“Friends of Alaska Refuges” volunteers assisted Bureau of Land Management colleagues in pulling weeds along the Dalton Highway July 10-12, 2007.

You know your Refuge has special friends when they volunteer to do work without ever setting foot on the Refuge!!  Six adventurous “Friends of Alaska National Wildlife Refuges” volunteers assisted Bureau of Land Management (BLM) colleagues in pulling weeds along the Dalton Highway July 10-12.  Approximately 2.5 tons of invasive, non-native plants, primarily white sweetclover (Melilotus alba), were removed during the effort.  Invasive weeds have been gradually colonizing northward along the Dalton Highway.  Waterways crossing the highway are seen as possible routes for dispersal of weeds to wild lands and waters outside the road corridor, including those of the Kanuti National Wildlife Refuge.  At its nearest point, the Refuge lies just eight miles west of the Dalton Highway.  There are at least six tributaries that cross the highway and later enter the Refuge. 

The “Friends” effort primarily targeted weed removal from waterways in a 40-mile stretch between the Kanuti River and Jim River crossings.  Additional control work from Milepost 116 to Coldfoot (Milepost  175) resulted in the removal of three other species of invasive weeds: yellow toadflax (Linaria vulgaris), oxeye daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare) and bird vetch (Vicia cracca).  This is the second year in a row our Friends have assisted BLM in the weed pull. The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (ADTPF) also partnered in this effort by properly disposing of the pulled weeds.  This year the Friends will also conduct a follow up trip in late August to control the summer’s second bloom of white sweetclover.

The rugged 414-mile Dalton Highway (aka “Haul Road”) was built in 1974 to service the Trans Alaska Pipeline and North Slope oil development from Livengood (84 miles north of Fairbanks) to Deadhorse.  Beginning in 1994, unrestricted travel of the highway by the general public was allowed, sparking a gradual increase in recreational traffic along the highway.  With increased traffic has come greater invasive weed infestation along the highway.  Based on ADTPF’s annual average daily traffic counts 2005-06, an estimated 15,600 vehicles pass Dietrich Camp (Milepost 207) traveling north or south during the 100-days of summer between Memorial Day and Labor Day.