BIA Projects
Fremont County Weed and Pest has been working in conjunction with BIA to control invasive weeds on the Wind River Indian Reservation. Several projects have been funded to focus control on specific weeds and weed types as well as on sensitive areas having the greatest impact on agriculture.
Leafy Spurge
Leafy spurge is found in all three Weed Management Areas (WMA's) in the county and designated as a primary target species by the State of Wyoming managed under a special weed management plan. It is aggressively pursued by the tribes, the State and county and by private land owners countywide. There are no cases where infested lands are not involved in a cooperative control effort.
The leafy Spurge program has enjoyed considerable success through reducing the economic impact from this weed to users of the land. The costs are transferred to the government with over $7,000,000 being spent since 1978 in Fremont County on its control. Leafy spurge has certainly spread over that time, but there are no big monotypic patches of leafy spurge. The rate of spread is much less than in neighboring states and current infestations are a small fraction of the potential range for this species in Fremont County.
Spotted Knapweed
Burgess
Spotted knapweed was discovered in Morrison Canyon behind the Burgess Ranch in the Owl Creeks about four years ago. The maximum extent of the infestation was about 170 acres with 80 acres of actual treatment taking place the first year. Access is very difficult since the fire about 15 years ago which killed most of the cottonwoods in the canyon. These trees fall down across the trail making foot travel the only practical way to get chemical and grass seed up into the canyon. All chemical treatment is done with back pack sprayers.
The site is visited several times a year in an effort to locate and destroy every plant. Late summer activities include bagging and removal of mature plants to prevent seed fall. After the initial stand reduction during the first year, there seems to be a stable back ground population while the seed bank is depleted.
Little Wind
These are very small, isolated infestations where every plant is treated. The sites are visited monthly during the summer to ensure there are no escapes. Any mature plants are dug up and bagged to prevent seed dispersal.
This site is essentially under control although we seem to find a few new plants every time we go there. To our knowledge no new seed has been added to the population in the last 3 years, but with a documented 40 year dormancy, new plants should be expected for some time to come.
Russian Knapweed
All Russian knapweed treatments are done in cooperation with land managers/lessees and BIA staff to ensure that the greatest benefit will result. The Northern Arapahoe Tribal Housing Authority has been contracting with Fremont County Weed and Pest to control Russian knapweed around all housing projects.
Russian knapweed can be controlled with several years of persistent treatment. Successful treatment depends on following up on escapes from the initial treatment. Once uniform control has been obtained it takes years for the knapweed to spread back into the cleared area. Three years of aggressive control may last for 5 to 10 years before new treatments will be needed to restore control.
Saltcedar
There are about 6,000 acres infested, but well over half of that is below the high water line on reservoirs. The largest infestation on tribal lands in now in the river bottoms between Riverton and Boysen Reservoir. Most Salt cedar on the reservation is widely scattered and controlling it now eliminates any need for reclamation of infested sites and prevents small infections from becoming big ones that are economic in scope.
In addition to herbicide treatments, a biological control agent has been released with some success. Raising the water level at Ray Lake next year will kill 100 acres easily.
Wind River Irrigation
The Wind River Agency Irrigation puts $10,000 into weed control annually. There are a number of adjacent landowners and water users who are raising high value crops where weed management is essential to profitability. They aggressively work on noxious weeds on their lands and the irrigation system is a major source of weed seed for them. However; the majority of irrigated lands on the WRIR are managed to produce lower valued crops and pasture for livestock where weed control is less important economically. It that case there is little cooperative effort in weed control. In 2009, the agency money was directed toward noxious weeds instead of vegetation management as in the past, and that will allow more of the system to be treated every year.
The canals that have easy access and productive crop land are really in pretty good shape from many years of routine treatment. That is evidence that the program can be successful, but you need to focus on segments of the Dinwoody, Subagency, Left Hand and Coolidge systems to see the benefits.
DCWMA
The entire Crow Creek Drainage has been targeted under the Dubois-Crowheart WMA. All of the tribal assignments have been included save one that is not leased and is included in the range unit. Work is expanding to include other lands under the same lessees to ensure that weeds will not be moved from one property to another.
BIA Road Rights of Way
Roads are a major pathway for weed distribution. Weed control on roads touches nearly every land owner. Occasionally the BIA Roads Wind River Agency contracts directly with Fremont County Weed and Pest for weed control activities on roads where there is ongoing construction or repairs, but that is usually more of a vegetation management activity than one focused on noxious weeds. All of the state highways and county roads across the WRIR are treated every year for designated noxious weeds.