Turner: Be aware of, report invasive species

This week is National Invasive Species Awareness Week, a nation-wide event run by the North American Invasive Species Management Association. While the issue of invasive species is discussed in Washington, D.C., a series of webinars and local events are being set up around the United States.

“It’s to make people aware of the new invaders that are coming in,” said Terry Turner, supervisor of the Hill County Mosquito Control District and Weed Control District, and a founding member of the North American Invasive Weed Management Association, which would eventually evolve into the NAISMA.

Turner, with decades of experience combating invasive species in Montana, said that there are many potentially destructive species finding their way into the state.

“Bark Beetles, fish, all sorts of things we want people to be aware of,” he said.

Invasive species have the potential to throw entire ecosystems out of balance, but they can often have direct impact of people’s livelihoods as well.

“These species don’t stop at the border,” Turner said.

Among these species is the rush skeletonweed, an aptly named plant that Turner explains can go from a rosette stage to flowering in just 14 days. He said the weed appears to be creeping in from neighboring Idaho.

“If it gets into cropland, it takes over about 70 percent of the crop, and reduces the yield drastically. Big economic losses,” Turner said.

He added that that a special task force had been formed to deal with the species.

Another invasive weed coming to Montana is phragmites, also known as the common reed, which Turner says can choke waterways and quickly spread across land. The aggressive species has found its way into Hill and Blaine counties, but, Turner said, to his knowledge has yet to spread further.

“Proudly, we caught it when we had less than three acres, but the more we look the more we find,” said Turner, remarking that the biggest patch he found just recently was 1,500 square feet.

Turner also mentioned common buckthorn and medusa’s head, the latter of which is completely new to the state.

Turner recommended that the public take a look at the state’s Noxious Weed List, which can be found on the Montana Department of Agriculture’s website at https://agr.mt.gov , as well as the website for the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation at http://dnrc.mt.gov .

He also recommended iNaturalist’s Seek app, which allows people to point their phone’s camera at a plant and find out what it is with great accuracy.

“It does grasses, and broad leaf weeds, and trees. It’s plum amazing what it can do,” Turner said.

He asked that everyone who finds patches of invasive weeds contact their county weed coordinator, and for Hill County that man is Turner himself.

Members of the public can also contact Montana State University Extension Service offices for assistance dealing with these invasive plants.

Montana’s invasive species are not exclusively weeds. There are some aquatic invaders as well. Turner mentioned the zebra mussels and quagga mussels, both native to Ukraine, that have found their way across the globe.

Invasive mussel larvae were discovered in Tiber Reservoir and evidence of them was found in Canyon Ferry Reservoir, leading to restrictions on those reservoirs and increased requirements across the state.

Boat launch restrictions were just lifted at Canyon Ferry but are still in place on Tiber Reservoir.

Turner said those mussels have a nasty habit of plugging up turbines. They can also quickly encrust boat hulls and can be extremely difficult and time consuming to remove.

“Somebody’s just forgot to clean their equipment off, and that’s what’s happening with a lot of these lake invaders,” Turner said.

Another potential problem comes from Canada.

“Right on the edge of the border, from what I understand, is the feral hogs,” Turner said.

These animals have been known to wreak havoc on farmland, in large numbers.

“After they leave an area it looks like you took a cultivator and plowed the whole field up,” he said.

Turner urged the public to get acquainted with these species and be on the lookout for them.

“Prevention is the key,” he said, stressing that these species are easier and less expensive to deal with if you catch them early. “Somebody goes, ‘Well I can’t afford to control it,’ and — say you can’t afford not to.”

NAISMA will hold its annual conference in Whitefish Oct. 6-8, co-hosted by the Montana Invasive Species Council.