Crook County Weed and Pest Monthly Update

With spring around the corner, Weed and Pest has been increasingly busy. Many activities such as the annual Weed and Pest Council Spring Workshop and receiving bids prices for chemicals, as well as noxious weed treatments along roadways, indicate spray season will be here sooner than it may seem.

Updates from Workshops

Private Applicator Training – The last private applicator training in Crook County for the year was held in Hulett at the end of February and was very well attended. Blake Hauptman and myself thoroughly enjoy holding these trainings and interacting with all who attend, and we especially appreciate it because it shows landowners care about controlling weeds and pests on their property.

Office Manager Workshop – Both full-time employees at the Weed and Pest attended a two-day office manager workshop in Casper. This training gave informative and valuable trainings on many topics including in-depth training on computer programs, HR and general management. This also gives office managers from weed and pest offices across the state a chance to share information on different ways to perform duties and come home with better ways to do things.

Weed and Pest Council Spring Workshop – The annual Weed and Pest Council Spring Workshop was held in Saratoga the first week of April. This workshop is intended for weed and pest supervisors and assistant supervisors to get training and education on many aspects of effectively and efficiently running a weed and pest.

Administrative Training – One valuable subject covered was administrative training that featured presenters from the Wyoming Department of Audit and State Records Archive. This covered topics of budget preparation and other fiscal responsibilities, as well as rules regarding records retention.

Weed Free Forage Training – This granted the newly required hay inspector certification from National Invasive Species Management Association. The training covered the basics of inspecting a hay field, as well as identification of the weeds that are not permitted in hay fields to be certified “weed free”.

Funding Updates

Presentations were given at the workshop by the supervisor at the Department of State Lands and Investments (DSLI) and the director of the Wyoming Wildlife and Natural Resource Trust (WWNR). These presenters explained the exciting news that our newly elected Governor, Mark Gordon, has allocated money to both entities in large sums.

WWNR was given over one million dollars, mainly for treatments of invasive annual grasses that impact sage grouse, which is allocated statewide in sage grouse core areas. The funds given to DSLI are the most exciting and will have the most impact locally in Crook County.

These funds, which are spread throughout the state, had historically stayed around $750,000 per biennium, but were cut more than in half around three years ago to roughly $350,000. Governor Gordon approved $500,000 to be added to the existing funds, providing over $850,000 to be spent on noxious weeds on state lands across Wyoming.

This was a one-time additional allocation that is to be spent by July 1, 2020; however, there is a possibility of this becoming a long term fund. These funds are allocated on a species priority scale set by the DSLI, meaning funding is spent differently depending on the weed species.

With the new invasion of Medusahead and Ventenata grasses, some of these funds will be set aside specifically for controlling them to prevent further spread. However, the majority will be spent on other designated noxious weeds, of which DSLI prioritizes leafy spurge and special management programs first, followed by EDRR (early detection rapid response) species, then finally the rest of the State Designated Noxious Weed and Pest list.

This is good news for Crook County as many of our sections of state land are invaded with leafy spurge, and control has been limited due to the lack of funding. I am extremely hopeful to cover and treat as many leafy spurge infested state lands as possible.

For leafy spurge, special management programs and EDRR species, DSLI covers 100 percent of the cost for both chemical and labor, whereas costs associated for controlling other designated noxious weeds are variable and labor is not paid for. If you lease or know of any state lands with leafy spurge populations, please come to the Weed and Pest Office and let me know!

Board Meeting Updates

We had three items open for bid that were evaluated and awarded at the April monthly board meeting.

Chemical Bids – winners were Van Diest Supply Co., and Nutrien Ag Solutions. We have worked with both of these vendors in the past, and have always been treated fairly. Both are also fairly local; Nutrien Ag has a supply warehouse in Spearfish, while Van Diest is located in Cheyenne. We will be placing orders for chemicals in the near future, and will have a good stock of many common herbicides. Don’t hesitate to call or stop in to ask what we carry or are able to get.

State Highway Noxious Weed Treatment Bids – winner was Best Out West Spray Service $25/Lane Mile. Noxious weed treatments along state highway rights-of-way were up for bid this year after the three-year contract with Steve Geis expired. We received three bids and awarded it to the lowest bidder, Best Out West Spraying, operated by Dee Shannon from Gillette.

County Road Noxious Weed Treatment Bids – winner was Steve Geis $22.50/Lane Mile. Noxious weed treatments along County Road rights-of-way were also up for bid, as Back Country Spraying was under a one-year contract last year. We received three bids for this as well, with Steve Geis coming in as the low bidder.

We are looking forward to utilizing these bidders to maintain and hopefully improve the current level of control on all roads within the county.

Summer is coming fast and weeds are already starting to pop up. We look forward to seeing all who come to the office this spray season.

Submitted by Andrew Litzel