Date: September 18, 2006
Contact: Jim Cheatham, 307-467-5283 ext. 212
August 30, 2006 2006-31
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Leafy Spurge Level Decreased at Devils Tower by Exotic Plant Management Team
Since 2002, the Northern Great Plains Exotic Plant Management Team (NGP EPMT) has treated leafy spurge at Devils Tower National Monument using chemical and biological control methods. During this period, herbicides were applied and flea beetles were released. The result has been a significant decrease in areas infested with the exotic invasive leafy spurge plant.
Decreased levels are notable throughout the floodplain near the park entrance and campground, where a previous yellow “blanket” of leafy spurge is being replaced with native grasses. Jim Cheatham, the park’s chief of resource management said “The key to restoring these areas from leafy spurge is regular follow-up treatments as we’re dealing with a large seed bank.”
The NGP EPMT, based at Theodore Roosevelt National Park with teams at Wind Cave National Park and Badlands National Park, control exotic invasive plants at 14 NPS units in Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota and Nebraska. The team uses herbicide along with mechanical and biological control methods as part of an integrated pest management (IPM) approach to control the spread of exotic invasive plants in priority areas. See northerngreatplains-nps.com for the NGP Exotic Plant Management Plan containing details on the IPM approach.
For more information on exotic plant control at Devils Tower or the NGP EPMT contact Jim Cheatham (jim_cheatham@nps.gov), chief of resources management, or Chad Prosser (chad_prosser@nps.gov), NGP exotic plant management team liaison. More information about this and other NPS EPMTs around the United States may be found at nature.nps.gov/biology/invasivespecies.
