 On August 28th Wilbur Strickert, BCCD Weed Supervisor, and NRCS SCEP Student Sarah Hanlon made a trip to Syracuse, KS, to attend a meeting hosted by the Kansas Water Office regarding tamarisk control efforts. People from more than four states attended the meeting. Discussion centered on a demonstration control site near the fairgrounds in Syracuse, and proposed control for an area south of Coolidge, KS. Many qualified individuals were available to answer questions regarding tamarisk control, including the approved chemicals and the use of helicopter spraying. Wilbur and Sarah were able to ask questions pertaining to BCCD’s tamarisk control efforts in Baca County. They were also able to become familiar with how the upcoming aerial spraying of tamarisk on the Horse Creek watershed is going to be performed. BCCD has coordinated this application on behalf of landowners. The helicopter application is scheduled to take place in early September. ~ Sarah Hanlon, NRCS SCEP Student 
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 With help from the High Plains Invasive grant, BCCD was able to purchase a pickup for our Weed Program. It is a 2000 Ford F150. Wilbur is putting it to good use!  BCCD has been working hard on A & B List invasives the past two months. Wilbur Strickert, BCCD Weed Supervisor, continues to monitor all of the known occurrences of scotch thistle, musk thistle, tamarisk and narrow leaf Dalmatian toadflax.
Wilbur and summer Conservation Tech Weston Moffett have begun follow-up scouting and spraying on the Two Buttes Creek tamarisk control project from 2007. It looks like we had a pretty good kill rate throughout the watershed last year. But there were a few tamarisk that didn’t succumb, so Will and Wes are taking care of them. Another round of bindweed mites and tamarisk beetles were released during the week of August 4th. We are still monitoring their progress. And lastly, BCCD has arranged for helicopter spraying of the tamarisk on the Horse Creek Watershed in early September. Stay tuned for more details (and photos) in our next issue...  |
