Dalmation Toadflax

Photo: Kelly Uhing

This new, 3-year program is funded by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) under a Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative (GLCI) grant, and implemented by Conservation Services of the Colorado Department of Agriculture.

The purpose of the program is to build local weed programs to address and eradicate seven currently uncommon invasive weeds before they gain a significant foothold in Colorado's Eastern High Plains.  By targeting uncommon, emerging invasive weed specie in the plains small, outlying patches can be eradicated before they become huge, costly problems. 

The target specie are:

• African rue (Peganum harmala)
• Diffuse knapweed (Centaurea diffusa )
• Russian knapweed (Acroptilon repens )
• Spotted knapweed (Centaurea maculosa)
• Leafy spurge (Euphorbia esula)
• Dalmatian toadflax (Linaria dalmatica)
• Saltcedar ( Tamarix spp.) Only in the Republican Watershed

Communities are strongly encouraged to create partnerships in order to obtain grant funds:

Awards will be made to community partnerships with weed management plans based upon scouting and mapping species' abundance and distribution in their area.  The grant application period begins January 5, 2009 and ends March 13, 2009.   

The High Plains Weed Specialist will assist communities and landowners to form partnerships, provide educational presentations and assist with current methods in the field to help scout, map, and control these species.

Through early detection and management of these six invasive species, we hope to preserve the ecological and economic values of healthy, sustainable grazing lands in eastern Colorado.