PAUL N. QUENEAU
FWP AT WORK
WEED WHACKER
DAVE DZIAK
THIS MORNING I’M ON Spotted Dog Wildlife Management Area (WMA), just east of Deer Lodge, checking the roots of a spotted knapweed plant for the larvae of the insect Cyphocleonus. We released about 8,000 adult insects on the WMA last summer to control knapweed. The weed outcompetes native grasses, forbs, and shrubs and infests adjacent properties, causing problems there. We’ve been using insects to control weeds on WMAs for years through a multi-
faceted approach that includes applying herbicides, mowing, hand pulling, and other practices, all with the goal of keeping infestations down to an acceptable level. The insects are cost effective and don’t harm native vegetation. They also spread onto neighboring lands and control knapweed there, too. It’s all part of our responsibility to improve wildlife habitat on our lands while being good neighbors to the folks who own property adjacent to ours.
MONTANA OUTDOORS
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