Weed Watch!
Colorado Weed Management Association
3rd Quarter Newsletter 2022
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Tina Travis has announced her retirement in August and we want to thank her for her years of service managing invasive plants in Colorado and for all of her volunteer work for the Colorado Weed Management Association.
She has served on numerous CWMA committees and recently completed her presidential role and has helped steer this organization in its current direction. Without Tina, we would not be where we are at today.
We are proud to have called her a colleague and friend and will miss her as she moves onto the next chapter in her life!
Congratulations Tina!
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Winter Training Professional Development Grant
Grant Guidelines
Grants are available for current CWMA members to receive free registration to the CWMA Winter or Spring Training events, who would not have opportunity to attend otherwise. Four registrations will be available each year to CWMA members that can demonstrate need for the grant.
Eligibility
Applicant must be a current CWMA member in good standing. Please confirm your status with staff before submitting your application. If not already a member, join today.
Applicant must not have previously received a CWMA professional development grant. Funds requested must be used in the calendar year in which they were awarded.
Selection Criteria
The applicant must explain why the grant is needed to support training attendance and document any matching funds available. Recipient agrees to allow CWMA to announce award on website or in other promotional materials. Recipient will be asked for a photo of themselves attending the training for which the grant has been awarded.
Application Process
Applications for the Spring Training are due by the last day in February; applications for the Winter Training are due by the last day in September.
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Dinosaur National Monument and Colorado Department of Agriculture
unite to help control Russian knapweed along the Yampa and lower Green River
by Sonya Daly, Biological Control Specialist Palisade Insectary
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The Biological Pest Control Program, Palisade Insectary, is part of the Colorado Department of Agriculture. The program offers about 20 different biocontrol agents to naturally control noxious weeds or pests. Biocontrol is part of the Integrated Pest Management (IPM). The agents are host specific to their target weed species. Russian knapweed biocontrol agents would not work on Diffuse or Spotted knapweed. Palisade Insectary collects and distributes two biocontrol agents for Russian knapweed.
The gall fly (Jaapiella ivannikovi) and stem gall wasp (Aulacidea acroptilonica) can decrease flowering and stunt plant growth. Both agents develop galls or abnormal growths on plant (Figure 2). The gall flies lay eggs on leaf shoot tips. The feeding larvae stimulates rosette leaf galls on main and lateral shoots. The stem gall wasps lay eggs in the stem of the plant. The larvae tapping into the nutrient part of the stem stimulate abnormal growths along the main or lateral stems.
In 2006 the CDA first established a biocontrol partnership with Dinosaur National Monument (DNM) on releasing tamarisk leaf beetles (Diorhabda carinulata) along the Yampa and Green River in the national park. The tiny leaf beetles were successful in suppressing tamarisk stands along the river corridor over time.
Russian knapweed is a major invader in DNM. In 2019 Emily Spencer, Natural Resource Specialist, with National Park Service’s Dinosaur National Monument united with CDA to implement Russian knapweed biocontrol in the park. In 2021 Dinosaur National Monument, Colorado Department of Agriculture, Canyon Water LLC and Friends of the Yampa released 4,000 Russian knapweed stem gall wasps (20 releases) at 18 different locations along the Yampa River. All sites were checked in 2022 for stem gall wasp establishment and it was confirmed they survived the winter. This year 20,000 wasp adults (100 release cups) were released at 16 new locations along the Yampa and lower Green River. The team set up five permanent monitoring sites to closely study the biocontrol agent’s impact on plants. Russian knapweed Yampa River Partnership plans to monitor permanent study sites, survey wasp establishments and release at new infestations for the next 3 years.
Palisade Insectary is observing major suppression at Russian knapweed infestations near riparian areas after 3 to 5 years. The Russian knapweed Yampa River Partnership hopes the infestations in the park follow the same suppression trend. Colorado Department of Agriculture is honored to provide a natural and alternative method to control noxious weeds and pest.
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CWMA Online Training: Easy to Use at Home or Work!
Technician Training-NEW!
Sit down and relax while training both new hires and returning technicians with these two new training offerings. These courses take the weight off the supervisor and cover all of the categories required by the Colorado Department of Ag for classroom instruction. Some additional training is required and a licensed applicator must be available to answer questions during the training.
Live Webinars
Learn from the experts and interact with other participants in live, one-hour sessions about a variety of topics.
Online Courses
These courses give you on-demand access to credible, curated and convenient online training activities. We currently have two options: one for those seeking CE credits and one for people who are not. Click here to see the full list of courses and their registration links.
CWMA Online Education for CE Credits!
Need credits? CWMA has you covered year round with online education approved by the Colorado Department of Ag!
Attend a live webinar or take an on-demand course that offer CEC’s, under $40 for CWMA members!
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Weed Awareness Campaign
April Weed of the Month: Spotted Knapweed (Centaurea stoebe)
prepared by Alicia Doran, Jefferson County Invasive Species Management Coordinator and Pest Inspector
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Spotted knapweed is a List B noxious weed thought to have been introduced to the US in 1893 as a contaminant in alfalfa seed and through soil in ship ballast. Originally from Eurasia, this species has been found in most US states and 47 counties in Colorado.
It usually grows as a biennial but sometimes as a short-lived perennial. It is found in rangeland, rights-of-way, and disturbed sites.
Rosettes germinate in fall and spring and can easily be controlled by removal or herbicide treatment.
Plants are light green, 1 to 3 feet tall with 1 to 10 stems growing from the crown.
The compound light purple flowers, somewhat thistle-shaped, form at the ends of terminal and auxiliary stems. The flower bracts are usually somewhat oval, with slightly spined edges and distinctive dark areas usually near the tip.
Each plant produces 450-4500+ seeds. The majority of the seeds fall within a few feet of the mother plant. Seeds can stay viable in the soil for about 8 years. Spotted knapweed reproduces mainly by seed but occasionally plants will also grow from short lateral roots.
Blair and Hufbauer’s 2009 study answered a lot of questions about knapweed hybridization. They showed that spotted knapweed found in the US is not a hybrid but that most diffuse knapweed is.
Identifying hybrids based on physical characteristics can be tricky in the field and a definitive ID really cannot be done without genetic assessment.
Know Your Knapweeds
King County, WA
University of Nebraska
Blair, A., & Hufbauer, R. (2009). Geographic Patterns of Interspecific Hybridization between Spotted Knapweed (Centaurea stoebe) and Diffuse Knapweed (C. diffusa). Invasive Plant Science and Management, 2(1), 55-69. doi:10.1614/IPSM-08-105.1
The Weed of the Month is part of the Weed Awareness Campaign and is prepared by Alicia Doran and Tina Travis who are on the Weed Awareness Campaign Subcommittee, which is housed under the Communications and Marketing Committee.
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Your CWMA Membership:
What's New?
Are you looking for some education for your staff, the public, or even children? Check out our new Education Library and choose what's best for you. We have a ton of new resources from weed identification, weed management and more.
Check out our new member portal! You can use the members-only online portal to search for other members in the directory, renew your membership, register for CWMA events and update your contact information.
Need help promoting CWMA? Let us know how we can assist you.
Monica Groh, CAE
Colorado Weed Management Association
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Native Plant Spotlight: Frasera speciosa
By Ethan Proud, Archuleta County Weed and Pest Supervisor
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Frasera speciosa-also known as monument plant, elkweed, deer's ears, and green gentian-is a towering staple of the Colorado high country. Monument was once believed to be a biennial species, but it is actually monocarpic-meaning that it only flowers once in its lifetime and then dies. These plants can live up to 80 years!
Mass flowering events can occur and result in an eye-popping show in alpine meadows.
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Call for Submissions: Are You a Writer or Have a Story to Tell?
If you have a success story or event you'd love to share...we want to help!
Colorado Weed Management Association is always looking for new content, exciting stories in integrated management, and alerts on new weed species!
Send in an article, write up, or pictures and we can share them in our quarterly newsletter.
All submissions are subject to review.
Newsletter contributors have to be CWMA members.
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President:
Casey Cisneros
President Elect:
Ethan Proud
Past President:
Kayla Malone
Secretary/Treasurer:
Marisa Neuzil
Executive Director:
Monica Groh
PO Box 745458
Arvada, CO 80003
(303) 210-7077
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Board of Directors:
Curtis Marshall
Derek Sebastian
Mike Auciello
Joe Swanson
Jennifer Cook
Mathew Holzwarth
Brian Kolokowsky
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How can CWMA work for you?
Do you want to make a difference with CWMA? Would you like to influence the direction that CWMA is leading? Join a committee by reaching out to the chairs and co-chairs listed below.
Training and Education
Casey Cisneros
Ethan Proud
Marketing and Communications
Ethan Proud
Legislative
Joe Swanson
Membership, Nominations and Scholarship
Mike Auciello
Want to join a committee but don't know where to start? Contact us for more info!
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Job Opportunities:
Looking to further your career in stewardship, conservation, and natural resources? CWMA shares job postings from natural resource employers!
To view job listings and descriptions, click here.
To post a job, click here.
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Sustaining Partners
Not a sustaining partner but want to be? Join here. |
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