Record of Decision Noxious Weed Management Project, Dakota Prairie Grasslands: Billings, Slope, Golden Valley, Sioux, Grant, McHenry, McKenzie, Ransom and Richland Counties in North Dakota; Corson, Perkins and Ziebach Counties in South Dakota.

摘要

This decision accompanying the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) approves the use of many different treatment methods to control noxious weeds through an integrated management strategy. Interestingly, even though weve been using herbicides, goats, flea beetles and other treatment methods for many years on some landscapes of the Dakota Prairie Grasslands (DPG) and surrounding lands, many of these sites continue to be infested with noxious weeds. It is reasonable to ask why. Have our treatments been ineffective due to poor timing or using the wrong application rates. Were funds short or non-existent, allowing populations to grow and spread. Was there a moratorium on herbicide use. Were some herbicides ineffective or not labeled for target species. Have we applied treatments on lesser priority areas while allowing populations to expand in other areas. Have treatments been curtailed or truncated to protect other plant or wildlife species such as the western prairie-fringed orchid or sensitive butterflies. The list of questions could go on and the answers would be as variable as the people asked. Undoubtedly, fluctuating funding and changing priorities have affected outcomes. However, the biology and persistence of one weed species, in particular, may offer some additional insights to the above questions.