2000 Annual Report for FW00-019
Medusahead Control and Revegetation in Southern Cache County, UT
Summary
OBJECTIVES
The project has two primary objectives:
1. Test herbicides recommended for controlling medusahead
2. Seed competitive grasses and try various seeding techniques on steep, rocky hillsides to establish a plant community that will keep medusahead from reestablishing
ABSTRACT
Medusahead, an aggressive winter annual grass, is unpalatable to livestock and wildlife. It builds up a thick thatch that smothers other vegetation, reducing biodiversity, grazing capacity and wildlife habitat and increasing wildfire threats. Medusahead has begun to invade south-facing hillsides in southern Cache Valley, Utah. Participants in the SARE-funded project believe it is imperative to control small, isolated infestations before they take over large areas.
Two herbicides have the potential to keep medusahead from germinating. Oust prevents germination for up to 18 months, but its residue must be dissipated before desirable grasses can be planted. Plateau, a new herbicide, may be selective for annual grasses, and the participants will determine whether perennial wheatgrasses can be planted after spring or fall applications.
SPECIFIC RESULTS
In September 2000, the farmers and the Cache County Fire Department burned 77 acres of medusahead thatch on six farms. The farmers contributed 49 man hours to the burning project, and the fire crew contributed 78 man hours and two pumper trucks. In October, the Cache County Weed Department donated time and use of a spray truck and four-wheeler to spray 75 acres with either Oust or Plateau.
Twenty-four acres sprayed with Plateau were seeded in late November to either Hycrest crested wheatgrass or Luna pubescent wheatgrass, each with small amounts of western wheatgrass, thickspike wheatgrass and Sherman big bluegrass mixed in.
Early snow prevented seeding on another 33 acres, which were to be seeded in spring 2001. In addition, sites sprayed with Oust were to be seeded in the fall of 2001. Also planned for 2001 was the seeding on 3 acres of the competitive shrub, forage kochia, to see if it will establish and out compete medusahead without further cultural treatment.
POTENTIAL BENEFITS
The long-term benefits will be to maintain grazing options for livestock producers and to keep this noxious weed from establishing a stronghold, preventing it from spreading beyond the current small patches.
FARMER ADOPTION AND DIRECT IMPACT
Farmers and ranchers are learning about a strategy of controlling noxious weeds that is akin to fighting wildfires – that is focusing on small outbreaks to prevent their spread to wider areas; once a wildfire, or weed infestation, has spread beyond a small, manageable area, it is much more difficult to tackle. This strategy can be applied not only to medusahead but also to other noxious weeds afflicting Western landscapes.
FUTURE RECOMMENDATIONS OR NEW HYPOTHESES
The Farm Services Agency local work group accepted the medusahead project as a Local Area Priority project and applied for an Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) award. A Coordinated Resource Management group was established Nov. 8, 2000, to coordinate future control and reseeding projects and apply for other grants and weed-control funds. Several agencies signed a memorandum of understanding and appointed a representative to the steering committee, including Cache County Council, Cache County Weed Department, Cache County Fire Department, Cache County Weed Board, Cache County Extension, Blacksmith Fork SCD, Highline Canal Co., USDA NRCS, USDA Forest Service, Bear River RC&D, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources and the Utah Department of Transportation.
DISSEMINATION OF FINDINGS
An inventory of 10,000 acres found 845 infested with medusahead affecting 21 landowners. The owners were notified and invited to a meeting sponsored by the Blacksmith Fork Soil Conservation District and the Cache County Farm Bureau. Thirty landowners attended the meeting on May 11, 2000. The Utah State University Cooperative Extension Service had planned a field day for the summer of 2001. When the project is completed, brochures will be published that describe medusahead and list the successful treatments for control and revegetation.
PRODUCER INVOLVEMENT
In addition to the five producers initially involved in the project, the participants, through weed mapping efforts have drawn numerous other landowners and producers into the project.
Technical Advisor:
Blair Waldron, Geneticist
USDA/ARS Forage and Range Laboratory
Utah State University
Logan, UT 84322-6300
(435) 797-3073
blw@cc.usu.edu
Cooperators:
Phil Olsen Mike Ralphs Wayne Gibbs
Dairy Farmer Sheep Farmer Beef Rancher
9808 S. 280 E. 895 E. 8600 S. Avon, UT 84320
Paradise, UT 84328 Paradise, UT (435) 258-2705
(435) 245-3326 (435) 245-3848
Tony Ward Newell Fredrickson
Beef Rancher Beef and Horse Rancher
Avon, UT 84301 12311 S. 800 E.
(801) 745-1415 Avon, UT 84320
(435) 245-4420