Guidelines for coordinated management of noxious weeds in the Greater Yellowstone Area

Abstract

QiH tW il Guidelines for Coordinated Management of Noxious Weeds in *TEM HAS BEEN DIGITIZED Section I Introduction and Acknowledgments Weeds in the Greater Yellowstone Area Undesirable plants are spreading into the Greater Yellowstone Area. Exotic plants and noxious weeds infest, the native plant communities in increasing numbers throughout the area. Public concern increases about the existing and potential harm¬ ful effects of unmanaged weeds. Unacceptable levels adversely affect crop and forage production, wilderness, wildlife habitat, visual quality, recreation opportunities, and land value. Land managers face the challenge to develop and conduct an effective program for controlling the spread of noxious weeds. Seven National Forests and two National Parks comprise the GYA. The entire GYA encompasses 20 million acres that include the National Forests and the National Parks, federal reservations, plus state lands and parks. National Wildlife Refuges, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, and private lands. World renowned for its re¬ newable resources, this area offers outdoor recreation op¬ portunities, scenery, geologic and thermal features, and it attracts millions of people annually. This area lies within three states-Montana, Idaho, and Wyo¬ ming-and includes all or part of 16 counties. World renowned for its renewable resources, this area offers outdoor recreation opportunities, scenery, geologic and thermal features, and it attracts millions of people annually. A Memorandum of Understanding (Appendix 1) for Noxious Weed Management was signed by all entities within the GYA to encourage and formalize the coop eratlve relationship necessary for effective manage¬ ment and coordination of Noxious Weed programs among the land managers. This agreement will result in increased sharing of expertise, information, resources, and provide a process to improve the efficiency and ef fectlveness of all weed management programs. These guidelines provide a unified effort in developing a public awareness program; a prevention program; and a common inventory, mapping, monitoring, and reporting procedure. An overall Management Plan and specific action plans can be developed for logical units of land called Weed Management Areas. The GYA can be divided into Weed Management Areas that have common characteristics and become the land unit for the Section II A WMA may be weed-free and organized to quarantine an area from importation of weeds. The landowners may agree not to allow the use of hay from outside areas. They may agree to require that any construction, utility, logging equipment, etc., coming into the area be weed-free. Always include county weed boards in the WMA even it only federal land is involved. The WMA does not supplant the county weed board, but insures that cooperation extends across county, state, and federal boundaries within the Greater Yellowstone Area.

The Estes Valley, Colorado: A Case Study of a Weed Management Area

“…WMAs are now common in the western United States, but the Estes Valley WMA was one of the earlier groups formed. Guidelines providing direction to establishing WMAs were somewhat limited, especially in regards to sustaining a WMA on a long-term basis (Free et al 1991b). Other manuals providing more comprehensive guidance on the necessary components for a successful, sustained WMA are more recent (VanBebber 2003), and the Estes Valley group operated without the benefit of these newer guidelines.…”

“…However, late in the interview process the original proposed WMA map was located and the boundary encompassed a much larger area than most interviewees had estimated. The establishment of boundaries of the WMA is identified as an important early team-building step in WMA guidelines (Free et al 1991a;VanBebber 2003), and establishment of clear boundaries probably would have helped forge a stronger group in Estes Valley.…”

“…While the concept of cooperative partnerships relating to weed control efforts has been in existence at least since the early 1980s (H. McNeel, personal communication), the first widely available document regarding the formation of WMAs was published in 1991 (Free et al 1991a). Since then, the number of WMAs established in the western United States has grown to over 100, most of which have arisen only in the last 5 to 6 years (Center for Invasive Plant Management 2006).…”