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Weed Management Plan May 2020 <br /> 4.0 Noxious Weed Management Recommendations <br /> To meet the requirements of the Colorado Noxious Weed Act and Garfield County guidance, <br /> SCI shall conduct prescribed management techniques for noxious weeds included on one of <br /> three State weed lists: List A— designated for statewide eradication; List B— managed to <br /> prevent further spread and, for selected species, designated for eradication in large areas; <br /> and List C — of more localized concern, but for which the State will provide education, <br /> research, and biological control assistance to jurisdictions that choose to manage the <br /> species. The current State list is available in Appendix A. <br /> There are no List A species present in the project area. To stop the spread of List B species <br /> (refer to Table 1), populations of every species designated for eradication shall be <br /> eliminated prior to seed development. <br /> Additionally, to meet reclamation objectives, SCI should eliminate or minimize those noxious <br /> and invasive weeds designated as "undesirable species". Undesirable species include <br /> common reed (aka phragmites, a "watch list" species), redstem filaree, and all List C species <br /> (e.g., cheatgrass), and invasive species that commonly colonize disturbed or reclaimed land <br /> and impede or prevent establishment of desirable species (e.g., kochia [Kochia sieversiana, <br /> K. iranica, K. scoparia] and Russian thistle [Salsola australis, S. iberica, S. kall]). <br /> Control of invasive species is a difficult task and requires on-going control measures. Care <br /> must be taken to avoid negatively impacting desirable plant communities and inviting <br /> infestation by other pioneer invaders. Weed management is best achieved by employing <br /> aggressive control early on, and persistent control efforts over several growing seasons, <br /> including direct treatments, prevention through best management practices, monitoring of <br /> treatment efficacy, and subsequent detection efforts. Weed management is often limited to <br /> controlling existing infestations and prevention of further infestations, rather than <br /> eradication, but through effective weed management practices and eradication can be <br /> possible in small to medium sized weed populations. <br /> Preventive: <br /> The first and the most important step in a weed control program and probably the most cost- <br /> effective method of weed control is prevention. Methods include maintaining healthy <br /> pastures, using weed-free crop seed, weed-free manure and hay, and clean equipment, as <br /> well as the elimination of weed infestations in areas bordering cropland, and in irrigation <br /> ditches and canals. <br /> Cultural: <br /> Methods include: Establishing and managing an adequate population of desirable <br /> vegetation to compete with the weeds; utilizing livestock (cattle, goats, sheep) when <br /> possible; mulching; burning; and even plastic weed barriers. <br /> Mechanical: <br /> Methods include: Hand-pull, hoe, mow and tillage. <br /> Biological: <br /> Biological weed control involves the utilization of natural enemies for the control of specific <br /> weed species. This method can take many years to result in weed control and is often not <br /> 100% effective. However, this method can dramatically help reduce weed densities and <br /> when combined with other methods can be very beneficial. Methods include grazing, <br /> introduction of registered insects or diseases. Contact the Palisade Insectary for more <br /> information. <br /> 7 <br />