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New Noxious Weeds Website



STORY LEAD: National Scope of Noxious Weeds Now on World Wide Web

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ARS News Service
Agricultural Research Service, USDA
Kathryn Barry Stelljes, (510) 559-6069, kbstelljes@ars.usda.gov
August 25, 2000
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For the first time, land managers can compare noxious weed lists from the
lower 48 United States and six Canadian provinces by logging on to a new
section of the University of Montana's "Invaders" website. Researchers with
USDA's Agricultural Research Service developed the new noxious weed section
at the website. To view the noxious weed information, go to:

http://invader.dbs.umt.edu/Noxious_Weeds

Researchers at the ARS Northern Plains Agricultural Research Laboratory in
Sidney, Mont., compiled the new section containing official federal, state
and provincial noxious weed lists. The new section also includes a national
ranking of weeds based on the number of states where they are designated
noxious.

This tool will help decision makers prioritize control and research efforts
at the local and national levels. In addition, they can use the system to
predict potential future problems by examining lists from neighboring states
or regions. Since it takes 10 to 20 years to discover and introduce new
biological control agents, significant money and effort could be saved by
managing invasive weeds while infestations are still small.

"Invaders" also provides historical weed distribution data for five states
in the Northwest: Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming. The
database has been used to support environmental impact statements, risk
assessments and weed management programs.

The ARS researchers' next step is to look at weed distributions and how
alien weeds have spread over time.

For example, spotted knapweed first entered the Pacific Northwest around
1893. The weed began to spread more rapidly in the 1950s, but distribution
exploded from 60 counties in 1985 to at least 175 counties today. The
researchers hope to identify reasons for such expansions, as well as trends
that can help identify which alien plants pose the most risk for future
expansion.

ARS is the chief research agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
__________________________________________

Scientific contact: Kerri Skinner, ARS Northern Plains Agricultural Research
Laboratory, Sidney, Mont., phone (406) 433-9484, fax (406) 433-5038,
kskinner@sidney.ars.usda.gov.
___________________________________________
This item is one of the news releases and story leads that ARS Information
distributes on weekdays to fax and e-mail subscribers. You can also get the
latest ARS news on the World Wide Web at
www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/thelatest.htm.
* Feedback and questions to ARS News Service via e-mail: isnv@ars-grin.gov.
* ARS Information Staff, 5601 Sunnyside Ave., Room 1-2251, Beltsville MD
20705-5128, (301) 504- 1617, fax (301) 504-1648.