Noxious Weeds Removal Program

Noxious Weeds Removal Program

The Noxious Weed Management Association is a sub group of the McKinley SWCD. This group is mainly concerned with the mitigation and removal of invasive and noxious weed species from the district.

In late summer of 2003, the SWCD hosted a demonstration for the city Gallup in which a 40-acre section of land west of the city was sprayed for salt cedar removal. The Texas company, North Star donated their time and equipment to conduct the aerial application of Arsenal^© Herbicide to remove the large growth of Tamarisks (Salt Cedars) in the area. After the demonstration, there was a town hall meeting to field and questions concerning the application of the herbicide along with an information session on the presence of noxious weeds species in McKinley Co.

The Noxious Weed Management Association wrote a grant in late 2003 to request funds from the National Fish and Wildlife association for noxious weed control in riparian areas. The results of the grant proposal are still pending, yet future noxious weed removal plans are in the works.

What are Noxious Weeds?

Noxious weeds are plant species that have been designated "noxious" by law. The word "noxious" simply means deleterious, and all listed weeds are deleterious by definition. In order for a plant to be considered a noxious weed it must fall under the following categories:

It must be present in but not native to New Mexico.
It must be potentially more harmful than beneficial to New Mexico.
Eradication must be economically physically feasible.
The potential adverse impact of the weed must exceed the cost of control.

For the most part in New Mexico, the high priority noxious weeds tend to be those that also contribute to net water loss. Two of the main species we aim to control in McKinley County are Russian Olive and Tamarisk or Salt Cedar.

What are Invasive Weeds?

Invasive plants include not only noxious weeds, but also other plants that are not native to this country. The BLM considers plants invasive if they have been introduced into an environment where they did not evolve. As a result, they usually have no natural enemies to limit their reproduction and spread (Westbrooks, 1998). Some invasive plants can produce significant changes to vegetation, composition, structure, or ecosystem function. (Cronk and Fuller, 1995).

Invasive weeds:

destroy wildlife habitat
reduce opportunities for hunting, fishing, camping and other recreational activities
displace many Threatened and Endangered Species
reduce plant and animal diversity because of weed monocultures-single plat species that over run all others in an area
disrupt waterfowl and neo-tropical migratory bird flight patterns and nesting habitats
cost millions of dollars in treatment and loss of productivity to private land owners

Noxious Weeds are a serious problem not only in McKinley County but throughout New Mexico and the Western United States. They invade agricultural land, often out-competing native and economically viable plant species. The ongoing water- shortage problem in McKinley County is compounded by invasive weeds originally cultivated in water rich regions of the world such as the Mediterranean coasts, that use much more water than what the fragile high-desert ecosystem can allow. The state of NM has implemented a variety of projects to combat the invasive weeds problem such as prescribed grazing, herbicide spraying (aerial and ground), and forage inspections of hay and other agricultural feeds for the occurance of noxious weed seeds. Below is a partial list with links to pictures of some of the most problematic weeds in the McKinley Soil and Water Conservation District. For more information on noxious weeds in the Southwest, checkout the link to Southwest Strategy Below.

Southwest Strategy Noxious Weeds

McKinley SWCD's Most Wanted List