BLM OR-WA Malheur County Noxious Weed Partnership

archived

The BLM and Malheur County have been involved in a weed management partnership for many years. In 2009, the BLM entered into an Assistance Agreement with the County to expand the work of the partnership and broaden the scope to include inventory and monitoring as well as weed control. BLM is a strong partner and relies on Malheur County to accomplish activities leading to the control/eradication of new and existing noxious weeds, monitoring and follow up on previous years¿ treatments including restoration, inventory and mapping of weed infestations, and public education. The Snake and Owyhee Rivers have designated wild and scenic sections with unique resources which includes critical habitat for several T and E and sensitive plant and animal species including, but not limited to, sage grouse, salmon, bull trout, redband trout, steelhead, bighorn sheep, and Snake River goldenweed. These resources are threatened by the invasion of noxious weeds, especially salt cedar in the river corridors and tributaries. An emphasis would be placed on keeping currently weed free areas weed free, and controlling existing populations of weeds to prevent them from spreading to new areas. Inventory and monitoring would be ongoing and restoration efforts would be implemented where natural recovery of a desirable plant community is unlikely. This project is to restore and maintain healthy lands across Malheur County in SE Oregon through existing cooperative Weed Management Areas (WMA) and partnerships aimed at controlling the spread of noxious weeds through prevention, early detection and rapid response utilizing biological, chemical and mechanical treatments, monitoring, and inventory.

High