Page 2 - SW CD Annual K rp u rt - November 12, IVHh
Fire prevention, rehabilitation
work done in timber areas
Rush Skeleton Weed mapped hut spread likely
Hi Pr»na
Section of forest that has not been thinned
□
Indicates
arras of infestation
Sketch of Rush Skeleton Wfccd and areas o f infestation which were located and mapped this summer
Oregon Department of Agriculture helped tund the project
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Trees that have been thinned Grass has been
reseeded begins to provide ground cover
By Dan Thorpe
Much o f I'-jsirm Oregon was in
the new s daily during the severe Tire
season this past summer I hiring the
month of August, the Stale f-orestry
Department was involved in sup
pression o f approximately I '7 fires
totaling 4H.777 acres generally con
cent rated in the northeast corner o f
the stale
Much work has already been corn
pleted in rehabilitating the burned
area Although the the scars w ill last
many years, the effects of erosion
w ill hopefully be minimized through
exte nsive grass seeding and
walertvarring
The local unit responded to over
SO fires in the area with 13 turning
out to he false alarms The largest
o f the fires was about ten ac res
The popular timber management
practice lo r M orrow County con
tmues to be pre commercial thinn
mg This practice has many benefits
including improved tree growth,
greater insect and disease resistance,
increased forage production and
minimized fire danger Appros
mutely 3 V) acres have been com
pleted this year to date with an ad
ditHinal 300 in the process, in vo lv
ing s it operators
K in zua
C o rp o ra tio n
has
cooperated in come thinning prac
tices by contracting their clipper and
chipper This process removes the
unwanted trees at gn>und height with
a dipping machine (Tie machine
stacks several of the unwanted trees
together where a skidder picks up the
entire pile The trees are chipped at
a landing and hauled to Meppner to
produce energy I he process is cost
efficient and very clean, leaving no
slavh on the vile Ihe company has
shown good foresight in developing
this for their own lands as well as he
ing available for contract work on
private lands
Kush skeleton weed has become a
maior threat to agriculture in Nor
them Morrow County because it
spreads like w ildfire
The first plants were tound along
Interstate K4 east of Hoardman by
Weed Supervivir Jim VanW'inklc
d u rin g the summer o f IVM5
Skeleton weed has no boundaries. v>
it was bound to show up sooner or
later in Morrow County
The O regon Departm ent o f
Agriculture distributed Md2.(>h'
among five fastern Oregon counties
to help finance programs to locate,
map and spray skeleton weed Ihe
state's ma|or objective was to find
out how much of a problem really
existed in fastern Oregon
M orm w Soil and Water Conser
cation District received S8.300 to
begin its program to locale, map and
spray the problem weed Ihe W eed
District hired two local people to
survey 3.( X I acres in Nonhem Mor
n>w County Todd Harrison and
Kimberly Hughes staned work on
June lb with the grueling task of
combing every foot o f those b.tlltt)
acres After 12 dreadful weeks o f
looking, the crew had located I .DM
plants at six different sites Three o f
the sites are located along the
railroad mainline next to the Army
Depot. one inside the Army Depot,
GAR
AVIATION
JOHN BOYER
P r o f e n n i o n a l .4 r i o t io n S e r v i c e *
Spraying, Seeding, Dusting, Fertilizing,
Maintenance. Aircraft Sales, Aerial Survey
Phone: 989-8422 o r 989-8510
U-xington, O regon 97839
one »long the freeway near milepost
172 and the biggest infestation (300
plants loundl is located near the foot
ball field at Riverside High School
in Hoardman
Jim plans on surveying additional
acres next year if funds are available,
however, the State has not given any
indication that there w ill he lunds
available in the future The only
thing that can he done cconomicallv
iv to treat vkcleton weed juvt like any
other 'A ' list weed and require
that
the
la n d o w n e r/o p e ra to r
eradicate it
Unfortunately, this is not the end
of this very venous problem
Itod W erdrr Itrp a lrs Now !
\» k \b u u l
♦ Axle Knds Repaired
♦ Wheels repaired & Straightened
+ Bronze Hushing Hubs
♦ Molly impregnated ny lon bushing |
♦ Cat P ulleys Hay C onditioners
spindles
Call for Help with A ll
Your Repairs
Lexington Machine Works
989-8505
Lexington
989-8132
After Hours
orrow Vzounty
A b s tr a c t & T i t l e C o . , I nc.
For Complete litio and Escrow Service
Morrow County Abstract & Title Co., Inc. has
extensive experience regarding land and land
ownership. Since getting a clear title to proper
ty tan be complicated, come to our offices at.
269 NORTH MAIN IN HEPPNER OR IN BOARDMAN CALL
461-9261 FOR AN APPOINTMENT AT OUR
LANDMARK SQUARE OFFICE.
Heppner
676-9912
Boanlman
481 9261