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Wallowa County Chieftain News wallowa.com June 1, 2016 Weed warriors arm for battle Annual tour offers latest on technology, strategy and rules By Kathleen Ellyn Wallowa County Chieftain As the vans loaded up with the 2016 weed warriors from Asotin County and Wallowa County on Friday for the an- nual weed tour, there was an outlier in the bunch. Usually, the folks who take the weed tour are ranchers and farmers who want to earn their herbicide applicators credits, understand new chemicals and strengthen their weed identiication. The vegetation department folks from both counties and Forest Service fellows in charge of managing noxious and invasive species join these folks. This year, Ingrid Cook of Joseph joined the tour. She is not a rancher or a person who sprays weeds — she’s a volun- teer at both the Magic Garden and Iwetemlaykin State Her- itage Site, where she pulls or digs invasive species. She was recently honored with a volun- teer award from the Indepen- dent Order of Odd Fellows. Her two top enemies at Iwetemlaykin are Spot- ted Knapweed and Hounds Tongue, but she wanted to make herself familiar with more weeds, meet the local weed warriors, possibly drum up some more volunteers for the park and Magic Garden and learn about all the work the weed warriors do. She was impressive at weed identiication. Brian Clapp, Watershed Steward- ship Director from Wallowa Resources, put together a great tour with several new features — including his “weed gar- den” of noxious and invasive species. After a short compar- ison of Sulfur Cinquefoil and native Cinquefoil, Ingrid was spotted bent over a small plant in the driveway of the College Creek Ranger Station along the Upper Imnaha. “I think that’s Sulfur Cinqefoil,” Cook said. She peered closer. “No, it’s a native,” she de- cided. Ingrid’s strategy is to only dig the weeds she knows she can get out, and her strategy was conirmed as a good one as weed tour folks learned that some weeds have tap roots that go down 3 feet, or rhi- zomes with an underground intertwined bulb that extends for 8 feet or more. Which brings us to the strategy of county weed con- trol and Wallowa Resources projects: knock ‘em down with a safe herbicide or com- bination of herbicides and then introduce biological con- trols (from bugs to fungus) to keep them down. Some weeds are set upon by as many as ive separate biologicals in the effort to eradicate them. Everyone would love to be able to rely upon the biolog- ical controls alone, but that just doesn’t work. Especial- Kathleen Ellyn/Chieftain Ranchers, farmers and agency representatives stop on the side hill where Brian Clapp (gesturing uphill) and Mark Porter (not present) have tested mixtures of herbicides on plots of Common Bugloss. In the distance you also can see the many mounds of invasive wild rose that dot the hillsides in Imnaha. ly on water plants along the Grande Ronde, an area where it is very dificult to contain the spread of invasive species. The problem there is not the herbicide, which has been made safe for aquatic life, but the fact that the Grande Ronde loods and abates frequently and when in lood it simply washes the “bugs” down- stream. The plants then shake off their new clean leaves and get growing again. “I’ve been releasing bio- control since I started on the Grande Ronde,” Clapp said. “But looding takes them out. Other bugs do well with looding and they are also be- ing released. We’re working on it.” But what sort of herbicides are safe for that initial knock down? That’s why Mark Han- sen of CPS was back again this year. His company, which handles the Loveland Prod- ucts, impressed last year with the safety features that have been added for the protection of the applicator. This year he introduced newer combina- tions and herbicides that had been tested for the safety of elk, deer, cattle, horses, hu- mans and aquatic life. Clapp of Wallowa Re- sources and Mark Porter (weed warrior for the Oregon Department of Agriculture) also put together a test area of Common Bugloss on Forest Service land directly across from the College Creek Rang- er Station. On these plots they tested more than a dozen her- bicides or combinations of herbicide and surfactants to ind the most effective mix. Surfactants make the liquids “wetter,” allowing them to get down to the stem of a hairy plant like Common Bugloss rather than bead up on the tips of the hairs. They also make the herbicide less likely to drift and kill plants on the neighboring farm that were not invasive but of the same family. The weed tour folks walked the steep hill and ex- amined the plots. A few farm- ers put their heads together and pointed. An injunction against spraying any new patches of weeds on Forest Service Land has been in effect since 1992-1994. As a result, Com- mon Bugloss and many other plants had a ield day — make that a series of ield decades. That injunction was lifted in March, but the pretty blue lowers of Common Bugloss now cover acres of Forest Service or BLM land from the road to the rimrock in Imnaha and other areas. The injunction also allowed giant patches of Meadow Hawk- weed in Salt Creek and huge balls of invasive rose plants to take over grazing areas on the steep canyon walls of Imnaha. Farmers and ranchers, however, were not affected by the injunction and many of the ranched areas adjacent to fed- eral land are relatively clear of weeds and improved by graz- ing — as some weeds, though MEDICARE BIRTHDAY RULE If you have a Medicare Supplement Plan you have 30 days after your birthday to compare & apply for a new Supplement Plan. Call Kathleen or Katie TODAY to discuss your options for a lower Medigap premium. 541-426-4208 Locally owned & operated 616 W. North Street, Enterprise WALLOWA RESOURCES' 12th ANNUAL JUNE 11 AM to 4 PM WALLOWA COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS liste e n . c te lebra rn . lea LIVE MUSIC & FAMILY FUN over 20 kid-friendly activities free hot dogs & drink T Thanks h a n k s t to o o our u r s sponsors p o n s o r s Wild W i l d Carrot C a r r o t Herbals, H e r b a l s , Central C e n t r a l Copy C o p y & Shipping, S h i p p i n g , Winding W i n d i n g Waters W a t e r s River R i v e r Expeditions, E x p e d i t i o n s , Les L e s Schwab S c h w a b Tires, T i r e s , EnergyTrust E n e r g y T r u s t of o f Oregon, O r e g o n , Community C o m m u n i t y Bank, B a n k , Wallowa US Fish W a l l o w a Lake L a k e State S t a t e Park, P a r k , U S F i s h & Wildlife W i l d l i f e Service, Peak Naturals, Sports S e r v i c e , Ruby R u b y P e a k N a t u r a l s , S p o r t s Corral, C o r r a l , Fishtrap, F i s h t r a p , and a n d Building B u i l d i n g Healthy H e a l t h y Families. F a m i l i e s . not the best feed, are palatable to cattle when the plant is young and not dangerous for them to eat. Additionally, it seems that some farmers and ranchers may have sneaked across the road and taken out Forest Service noxious weeds to keep them from spreading to private land. Roads, creeks and paths are vectors — the paths along which weeds spread. It’s im- portant for the Oregon De- partment of Transportation to spray the edges of the roads where passing vehicles have spread invasive species from other counties or other places along the road. The weed warriors of Asotin and Wallowa County would like ODOT to step up their weed control even more, as ODOT sprays with 12-foot booms but the right of way extends much further in some areas and a noticeable strip of weeds remains to bloom and travel again. We got these noxious and invasive species in the coun- ty because we imported them back when we knew no better. An Imnaha apple farmer im- ported Common Bugloss to keep his bees fed. The pretty plant lowers from six to nine months, keeping bees fed af- ter the apple pollination ends. Yellow lag Iris, which is now growing along irrigation ditches, is a very pretty orna- mental but will displace cat tails and is one of the plants with a giant root system the size of a van. A ine example of Meadow Hawkweed can be seen grow- ing in the Joseph City planter in front of Mt. Joseph Family Foods. Just up the main street in Joseph, a caustic invasive succulent is growing in sever- al rock gardens. Bradley Ward, the found- er of Empire Unmanned of Hayden, Idaho, gave the whiz-bang portion of the tour. His company lies drones armed with high-quality cam- eras that help farmers and agencies identify weed areas in their ields. The weeds al- ready have been identiied by their color values and will show up brightly on the re- sultant ilm. A complicated mathematical algorithm is then applied and the farmer or agency is presented with an identiication of the weeds and their locations in addition to identiication of weakened plants the farmer or agency might want to preserve. A rust problem with wheat this year has taken a lot of the helicopters used for weed control away, so helicopter summer spraying may be lim- ited. However, county Vege- tation Department Manager Ryan Oberhelman has $8,000 left in his cost share account that will give up to $500 to help farmers spray their in- vasive weeds. He’s also got money for the eradication of Meadow Hawkweed, Spotted Knapweed and Common Bu- gloss with no upper limit on cost share in targeted areas. Call Oberhelman at 541-426- 3332, ext. 206. A3 Shamrock pack likely killed calf, ODFW says Depredations total 9 for 2016 By Steve Tool Wallowa County Chieftain An investigative report released by the Oregon De- partment of Fish and Wild- life on May 27 lists a wolf or wolves as the probable cause of death for a 6-week- old-calf found dead on pri- vate land in the Mud Creek drainage area in northern Wallowa County. According to the report, the owner of the calf found its carcass on May 23 and had last seen the calf alive on the evening of May 22. He called ODFW, and wildlife oficials arrived the same day to investigate the incident. While the investigation indicated no speciic evi- dence of wolf depredation, various bones of the mostly consumed animal suggest it was attacked by a preda- tor with large teeth. A large percentage of the calf was consumed in a short time period, also an indication that wolves may have been involved. The report states that two collared wolves from the Shamrock pack — OR23 and OR21 — were in the vi- cinity around the time of the calf’s death. Wildlife oficials also recently conirmed a sepa- rate depredation involving a sheep on private land near the South Fork of the Wal- la Walla River in Umatilla County. That kill has been attributed to the Walla Walla pack. ODFW has either con- irmed or reported as “prob- able” nine wolf depredation incidents in 2016. Seven of those nine occurred in Wal- lowa County. WE WANT YOU! If you are a confident, self-motivated individual looking for a great job opportunity, join our sales team. We will train if we find the right person! Seriously, this is a great position with a lot of financial opportunity, along with working with a great staff. The Wallowa County Chieftain is seeking a salesperson who is passionate about helping local businesses be successful while expanding the reach of the Chieftain as a market leader. Must demonstrate excellence in sales and customer service, work well with a support team and be proficient with technology while managing time and required paperwork efficiently. Base wage plus commission and mileage reimbursement make this a great opportunity for anyone. Benefits include Paid Time Off (PTO), insurances and a 401(k)/Roth 401(k) retirement plan. Send resume and letter of interest to EO Media Group, PO Box 2048, Salem, OR 97308-2048, by fax to 503-371-2935 or e-mail hr@eomediagroup.com.
