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Creating a Weed Management Plan

This outline is a modification of a weed management plan template produced by The Nature Conservancy.

Introduction

Context of Weed Management

There has been a tremendous expansion of invasive alien plant species across the U.S., including Colorado. New problem weed species arrive in Colorado every year. Weeds create large economic losses for agriculture in both cropland and rangeland situations. Noxious weeds often provide poorer habitat for wildlife than native vegetation. Proliferation of alien plant species alters ecosystem processes and threatens certain native species with exptirpation. Thus, unchecked weeds threaten our economic livelihood and our biological heritage.

In recognition of the economic and ecological impacts of weeds, the General Assembly of the State of Colorado passed the Colorado Weed Management Act, also known as the Colorado Noxious Weed Act, in 1996. This act requires landowners and managers to manage noxious weeds if they are likely to damage neighboring lands. This act provides that each county in Colorado shall adopt a noxious weed management plan for the unincorporated portions of the county. This plan provides a framework to control those plant species that are listed as "noxious" in Larimer County.

Weeds are rapidly becoming one of the most pressing issues for land managers. Unfortunately, most natural areas contain many alien plant species. In the most cases, there is not enough labor and money to control all the species of weeds that occur in a natural area. Thus, managers are forced to choose which weed species they will control and which they will not, at least initially.

Overview of Approach to Weed Management

Weed control is part of property management. This plan is based on the desired plant species and communities, rather than on simply eliminating weeds. Preventive programs are implemented to keep the management area free of species that are not yet established there but which are known to be pests elsewhere in the area. Priorities are set to reduce or eradicate weeds that have already established on the property, according to their actual and potential impacts on the land management goals for the property, and according to the ability to control them now versus later. Actions will be taken only when careful consideration indicates leaving the weed unchecked would result in more damage than controlling it with the best available methods.

The plan follows the adaptive management approach. First, weed species are identified through inventory of the property and by gathering information from other sources. Second, land management goals and weed management objectives are established and recorded for the property. Third, priorities are assigned to the weed species and weed patches based on the severity of their impacts, while considering the ability to control them. Fourth, methods are considered for controlling them or otherwise diminishing their impacts and, if necessary, re-order priorities based on likely impacts on target and non-target species. Fifth, Integrated Weed Management (IWM) plans are developed based on this information. Sixth, the IWM plans are implemented. Seventh, the results of management actions are monitored and evaluated in light of weed management objectives for the management area. Finally, this information is used to modify and improve weed management objectives, control priorities, and IWM plans, thereby starting the cycle again. The premise behind a weed management plan is that a structured, logical approach to weed management, based on the best available information, is cheaper and more effective than an ad-hoc approach where one deals with weed problems as they arise.

Description Of The Management Area

Boundaries: Briefly describe the location of the property. Attach a copy of a map, aerial photograph or Geograhic Information System (GIS)
image with boundaries drawn and labeled; note boundaries of any management sub-units that are relevant for this plan.

Inventory Of Weed Species

Inventory of Weed Species: Briefly explain how you conducted the inventory, e.g., the areas searched, the ways in which you searched, and the weed species you targeted during the inventory. Attach a list of the weed species found on the property plus problem weed species in the local area that are likely to invade the property. Note on the list which weed species were actually found on the property.
Map of Weed Infestations: Attach copy or copies of map, aerial photograph or GIS image with locations of weed infestations noted by species. Map these infestations and note the area of each infestation. You can use symbols to denote infestation size or you can estimate the size of each infestation in acres and record this estimate on the map. For infestations that are larger than five acres in size, draw a line around the boundaries of the infestations; use a square to denote infestations from 1-5 acres; a triangle for infestations from 0.1-1 acre; and x to denote infestations less than 0.1 acre. A solid line can be used to demarcate narrow infestations along linear features such as roads, trails, streams, or lake edges. Label each infestation with the weed species it contains. You can use colored pencils to create color-coded maps to facilitate visualizing the number and locations of infestations of various weed species. Use the same color consistently for the same weed species. Estimate the size (in acres) of each weed infestation. It may be most helpful to make one map showing the locations of all weed species populations. Alternatively, one map may be too cluttered, and it may make sense to prepare separate maps for each weed species or groups of similar species. Refer to these maps as you develop specific control strategies for high-priority species. This information should be updated annually.

Management Goals And Objectives For The Property

Goals are statements that generally describe the conditions you are trying to create on the management area, not just things related to weeds. Goals generally deal with human values, natural resources and financial resources. Land management goals may already exist for the management unit. If not, develop management goals, focusing on what you are managing for; clearly state what you want on the site. For example, you may be managing for the following:

Biological communities (e.g., grassland, riparian areas) and the processes (e.g., fire, flooding) that maintain them:
A species or suite of species that are rare or otherwise valued;
A corridor or a migratory stopover;
Forage production for livestock or wildlife;
Timber production; and
Public recreation and scenic beauty.

Describe generally how weeds interfere with your land management goals. See the Larimer County Noxious Weed List to determine which weeds can impact your property. Use this section to justify the use of labor and resources to eliminate or control certain plant species in terms of your management goals, as well as legal requirements. Briefly describe how these species degrade the property, or could do so if allowed to proliferate.

Priorities For Weed Management

Prevention: The most important weed management action is to prevent weeds from becoming established in the first place. The old adage that "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" certainly applies to weed management. Describe the types of measures that will be effective in preventing weeds from becoming established on your property.
Weed Species Priorities: Weed management priorities based on the actual or potential threat that weeds pose to the management goals for the property. Two factors are used to set priorities, namely the weed species and the locations of weed infestations. Weed species are important because they vary considerably in the threat they pose to the resource values of the property. In addition, weed species vary greatly in their susceptibility to control measures. Weed species that pose the greatest threat to achieving the management goals for the property and that need to be controlled immediately are the highest priority for management. Call our office if you need assistance in identifying weeds or assessing their priority.
Weed Infestation Priorities: The location of a weed infestation is also crucial. The highest priority weed patches are those that are small and isolated from larger infestations of the same high-priority weed species and which occur on or could affect the highest-valued resource on the property. Attach a copy of the map, aerial photograph or GIS image of the property and indicate the locations of the High, Medium and Low priority weed patches and note the weed species in each patch. In this paragraph, explain how you assigned your weed infestation priorities.

Weed Management Actions

Prevention: Prepare a list of preventive measures that you will take to employ to stop weeds from becoming established on your property, such as performing periodic inventories of the property to find new weed species, re-seeding bare ground or changing livestock management activities. Note the weed species that are most important to find before they become established. You may wish to specify certain locations where the measures will be most effective.
Weed Control: Integrated Weed Management (IWM) is a process by which one selects and applies a combination of management techniques (biological, chemical, mechanical, and cultural) that, together, will control a particular weed species or infestation efficiently and effectively, with minimal adverse impacts to non-target organisms. IWM seeks to combine two or more control actions which will interact to provide better control than any one of the actions might provide. IWM is species-specific, tailored to exploit the weaknesses of a particular weed species, site specific, and designed to be practical and safe.

Briefly (one paragraph per species) describe or outline the IWM actions you intend to take to control the priority weeds and infestations on your property. Note which species you plan to control, where and over what period you plan to do so, the methods you plan to use, and which species you plan to monitor.

Monitoring

Monitoring is the repeated collection and analysis of information to evaluate progress in meeting resource management objectives. Periodic observation of the weeds being managed is necessary to evaluate the effectiveness of a weed control program. If management objectives are not being met, weed control actions need to be modified. Without some type of monitoring, there is no way of knowing whether control actions are contributing to the fulfillment of management objectives.

Briefly outline the general approach you will use to evaluate the effectiveness of the weed control actions you are planning, in terms of the weed management objectives you have set for the property. Make sure the monitoring you propose will give you the information you need to evaluate success in meeting your weed management objectives with the lowest cost and effort.

Lastly, if you need Help...

After you have collected as much information as possiable, present your information to a Land Manager. Our contractor list can give you a place to start. You can also forward your information to our office for comment at:
Larimer County Weed District
P.O. Box 1190
Fort Collins, CO 80522-1190

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