PARTNERS “PULL TOGETHER” TO CONTINUE BATTLE AGAINST INVASIVE WEEDS AT BADLANDS NATIONAL PARK

To win any battle, every smart warrior seeks out allies. The weed war being fought in southwestern South Dakota continues as the Badlands Weed Management Area announces a successful year of battling invasive plants. Between June 2000 and June 2001, the weed management efforts of Badlands National Park and the Badlands Weed Management Area received over $57,000 in grant monies from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to control a primary seed source of Canada thistle in the Badlands Wilderness Area of Badlands National Park. Additionally, non-federal partners contributed goods and services to this collaborative effort. Federal funding was supplemented by donated services, resulting in the mapping of 400 acres of weeds, treat over 330 acres with herbicide, and release over 6000 biological control insects in the Badlands Wilderness Area.

This project was funded as a part of the “Pulling Together” grant program intended to encourage federal and non-federal cooperation on weed management. $24,300 in grant monies originated from the National Park Service and the U.S. Forest Service. These federal funds were released to the project to supplement the contribution of $33,000 in donated time and services from non-federal sources. Major non-federal partners included South Dakota Department of Agriculture, South Dakota School and Public Lands Commission, Pennington County Weed and Pest Program, and private landowners of the Badlands Weed Management Area.

Canada thistle (Cirsium arvense) is a non-native, perennial plant that aggressively invades native grasslands as well as agricultural lands, particularly moist soils and disturbed sites. A native of Eurasia, it was introduced into Canada as a contaminant of crop seed in the late 18th century and has subsequently spread throughout the temperate United States. The plant is a state-listed noxious weed in South Dakota and many other western states, and the South Dakota State University Cooperative Extension Service estimates that over 1.6-million acres of lands in the state are currently infested. The ability of the plant to invade is due to its extensive root system, every piece of which can give rise to a new plant, and its abundant wind-borne seeds that can remain viable for years. It poses a major threat to the parks prairie by crowding into prairie dog colonies and displacing native species. It also causes an economic hardship for the surrounding agricultural lands. Canada thistle is a primary target of the park’s weed management program.

For more information on Badlands National Park and its resource management activities, visit the park’s website at http://www.nps.gov/badl Click on IN DEPTH to reach the expanded website with critical resource issue information. Anyone interested in helping the Badlands Weed Warriors should contact Resource Specialist Sandee Dingman at (605) 433 – 4262.