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MONTANASTATELIBRARY 08640015 69063 NOXIOUS WEED MANAGEMENT PLAN -SIX YEARREVISION - STATEDOCUMENTSCOLLECTION i'>Ac< 1 32001 MONTANASTATELIBRARY HELEN1A5,15MEO.N6TtAhNAAVE5.9620 MONTANA FISH, WILDLIFE& PARKS REVISEDWEEDMANAGEMENTPLAN WrittenandPreparedBy: JeffCopeland Geographer/EnvironmentalConsultant P.O.Box176Gila,NM88038 505.315.4160 [email protected] PlanRevisionOversightBy: TomGreason FishingAccessandMaintenanceCoordinator Fish,Wildlife&Parks 1400South19thAve. Bozeman,MT59718 406.994.6987 [email protected] EditingBy: MarilynJohnson Fish,Wildlife&Parks DATEDUE MAY 1 0 :oo4 OEMCO38-301 Executive Summary Region3oftheMontanaFish,WildlifeandParks(FWP)insouthwesternMontanaisconcerned abouttheimpactofnoxiousweedsonnaturalandculturalresources,bothonlandmanagedby thedepartment,andonadjacentproperty.Inordertoreducetheimpactsofnoxiousweeds, protectresources,andfulfilllegalmandates,theRegionfirstimplementedacomprehensive region-widenoxiousweedmanagementplanin1993. ThisupdatedNoxiousWeedManagementPlanforRegion3,MontanaFish,WildlifeandParks describesnoxiousweedmanagementfortenStateParks(SPs),twelveWildlifeManagement Areas(WMAs),86FishingAccessSites(FASs),andthreeAdministrativeSites,totalingover 153,707acres.TheplanoutlinesanIntegratedWeedManagement(IWM)approachthatincludes managementgoals,strategies,andcontroltechniques,basedonandconsistentwithfederal,state, andlocalweedmanagementregulations,policies,andgoals,includingMontana’sWeed ManagementPlan(Duncan2000).FWPManagementgoalsareasfollows: ManagementGoals • Preventinvasionsofnewnoxiousweeds;eliminate,reduce,orcontaincurrent infestations • Complywithnoxiousweedcontrollaws • Managenoxiousweedinfestationswithoutsignificantadverseenvironmentalimpacts • Maintainhealthy,naturalplantcommunitiesthatresistweedinvasion • MinimizeimpactsonotherlandfromweedinfestationsonFWPland • Cooperatewithprivateandpubliclandmanagersinweedcontrolactivities • Educatethepublictoincreaseawarenessofnoxiousweedsandtheirnegativeimpacts • Participateinresearchanddevelopmentofnewweedcontrolstrategiesandtechniques Strategies,includingprevention,eradication,reduction,andcontainment,arebasedonthe species,size,density,andlocationoftheinfestation,aswellasresource,environmental,and safetyconcerns,andlegalrequirements.Techniquesforpreventioncurrentlyemployedinclude promotinghealthyplantcommunities,limitingdisturbances,revegetating,andeducatingthe iii public.Region3utilizesmechanical;cultural;chemical;andbiologicalmethodsforcontrolof existinginfestations. Theprocessofchoosingandprioritizingstrategiesandspecificcontroltechniquesincludes constraintsandlimitationsoncontroltechniquesimposedbylandscapeandlandusefeatures. Landscapefeaturesthatlimitweedcontroltechniquesincludethepresenceofsurfacewateror shallowgroundwater;threatened,endangered,orsensitive(TES)species;culturalandhistorical remnants,andsignificantvegetationorhabitattypes.Landusefeaturesincludehighlevelsof humanuse,andbiologiccontrolinsectories.SpecialManagementAreasmaybecreatedtoreflect thesefeaturesuniqueweedmanagementrequirements. Partnershipswithfederal,state,andlocalagenciesandgroups,aswellaslandowners,are essentialforsuccessfulnoxiousweedmanagement.ThisincludestwoyearCooperativeWeed AgreementswithCountyWeedDistrictswithinRegion3,asrequiredbyHouseBill395,aswell asparticipationinpartnershipsincludingtheBigHoleRiverProjectandtheRubyRiverWeed Project,andotherpublicandprivatelandmanagers.AllCountyWeedDistrictswithinRegion3 havebeenaskedforinputincreatingthisplan,whichwillbeupdatedeverysixyears. Thisplan,byrevisingandupdatingtheoriginalplan,willnotresultinanysignificantimpactsto thehumanornaturalenvironmentnotalreadyaddressedbytheoriginalEA,doesnotrequirea newEA.However,anenvironmentalimpactchecklist,derivedfromtheenvironmental assessmentsofnoxiousweedmanagementplansforRegion3andRegion8(nowpartof Region3astheHelenaResourceOffice[HARO]),mustbecompletedpriortoanyweed managementactivity. BudgetRequirementsandTrends Duringthenextsixyearperiod,thedepartmentwillplacegreateremphasisonprevention througheducation,monitoring,andbetterlandstewardship.TheRegionhopestodecrease relianceonherbicidesbyutilizingothercontroltechniquesinanintegratedapproach.Thiswill entailarenewedcommitment,infunding,resources,andpersonnel.Fundingforinventorying noxiousweeds,andmonitoringcontroltechniques,shouldbeprioritized.However,lowfunding willlikelycontinuetoslowprogress,givencurrenttrends. Montana’sWeedManagementPlanReviewDraft(Duncan2000)recommendsaminimumof $20peracreforon-the-groundmanagementtoreduceinfestationsfivepercentannually.In additiontotheon-the-groundmanagementcosts,otherimportantcostsincludeadministration, estimatedat10%oftheon-the-groundbudget,andresearch,at15 Basedonthebudgetaryrequirementsdiscussedabove,fundinglevelsinRegion3are significantlybelowtheminimumrecommendedforreductionsinnoxiousweedinfestations.For example,$7821wasearmarkedannuallyforweedcontrolonRegion3FASsforfiscalyears IV 1999and2000,while$5202wasearmarkedforSPs.If9%(figureusedbytheMontanaWeed ManagementPlanforpercentageofacresinfestedinMontana),or515acres,oflandcontainedin FASsareinfestedwithnoxiousweeds,basedonstate-wideinfestationrates,thenataminimum $10,300isneededannuallytoreduceinfestations.Atthesametime,fundingislackingfor administrationandresearch,whichinturndirectsfundsneededforon-the-groundmanagement. However,regardlessoftheselimitations,theRegionwillcontinuetomanagenoxiousweedsas anintegralpartofitscommitmenttoprotectnaturalresourcesandprovidesustainable recreationalopportunitiestothepublic. V > a