LandsofAmerica.com - Land Resources / News / Weed project called 'right thing to do'
#1 in Land for Sale Online US Land & Ranches 2 Advertise | Member Login
Land ID Search
The Archer Group
Click Below to Find a Farm or Ranch for Sale
America
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming

Land for Sale
sort by
Most Popular
Most Expensive
Most Acreage

Land Resources / News / Weed project called 'right thing to do'
Weed project called 'right thing to do' (complete article from source)
Source: McCook Daily Gazette, by Connie Jo Discoe
July 24, 2007
One McCook-area land-owner who signed a contract Monday to cooperate with the South West Weed Management Area Repub-lican River vegetation control project sees it simply as the "right thing to do." The project offers -- at no cost to landowners -- the opportunity to control water-hogging saltcedar, phragmites, eastern red cedar and Russian olive on the Republican River channel and within 100 feet of both banks.

Larry Swanson, who owns nearly 1,000 acres of land on the Republican between McCook and Culbertson, said, following a landowners' meeting Monday evening, "If we don't cooperate as landowners, there will be no progress made," to rid the river of thirsty invasive plants.

Swanson said he hasn't seen any saltcedar on his land, but has seen plenty of Russian olive, and in some areas, red cedar.

"Whether projects like this work or not, it does show that landowners are not standing in the way of progress," Swanson said this morning. As a landowner concerned with proper stewardship of the land and water, Swanson said, "It's just the right thing to do."

Ron Friehe echoed that thought. Friehe, who owns land on the Republican south of McCook, said the SWWMA project is a "good opportunity to find and work on noxious weeds," and other invasive species that hog water and choke out native plants.

With the cost of one spray chemical at approximately $260 a gallon, the project is also a good cost-saving opportunity for landowners, Friehe said.

Roger Stockton, coordinator of Southwest Nebraska Resource Conservation and Development, admitted there may be pieces of land skipped in the case of landowners who decide not to cooperate with the project. He reminded landowners, however, "This year and next may be your only chance to use state funds for this project, at no cost to landowners."

The first year of the two-year $1.3 million SWWMA project was funded July 20 with an $814,617 grant from the Nebraska Department of Agriculture. The project is designed to improve the flow of water down the Republican, ultimately increasing the amount of water flowing into Kansas, in an effort to comply with terms of the 1943 water compact between Nebraska, Kansas and Colorado.

"It's all about water going to Kansas," Stockton said.

If this project doesn't help or work, he foresees more taxes paid to Nebraska and more water sent to Kansas.

"This is a free project," Stockton said, "if you want to work with us."

Vegetation control efforts will focus on the river channel, within 100 feet of each bank, and, if enough money stretches in the second year, to Republican tributaries.

Work done on private land will be done only with cooperation from the landowner. "Nothing happens on your land without your permission," Stockton said. The exception, he said, would be control of saltcedar, which, in Nebraska, is a noxious weed, giving weed superintendents the authority to treat it.

Saltcedar will be treated with "Habitat," an aquatic-labeled herbicide that costs about $260 a gallon.

The trees will be treated and left standing for two years while the herbicide translocates throughout the tree for complete control, Stockton said. Landowners may then cut down or burn the dead trees.

Control and maintenance beyond the two-year project will be the responsibility of the landowner.

Stockton said application of the chemical must be done according to terms of the grant and to application regulations, which require that the chemical be applied by state-licensed applicators only.

He told one Hitchcock County landowner, however, that the SWWMA board would discuss his request that he be given the herbicide and he will apply it himself.

The best time to begin chemical control of saltcedar and phragmites, Stockton said, is mid-August through mid-September.

Applicator/contractors will work through March and April, he said, and begin the second year in August 2008.

Stockton and Hitchcock County weed superintendent Rick Hedke explained that saltcedar control on Swanson Lake is the responsibility of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and Nebraska Game and Parks Commission.

Stockton told Larry Peterson, an engineer with the Nebraska Department of Roads, that SWWMA will gladly cooperate with the DOR on invasive species growing under state bridges.

Stockton said, "It doesn't make sense to treat the rest of the land and leave a nest under a river bridge."

Peterson said the contract has been sent to the state attorney general for his examination and signature.

"We're not going to hold a gun to anyone's back," he said, but he encouraged landowners to take advantage of the cost-savings and the opportunity to mitigate weeds and invasive trees.

Landowners may contract their county weed superintendents or the RC&D office in Cambridge, (308) 697-3477.



Click here for complete article from McCook Daily Gazette

Signup | Contact Us

View All Land, Farm, Ranch, and Waterfront Properties for Sale

Land for Sale | Alabama Land | Alaska Land | Arizona Land | Arkansas Land | California Land | Colorado Land | Florida Land | Georgia Land | Idaho Land | Illinois Land | Indiana Land | Iowa Land | Kansas Land | Kentucky Land | Louisiana Land | Massachusetts Land | Mississippi Land | Missouri Land | Montana Land | Nebraska Land | Nevada Land | New Mexico Land | New York Land | North Carolina Land | Ohio Land | Oklahoma Land | Oregon Land | South Carolina Land | Tennessee Land | Texas Land | Utah Land | Virginia Land | Washington Land | West Virginia Land | Wisconsin Land | Wyoming Land

Rural Homes for Sale | Alabama Homes | Alaska Homes | Arizona Homes | Arkansas Homes | California Homes | Colorado Homes | Florida Homes | Georgia Homes | Idaho Homes | Illinois Homes | Indiana Homes | Iowa Homes | Kansas Homes | Kentucky Homes | Louisiana Homes | Massachusetts Homes | Mississippi Homes | Missouri Homes | Montana Homes | Nebraska Homes | Nevada Homes | New Mexico Homes | New York Homes | North Carolina Homes | Ohio Homes | Oklahoma Homes | Oregon Homes | South Carolina Homes | Tennessee Homes | Texas Homes | Utah Homes | Virginia Homes | Washington Homes | West Virginia Homes | Wisconsin Homes | Wyoming Homes

Powered by LandsofAmerica.com
COPYRIGHT © 2003-Current, All Rights Reserved
Terms of Use