Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner. Oregon Wednesday, August 30, 1995 - FIVE
Noxious weeds, how serious a threat to our land?
They are rendering sports and
recreation areas useless-and
destroying the businesses that
serve them. Access to water is
being restricted.
Parks,
preserves, and even wilderness
areas are losing their attrac
tiveness for visitors and
hunters.
The bottom line is a devas
tating loss in land values which
none of us can afford.
Before man settled in this
area, grasses and other native
vegetation grew so thick and in
such balance that plant life not
native to the area could not
gain a footholcf.
Editor's note: the following ar
ticle was submitted by Dave
Pranger, Morrow County weed
control supervisor.
It's almost impossible to
overstate the destructiveness of
noxious weeds. They are run
ning rampant throughout the
Northern Plains and inter
mountain regions of our north
western states, rendering once
productive land virtually
useless.
The most threatening species
of these weeds are leafy
spurge, knapweeds, Canada
thistle, musk thistle and bind
weed. Others can be serious
problems in certain areas.
Where these weeds grow in
significant infestations, they
prevent use of land for grazing
by wild and domestic animals.
They crowd out valuable native
vegetation. And one such
weed-knapweed-can actually
be toxic to nearby grasses.
Nobody escapes the ravages
of noxious weeds-nor the re
sponsibility for supporting ef
forts to rescue our land in
whatever way we can.
True, it is easy to dismiss
noxious weeds as a problem,
belonging solely to agriculture.
And indeed, the damage to our
farms and ranches has been
staggering.
But the fact is, noxious weeds
are ruining things for all of us.
i
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But as settlers replaced
nomadic Native Americans,
fencing and overgrazing quick
ly thinned native grasses,
allowing weeds to take hold.
Movement of hay and other
feeds containing weed seeds
established infestations where
none existed before.
Not only are noxious weeds
tough and persistent, they have
abundant reproductive capaci
ty. Many are deep-rooted, so
that even if their tops are kill
ed, they can regenerate from
root segments that remain
viable deep in the soil. Many
are prolific seed producers.
Most are perennials.
What this means is that no
matter how effective the control
method, if it is employed for
only one season, the weeds will
Bridal Tables
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Wedding September 9
<^£A2/2Í { W s .y g a n á t &
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217 North Main
Heppner
676-91 56
REWARD
Leading to the arrest and convic
tion of person or persons respon
sible for vandalizing the ATM
machine at the lone Branch,
Bank of Eastern Oregon.
Contact Roy Drago, County Sheriff
Morrow County 676-5317
enuine
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business tools. Each farm
serves as a laboratory project
for the farmer/participant.
Features of the program in
clude: on-tht arm conferences
md consultations, the ability to
tailor the session to your spe
cific situation, periodic class
room instruction and exposuie
to the newest financial manage
ment techniques.
For more information, con
tact Nelson at 276-1260 ext. 323,
or call BVICC West Campus at
567-1800.
DM M W M W M AM IM W AN M W M VM VM W AN N AAAAN AM W N AW
Seed W heat
Clean - Large Kernel
Mac Vicar
Processed or out of bin
Ken Turner 676-9710
kAW W AW W AAAAAAAM M M W M M VM W M M W M M M AAAN AW W l
Fwt F m F
Type
Day
Time
League Name
Numbers team
Start Date
M ix e d
Sunday
5 :3 0 p .m .
D im e A D oze n
4. 2 men/2 women
M ix e d
M onday
9 :3 0 a m.
S e n io r
S e p t. 10
E v e ry M o n .
M en
In diviu al
M onday
7 p .m .
7 p .m .
M ix e d
Tu esd ay
W ednesdav
9 :3 0 a m
M en
W ednesday
7 p .m .
W om en
T h u rs d a y
9 :3 0 a m.
M ix e d
T h u rs d a y
7 p .m .
M ix e d
F rid a y
7 p .m .
Frid a y M ix e d
W om en
M o n d a y N ite Trio
S p a re T im e rs
3
4
A ll N ig h te rs
3
Sept 6
B lu e M o u n ta in
5
S e p t. 6
K o ffe e K u p K e rg le r
3
S e p t. 7
T h u rs d a y N ig h t M ix e rs
4
S e p t. 7
4
Sept
S e p t. 11
S e p t. 5
8
L e a g u e R e g istra tio n
A N Y T IM E
Hey Kid»
Join Junior Bowling League
Join The Fun
Heppner Bowl
Tuesday, 4 p.m. age thru 13
Sunday, 1 p.m. age thru 19
180 N. Chase, Heppner
(503) 676-9935
Bowling Lanes are going to be resurfaced on September 7-8
i • ? ' ■ •
I
$500
G
Alan Nelson, coordinator of
the Farm Business Manage
ment program (FBMP) for Blue
Mountain Community College,
is offering a FBMP tie-in course.
Quicken for the Farmer starts
with three classes, which in
troduce users to the computer
keyboard. After that, par
ticipants get into Quicken to
learn how to apply the program
to farm accounting.
Nelson describes Quicken as
inexpensive and easy to use.
Users can also upgrade to
Quickbooks after they've be
come proficient in Quicken.
Another sellling point is
Quicken has both Apple and
Window-compatible versions.
This 12 week course will
begin Thursday, September 21,
and will be held on Thursdays
from 1-4 p.m. at the Hermiston
West Campus. Cost of the
course is $200 which includes
the cost of the 19% Farm Busi
ness Management program
($100 per year). There is an ad
ditional $40 lab fee.
In the FBMP, participants
will have the opportunity to im
plement what they learned in
the Quicken class. The program
will increase management skills
through good farm record
keeping and the use of other
|
I I . . ......... T W ;*
I
Quicken for farmers
j
L c íia x á ¿ M c E C k g o tt
Wedding September 9
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be back in a year or two. For
really effective control, we must
deal with them on a broad
regional basis wherever infesta
tions are scattered.
Although we know we can
never restore our land to its
native state, we can regain a
measure of its potential beau
ty and productivity.
First, we must find, correct
ly identify and map or record
all noxious weed infestations.
Individual landowners can
begin by mapping out weeds
on their own property. In some
states, county government,
U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of
Land Management and wildlife
refuge land managers are
already doing this for areas
they manage.
Second, a control plan
should be drawn up to ensure
that the best method of control
for each specific areas is
selected. This is where modem
technology can play a major
role. Today, an array of
measures can be applied as
needed, including highly selec
tive and safe-to-use herbicides,
new advances in biological con
trol, selective grazing and bur
ning, plus new land use man
agement methods that help
prevent weeds from becoming
established.
For most of us, one of the
essential reasons we live here
is the land and what is yields,
both economically and aesthe
tically. Herdsmen, sportsmen,
and those who simply enjoy
the life this area offers cannot
afford to let it be lost to pests
that can, with a little effort and
time, be defeated.
To accomplish this, we must
work together whenever possi
ble. For more information
about noxious weed control in
Morrow County, contact Dave
Pranger at 676-9061, ext. 17.
BM CC West offers
h e v r o l e t
I
pstfrrs
) r /o in
NO
TRESPASSING
PRIVATE
PROPERTY
ABSOLUTELY
NO
HUNTING
NO VEHICLES
BEYOND THIS
POINT
-
Remember when your word was your Bond. -
You sealed a deal with a handshake - That's still
the way we do business today.
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Hermiston, Oregon 1-800-567-6487
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567-6488
567-3919
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