In April of 2001 a float trip down the Madison River was conducted involving members of the BLM, the Montana Wilderness society, Madison County, U.S. Forest Service, the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, Gallatin County and other interested individuals. They determined that due to the size, density and location of the current infestations, that eradication was no longer an option but that a long term plan of control and containment would be more practical and cost effective. With members of the original group plus a Dow AgroSciences representative and others knowledgeable in noxious weed control a second float trip was conducted in August to help devise a plan of action.
Weed control was initiated in the fall of 2001 using both biological agents and herbicide. The biological control was released in the more inaccessible areas above the river and above the hiking trails, while herbicide was used along the trails and from the trails to the river, where public use is the highest. Herbicide application was done as a joint effort between the BLM and the Madison County Weed Board with joint spray days being held twice yearly, one in the spring and the other in the fall. After the first year of treatment we were surprised at how the native grasses came back and became fairly competitive with the knapweed. In 2002, 2003, and 2004 a private contractor treated the road leading into the trailhead and any of the trails that couldn’t be covered during the joint spray days. Starting in 2005 the BLM hired a crew of two sprayers that would take over the role of the private contractor. A minimum of three float trips a year were scheduled in order to gain access to some infestations of Leafy Spurge that are inaccessible by land.
To date the project has met with great success. The size and density of the noxious weed infestations has been reduced dramatically with the only problem being the re-infestation of some of the treated areas by cheatgrass. Beginning in 2010 we hope to get the original group together again to determine what our strategy for the next ten years will be and how we will handle the re-vegetation of some of the areas infested by cheatgrass.
