Navajo Noxious Weed Training Program

View the project final report

• 1998 annual report
• 2002 annual report

Commodities

Practices

• Pest Management: weed ecology

This project was created to partnership with other agencies to identify, inventory, collect mount and map the selected invasive plant species on the Navajo Nation using GPS. And to develop Navajo Noxious Weed training manual to teach the Navajo Nation Grazing Committee and Navajo Nation Soil and Water Conservation District members and they in turn conduct educational workshops on the Navajo Nation for limited resource Navajo farmers and ranchers.

Objectives:
There are two primary objectives to this project. One addresses the noxious weed surveying and mapping on the Navajo Nation. The other objectives is providing Navajo Nation Natural Resource and other agencies personnel with knowledge and educational materials necessary to teach integrated and sustainable noxious weed management at the local communities and schools from a noxious weed manual developed for this project.

Therefore, part of the objective of this project is to develop a training manual, slide presentations and workshops instructing Navajo SWCD Directors, Navajo Farm Board of Directors, Navajo Grazing Officers and NRCS, BIA and Navajo Tribal natural resource professionals in the development of an integrated sustainable weed management program that will be compatible to the traditional agricultural producers of the Navajo Nation. These professionals will then be responsible for conducting awareness training sessions for Navajo chapter officials, farmers and ranchers at the local chapter houses as well as classroom presentations to the elementary and secondary schools within their conservation districts. The training manual and workshops will incorporate Navajo traditional beliefs and customs into the development of an integrated sustainable weed management program.

The Navajo SWCD Executive Board of Directors are convinced that the invasion of non-native noxious weeds on the Navajo Nation is the single most serious threat to rangeland and farmland health and the sustainability of Navajo agricultural enterprises. All five Navajo SWCDs have acknowledged their participation and support for the Navajo RC&D Council in the development of a two year Navajo Noxious Weed Training Program.