Goats and Invasive Species Control

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14 Prairie Fire December 2007 +c . , ?. f - ???'?'??• _ _ x ? Leafy spurge growing and spreading over an area on the Reevei land. (CouHery U.S. Department of Agriculture) I Goats Rancher looks for options to control invasive noxious weeds and volunteer trees BY PAT MCGRANE CoNraocuNC invasive noxious weeds is required by Nebraska weed laws, but what if one weed species is so obnoxious it just won't go away! What can a person do? Send in a herd of goats to chew them off is one solution. Don Reeves and his family who own grazing land in Howard County northeast of St Paul, Neb., this sum- mer "rented" goats testing this solu- tion on their land. Leafy spurge is the particular pest. Its roots grow deep so the plant is resistant to most herbicides. When the seedpods open, the plant can throw or "spit" the seed 15 feet from the parent plant. Cultivation won't kill it Ranchers fight to keep it from spreading, which is the best they can do. Some county weed districts have quarantined hay that contains leafy spurge to control its spread. Leafy spurge is poisonous to cattle when ingested; it contains a skin irritant, which makes it difficult for the ani- mal to eat or drink after ingesting the weed-and cattle avoid grazing near leafy spurge. "We do chemically spray the weeds to provide some control, but we want- ed a natural solution, so we wanted to try goats;'said Reeves. Don, his brother Ladd, and sisters Virginia Fraser and Kay Owens volun- teered their land for an invasive plant treatment demonstration to the Nebraska Grazing Lands Coalition. The NGLC is a nonprofit group of ranchers united to help their fellow ranchers with range management and natural resources issues. NGLC receives some sponsorship from the USDA Natural Resources Conser- vation Service (NRCS). The Reeves siblings entered a two- week experiment with the NGLC to bring nearly 600 goats on their prop- erty to feed in a dosely confined area on weed patches. The goats are con- fined behind portable electric fence. The endosure, or paddock, is general- ly about two-thirds of an acre but can vary with the amount of fencing and area needing control. The paddock is moved about every 12 hours, depending on the amount of plant material, because the goats aze very effective in eating the weeds. CONTINUED ON PAGE 19 P11tte from page 13 improve flows in the central Platte River to reduce short- ages to target flows by an aver- age of 130,000 to 150,000 acre-feet per year at Grand Island. In addition to the improved flow conditions, small pulse flows in the spring are intended to create vegeta- tion-free sand bars suitable for plover and tem nesting. These objectives will be achieved through measures, including releases from the Environmental Account (EA) in Lake McConaughy. The EA is a portion of the water stored in Lake McConaughy that is set aside and managed by the Fish and Wildlife Service for the benefit of the target species. Other actions will include slightly revised operations of other water systems; general re- timing of Platte River system water projects and other proj- ect management actions; and implementation of new water supply and conservation proj- ects in the basin undertaken by program partners and coopera- tors. Success of the Water Plan also relies on implementation of agreed-upon New De- pletions Plans in the three states and by the federal gov- emment in accordance with the program goal of offsetting new depletions to the Platte River that occurred after July 1997. Land During the First Increment, the program's objective is to protect, restore and maintain 10,000 acres of habitat. The pro- gram's long-term objective for land is to acquire land interests, restore where appropriate, and maintain and manage approxi- mately 29,000 acres of suitable habitat along the central Platte River between Lexington and Chapman. I,and acquired dur ing the program's First Incre- ment will be credited to this long-term objective as will cer- tain lands that meet criteria established by the Governance Committee but are managed by other entities, such as environ- mental organizations or urility and irrigation districts. The initial focus of land activities will be on acquiring interesXin land considered part of "habitat complexes" of inter est to the program-riverine habitat, wet meadow habitat and associated buffers. Non- complex habitat such as sand- pits, important to the tems and plovers, and wetlands, impor tant to whooping cranes, will also be considered. The land work of the program wil] be guided closely by the executive director and the Land Advisory Committee and will include important partnerships with landowners along the central Platte. What does the future hold? With an executive director and staff now on board, imple- mentation of the program is proceeding eamestly to ensure program milestones and goals are achieved in a timely manner during the First Increment. Once the program's formal authorizing legislation is approved by Congress (expect- ed in late 2007 or early 2008), work can begin in full relative to acquiring interest in land in the central Platte. A small pulse flow is planned for the spring of 2008 to test the pmgram's abili- ty to deliver water to the central Platte and ultimately test hypotheses related to increased flow and associated river processes. A hallmark of the program is to maintain constant open communication with the public and provide clear assess- ments of progress, challenges and future direction. Chad Smi[h is natural resources division diredor for Headwaten Corporation and a stajj member in [Ne Ezecutive Director's Office of the Plptte River Recovery Implementation Program. This artitle is based on information con- tained itt the Final Program Document as well as summary information com- piied by program partners. To learn more, please visit www.PlatteRiver Program.cam. AII photos and graphia in this ar[icle are courtery of [he author unless otherwise noted. Again,5t tke Wall Ay ? r a m i n P a I I c r y Featurine Great ori`v,inal artwork from lor.al artists, • ae well ae excell<nt, a((ordable cuetom (ramin g '`? ???+ DECE ME)ER D0015LE FE ATURE! . . Gr-p 56.w wit6 ?,?mb«s ?F c6e ? (vebraaka bead Socicty - pec. 7-5 I ?.. well as a(vp {ZcIcaec Farty 4or , t T6e McNeeLee5 Q enin Rece tion s? CD Release Part P g P 9 W1S? 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