people next season?

The weed district is considering a "what we do" campaign next spring depending on funding and completely revamping our 'voluntary agreement' program starting everyone over from scratch and encouraging more participation and more active "ownership" of their roadside noxious weeds. We are however looking for constructive idea's! And "quit spraying altogether" is not an option.

We know that some of our roads still have some serious weed issues and we are working on them. We hear criticisms from all sides most weeks during the spray season. However, we need to more efficiently manage the work we need to complete with the wishes of landowners. We are under pressure to get more acres of roadside sprayed every year. Yet the facts of the last couple of years show that we are spraying less acres. A major reason for this is due in part to citizen input. We are doing more roadside "Spot spraying" as opposed to "broadcast". This means that in one day's work we may be spraying 2-3 acres as opposed to 30-40 acres when we broadcast. That is a big difference. But it does make sense on some roads and others it doesn't.

Although I digressed somewhat, it is important background info to consider when making decisions about about the public perception and understanding of what we do and how we do it.

So if any of you who have taken time to read this post have any thoughts, please share them! Click below on 'COMMENTS CLICK HERE' and type in the box at the bottom.

Fall Work and Japanese Knot

The weather has slowed spraying activities but as we get a few more day of temperatures in the upper 50's into the 60's and its not raining or too windy, we will continue to treat some roadsides. We are trying to concentrate on roads we can closely monitor for late fall applications of Milestone. Milestone is a relatively new herbicide that is incredibly safe both on the environment and mammals when used according to the label. It is also doing a great job of killing many noxious weeds and keeping them away for a couple of years. Always read the label of any chemical product you might use especialy pesticides. All the precuations are on that label and heed them.

Japanese Knotweed

The picture is of Japanese Knotweed a newly listed State Noxious Weed. We treated 48 sites this year mostly on private land and most of the landowners were happy to get rid of it. This plant looks similar to bamboo and has been called as such. It expands rapidly by its roots and every part of the plant can root. So if you prune off some of the stalks or shoots and leave them on the ground, they will root and grow a new plant. We have seen this plant growing behind house siding and prying it loose from the house. Home owners also told us that roots and shoots had made it into their crawl spaces. It is very prolific in wet areas and can spread out of control.

We have infestation of it up Medicine Creek which is spreading along the creek and into the forest. We hope to have this patch eradicated by next year. This weed, like Salt Ceder, seems innocuous in the landscape and currently mostly is but if either of these plants ever make it to the Bitterroot River, we are in trouble. We hope to have continued grant funds allowing us to spray this weed at no cost next year also. Call us to get on a list for the 09 season.

Fall Weed Control

Fall is a great time to control your weeds because 1) perennial weeds go through a regrowth stage of the basal leaves and 2) Biennial weed seeds have germinated and produced a rosette to produce carbohydrates for root storage during the winter. This allows for good uptake and transportation of an herbicide to the roots and thus the demise of the plant. This can be particularly helpful in controlling tough weed with extensive root systems such as Leafy Spurge, Dalmation and Yellow Toadflax, Whitetop. Once the plants stop growing, usually after a couple of hard frosts, then the plant is unlikely to uptake a herbicide. The exception to this is herbicides like Milestone that has a residual soil activity and will continue to control some weeds the following spring. Now this morning we dropped to 20 degrees in many areas and the forecast calls for more chilly mornings over the weekend followed by a mild following week. What will that mean? - if you are using Milestone, go for it when it warms up next week and if you are using something else like Escort or 24D, you might want to check with our office and we will give you our best 'guess'. 777-5842

It has been an extreamely busy summer.

We know the posts on the blog have been desperately lagging through the summer and we apologize for that. I hope that you who check this we keep checking because more useful information is coming.
The summer spray season has been a good one in terms of control, once we got though our wet spring. Now fall regrowth of the weeds hasn't been this good in years do to late summer rains and mild temperatures. So although the spray season is winding down, we will continue to spray as long as the weather allows.

New Weed Education Coordinator

I wanted to introduce myself to everyone. My name is Melissa Maggio and I am the new Ravalli County Weed Education Coordinator. I graduated from U of M in 2006 with degrees in Botany and Ecology. Since graduating, I have worked mostly in education, research, and monitoring. I was a research assistant for a research project looking at the competitive abilities of noxious weeds in increasing densities of native plants for two University of Montana professors. I taught for the Montana Natural History Center as a Visiting Naturalist during the 06-07 school year. In the summer of 07, I began working for the Bureau of Land Management as a Plant Ecologist within the Fisheries Department. For this position, I identified riparian plants and monitored the health of the riparian habitats on public lands. We also used draft horses to introduce large woody debris back into the streams. This summer I began working for the BLM in May, but was offered this position and could not resist. I am very excited to begin working with the land owners and students of Ravalli County concerning the weed issues here. If anyone is interested in asking me any questions or if you have any comments or concerns please email me at melissa.rcwd@yahoo.com or you can call me at 777-5842. I am looking forward to getting to know everyone.