Problem With Weeds
People have always moved plants around the planet, for agriculture, horticulture, or by accident. In the last century, the rate of introductions has increased dramatically. When plants are brought to a very new place (like to North America from Eastern Europe), some of them become weeds. That is, they are able to live on their own and spread rapidly, changing the character of natural areas by altering native communities and ecological processes. Some plants are very aggressive and displace native plant species - transforming diverse plant communities into single species stands with limited value as wildlife habitat or forage. Well known examples include spotted knapweed, leafy spurge, kudzu, and salt cedar.[1]
| Activities that spread weeds | Why should we care about weeds? |
| Any form of motorized travel | Decreased grazing for livestock and wildlife |
| Traveling through disturbed areas | Decreased diversity therefore, decreased stability of the ecosystem |
| Traveling with livestock or pets | Increased soil erosion |
| Entering wilderness or other pristine areas | Decreased water quality and quantity and reduced fish habitat |
| Renting equipment | Decreased amount of food we can produce through ranching and farming |
| Decreased tourism |
About Leave No Weeds
Leave No Weeds was developed at Lolo National Forest in Missoula, Montana, as an educational program for sixth graders. Funding is provided by the USDA Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, Missoula County Weed District, and Plum Creek Timber Company. The pdf file is available only online, made possible in cooperation with the University of Montana. Everyone should learn more about how weeds affect our natural resources and natural heritage.
For example, Montana farmers and ranchers spend $100 million a year just to control weeds. This money could be spent in other areas of the economy. Studies show that knapweed alone costs Montanans $42 million in lost tourism every year.[2] The $42 million in lost dollars would support about 500 well-paying jobs in Montana.[3]
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| What Is A Weed? | How To Start An Insectary Project |
| Why should we care about weeds? | Whitehall Project Replication |
| Why are many weeds hard to control? | PowerPoint Part I : Part II : Part III |
What you can do!
Leave No Weeds is a program that builds on principles of Leave No Trace.
Leave No Weeds is a collaborative effort led by the Missoula County Weed District. Leave No Weeds
Leave No Weeds PowerPoint Part I : Part II : Part III
Leave No Weeds builds on principles of prevention, stewardship, and awareness of actions that spread invasive and noxious plants.
References
- ↑ Leave No Weeds http://missoulaeduplace.org/weeds_edprograms_leaveNoWeeds.shtml
- ↑ R. Sheely, F. Olson, and C. Hoopes. What's So Dangerous about the impacts of Noxious Weeds on the Ecology and Economy of Montana, 1999.
- ↑ Bugs With An Attitude, Integrated Pest Management - Noxious Weeds IPM, 2010.
Whitehall Biological Weed Control and Insectary Development Institute
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Biocontrol In Your Backyard Portal is a Main Menu for training media that builds on four successful programs.
- Content for Biocontrol in Your Backyard is provided by individual program sponsors.
- Content is formatted and uploaded by InterMedia
- The Biocontrol In Your Backyard Portal collaboration with The Bugwood Network and its content accessible
- format are sponsored by USDA Forest Service, Forest Health Protection, Forest Health Technology Enterprise Team.
