Weed effort shows signs of progress

What a difference a year makes.

That was the report from Noel Keogh, the Nye rancher who along with several others has spearheaded a cooperative weed control project on the upper Stillwater River.

Last summer marked the first year of a three-year grant aimed at controlling noxious weeds from the Woodbine Campground to the Nye School. This summer marked a noticeable difference.

"We covered the same land," Keogh said. "Only this year, there was only about 5 percent of the weeds."

Locating 'hot spots'

By 7 a.m. on what promised to be a hot July day, the mosquitoes were hungry. But that didn't seem to faze the dozen or so weed sprayers who were scouring the countryside on four-wheelers. Earlier this summer, the weed "hot spots" had been located and mapped using the Global Positioning System. That way, when the commercial sprayers - Mike Larson's Range Riders, Bob's Noxious Weed Control and Cassie Keogh's Wacky Weed Warriors - arrived, the attack could be swift.

"Our primary focus is spotted knapweed," said Noel, father to Cassie, as he pointed to the culprit he refers to as the al-Qaida of weeds. "There's not such a focus on spurge. There are several small patches and we aim to keep it that way."

This July's concentrated attack will be followed by one or two days of hand-pulling by "Skip's Kids." The kids, who frequent Skip Meier's "Skip's Place" in Absarokee, hope to raise money to help support their gathering place. The coup de grace for this year's weed control, however, will be a 12-mile float trip, during which rafters will pull riverside weeds.

Signs of success

While the signs of success are readily apparent, Keogh and Tim Schaff, who represents Stillwater Mining Co. in the cooperative effort, have concerns for the future. Weeds in the Stillwater River Weed Management Area are drastically reduced, but what happens downstream when the group reaches its third and final year of the grant?

"Unless somebody picks up the ball from us, it's going to die," Schaff said.

With that thought in mind, Keogh and Schaff seek a downstream landowner or landowners to take a leadership role. They point out that he or she need not be a full-time resident of the area.

"Sometimes it's not the people in agriculture," Schaff said. "All of these people in Billings (who own cabins), now is the time to step up to the plate."

Joining the effort now would make for a smooth transition, they said. Not only could Keogh and Schaff offer tips on how to spot and identify weeds - "You've got to get your eye and mind trained," Keogh said - but they can help a new group avoid the pitfalls that have cost them both time and headache.

"We know what's working and where we stuck our foot in the hole and tripped," Keogh said.

2 years in the making

In fact, it took two years to get the Stillwater River Weed Management Area up and running. Keogh said he was inspired to coordinate a weed control group after attending meetings of a similar group in a different place.

Talking to Schaff and a handful of others, they decided to band together to tackle the problem. They rallied local landowners, Stillwater Mining Co., the state, the county and the forest service to come on board. Meta Loftsgaarden, formerly of the Beartooth Resource, Conservation and Development office in Joliet, was instrumental in assisting with grants, Keogh said.

The effort paid off. Two years ago, the Natural Resources and Conservation Service awarded the newly formed weed management area more than $122,000 for an integrated three-year weed control program.

The money - matched in cash and kind, largely by Stillwater Mining Co. - helped cover the costs of the attack.

According to Keogh, the response was heartening. Of the landowners with known patches of knapweed, all but a few signed onto the project. And those were absentee landowners, he said.

Members of the Stillwater River Weed Management Area will end their year with a barbecue Sept. 28 at a time and place yet to be determined. Schaff invites downstream landowners to join in the festivities.

To volunteer for the float-and-pull, tentatively set for Aug. 2, call Pam Jones of the Carbon County Weed District at 962-4358 or Tim Schaff at 328-8526. To learn more about establishing a weed management area downstream, or anywhere in Stillwater County, contact Stillwater County Weed coordinator Jim Visser at 322-1106 or 321-3355.

By LINDA HALSTEAD-ACHARYA
Of The Gazette Staff

Copyright © The Billings Gazette, a division of Lee Enterprises.