FALL 2016 TechLine INNOVATIVE RESEARCH, SUCCESS STORIES, AND TIPS FOR INVASIVE PLANT MANAGERS INVASIVE PLANT NEWS WESTERN RANGE & WILDLANDS EDITION IN THIS ISSUE: Twenty Years of Success: Managing Tansy Ragwort in Northwestern Montana ... 3 Controlling Tansy Ragwort in Natural Areas ... 4 Synthetic Auxin Herbicides Control Germinating Scotch Broom ... 7 HARRINGTON TIM Logging Debris and Herbicide Treatments for Controlling Scotch Broom ... 8 Celebrating the STEVE DEWEY, UTAH STATE UNIV, BUGWOOD.ORG UNIV, STATE UTAH STEVE DEWEY, Centennial: Volunteers Unite in Glacier National Park Weed BioBlitz ... 10 Managing Scotch thistle on Rangeland and Natural Areas ... 12 STEVE DEWEY, UTAH STATE UNIV, BUGWOOD.ORG UNIV, STATE UTAH DEWEY, STEVE Saint Johnswort Biology, Impact and Management ...14 Enter Invasive Plant Photo Contest Until October 14 ... 2 CELESTINE DUNCAN CELESTINE STEVE DEWEY, UTAH STATE UNIV, BUGWOOD.ORG UNIV, STATE UTAH DEWEY, STEVE BRIEFS MEET THE TECHLINE TEAM READER SURVEY HOW ARE WE DOING? Help TechLine News editors give you the information you need to improve your weed management program! Your feedback is important to us and will help us improve upon sharing information that is accurate, timely, and relevant to CELESTINE DUNCAN MELISSA MUNSON DARBY BRAMBLE you. http://bit.ly/techlinesurvey EDITOR MANAGING EDITOR/ CIRCULATION/ Celestine is editor and CREATIVE OUTREACH TM primary author for Melissa is copy-editor, Darby coordinates Vastlan Specialty TechLine. Owner of creative and production subscriptions, customer Herbicide Replaces Weed Management manager for TechLine’s care, and social media Services since 1988, electronic and print relations with our Garlon® 3A Celestine earned her publications. Since audience. With a degree BS in Agronomy/ earning her BS in in Environmental VastlanTM is a herbicide developed Horticulture from New Biology/Botany from the Studies from Western by Dow AgroSciences for the control Mexico State University University of Montana in Washington University, of woody plant species and annual and MS in Agronomy 1996, Melissa has worked Darby has conducted and perennial broadleaf weeds on [Weed Science] from with invasive plant outreach and field-work industrial vegetation management, Montana State University. researchers, educators, for federal, state and non- aquatic, Conservation Reserve Program She also conducts field and managers–as a field profit agencies across the (CRP), range and permanent grass research, environmental biologist, teacher, writer/ West. pastures sites and grasses grown for assessments, and training editor, and designer. hay. Vastlan herbicide is formulated programs throughout the Melissa owns Hibou as a soluble liquid (SL) and contains Northwest on invasive Creative Services in 4 pounds acid equivalent per gallon plants. Helena, Montana. (lbs ae/ gallon) of triclopyr choline. The choline formulation of triclopyr reduced the signal from “Danger” on Garlon® 3A to “Warning”. This reduced toxicity and higher concentration sets Vastlan Send us your best shots of herbicide apart from its predecessor terrestrial INVASIVE PLANTS and terrestrial Garlon 3A. Grass tolerance and weed 2016 invasive plant MANAGEMENT IN ACTION for control spectrum of Vastlan herbicide is the same as Garlon 3A. Vastlan is TechLine’s 2nd annual photo contest and a registered for use in 47 states, excluding PHOTO chance to win a $200 prize. California, New York, and Florida. WHEN TO ENTER: August 15 to October 14, 2016 APPLICATION RATE CONVERSION FOR GARLON® CONTEST 3A TO VASTLAN™ SPECIALTY HERBICIDE WHAT TO ENTER: Your original photographs of terrestrial invasive plants or terrestrial invasive plant Garlon 3A has 3 lb acid equivalent per gallon management in action. (ae/gallon) and Vastlan has 4 lb ae/gallon. WHY ENTER: You’ll win a prize! The winner of each TM category will receive a gift card to Forestry Suppliers or GARLON® 3A VASTLAN REI ($200 value). (3 lb ae/gal) (4 lb ae/gal) 2 pints/Acre = 1.5 pints/Acre FIND DETAILS AT 3 pints/Acre = 2.25 pints/Acre http://techlinenews.com/photo-contest 4 pints/Acre = 3 pints/Acre Subscribe at http://techlinenews.com/subscribe/ 6 pints/Acre = 4.5 pints/Acre to receive contest updates. 8 pints/Acre = 6 pints/Acre (4 quarts) (3 quarts) 2 | WESTERN RANGE & WILDLANDS EDITION. FALL 2016 TWENTY YEARS OF SUCCESS: Managing Tansy Ragwort in Northwestern Montana UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY, BUGWOOD.ORG UNIVERSITY, STATE UTAH TANSY RAGWORT ESTABLISHES EASILY IN DISTURBED SITES SUCH AS SLASH PILES AND AREAS THAT HAVE BEEN LOGGED (LEFT). TANSY RAGWORT FLOWERS (ABOVE) DAN WILLIAMS DAN By Celestine Duncan PROJECT FUNDING igh temperatures, windy through an integrated approach. conditions and lack of A key funding partner in the Management components include: project is the Montana Noxious precipitation created extreme Weed Trust Fund (NWTF), which wildfire conditions in 1) inventory/mapping and monitoring H provided more than $1.9 million northwest Montana during the summer of 2) control and containment to control tansy ragwort since 1994. The Little Wolf Fire began in August 3) use of biological control agents and 1994. Approximately 12 percent of that year, burning over 15,000 acres of related research of the budget has gone directly national forest and private timber lands. toward rearing, screening, and “Tansy ragwort was probably already 4) road closures and grazing restrictions distribution of biological control present as scattered plants when the wild- 5) public education agents on tansy ragwort and fire burned,” explains Dan Williams, weed invasive hawkweeds. 6) a plan for cross jurisdictional coordinator in Lincoln County. “But, two The Montana NWTF grant years after the fire, the ragwort infestation cooperation program was established by the exploded within the burned area.” “The project has always been a coop- 1985 Montana Legislature to Open sites created by the burn and distur- erative effort between the Forest Service, provide funding for the develop- bance from fire-fighting activities provided county weed districts, state Departments of ment and implementation of ideal habitat for tansy ragwort. Initial esti- Agriculture and Natural Resources, a large weed management programs mates suggested that about 1,000 acres were private timber company, local landown- in the state. Since its inception, more than $58.2 million dollars infested by the weed; but subsequent sur- ers and other partners,” Williams explains. in grants has been awarded to veys recorded 15,000 acres of tansy ragwort “We were fortunate that several biological support integrated manage- scattered within a 500,000-acre perimeter. control specialists with the Forest Service ment of noxious weeds in the The County Weed District and other part- and Montana State University were able to state (includes research, public ners organized a cooperative weed manage- secure insects from Oregon and establish re- education, and on-ground ment area (CWMA) and developed man- lease sites in the area early in the project.” management). The program agement plans to contain tansy ragwort. Three insects including the cinnabar is administered by Montana The goal of the Tansy Ragwort CWMA is moth, tansy ragwort seed fly and tansy rag- Department of Agriculture. to restrict populations of tansy ragwort to wort flea beetle were collected and tested existing areas and prevent further expansion for survival and suitability for tansy ragwort Continued on page 4... TECHLINENEWS.COM | 3 ... Continued from page 3 control in northwestern Montana (See on this page, Control- ling Tansy Ragwort). The cinnabar moth was established on the site by 1999 followed by the other two insects. The cinnabar moth has proved to be the most successful of the three insects in reducing tansy ragwort density in Montana. Biological control agents were integrated with the herbi- cide treatment program to reduce larger core populations of tansy ragwort. Milestone® or Transline® specialty her- bicides are applied to tansy ragwort along roadsides, small newly established infestations, and on the perimeter of some of the larger tansy ragwort infestations where insects were released. “We apply Milestone at 6 fluid ounces per acre (fl oz/A) on the majority of infestations and have had good results,” says Williams. “Transline at 1 pint per acre (pt/A) is used under sensitive trees and shrubs.” Both herbicides are ap- plied to tansy ragwort from rosette through bloom stage, BUGWOOD.ORG AGRICULTURE, OF DEPT OREGON COOMBS, ERIC and in the fall. Williams explains they are getting complete control of tansy ragwort with Milestone regardless of plant growth Controlling stage. “Plants in the mid to late bloom stage will likely pro- duce viable seed if flower heads aren’t clipped. But, we do an excellent job of controlling rosettes and seedling ger- Tansy Ragwort in mination with late summer and fall applications of Mile- stone,” Williams explains. The CWMA achieved dramatic reductions in tansy rag- Natural Areas wort populations by integrating effective biological control agents with herbicides treatments. Their success has led to By Celestine Duncan creation of other cooperative weed management areas in northwestern Montana. “Consistent surveys, monitoring, and public education Tansy ragwort (Senecio jacobaea) is a winter annual, bi- are key components for meeting our goal,” says Williams. ennial, or short-lived perennial plant in the sunflower “By mapping the infestation we can track the spread or de- family. The plant was unintentionally introduced into cline