Roads Run Through It! Highway Agencies Join Effort

The Yellowstone Ecosystem is not an island, of course. Many roads lead to and from this treasure. Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho State and County highways connect us. Their personnel, too, are attending the Greater Yellowstone Area Weed meetings. It is in everyone's best interest. Although Federal Lands builds and maintains highways within the park, State and County highways run through Forest Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, and Bureau of Land Management lands in the Ecosystem. (Map)

The Wyoming Department of Transportation views the entire State of Wyoming as having unique biota and protects native vegetation from invasive exotics through statewide control measures. This reflects WYDOT's Mission to "enhance quality of life in Wyoming." Some of their measures include: 1. Pre-construction corridor noxious weed treatment, 2. Contractor vehicle/equipment washing prior to entering project, 3. Material pits inspected and sprayed by County Weed & Pest, and 4. Site-specific native see mixes and cover crops to suppress weeds.

The Montana Department of Transportation (MDOT) too, recognizes that the three million annual, national and international visitors to Yellowstone have the potential of exacerbating weed movement via visitor vehicles as well as mountain bike tires, snowmobiles, clothing and hiking boots. MDOT protects its State's environment in a number of ways: 1. vegetation inventories, 2. management plan to control invasive and protect native plants, 3. construction contracts that include weed control, 4. weed-free mulches on seeding projects and 5. possible gravel pit inspections.

The Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) is a member of the Idaho Invasive Species Council, who has just written a statewide action plan. A new State position has been funded by the Idaho Governor's Office to work with all agencies on this matter. The ITD has involved its Districts in Cooperative Weed Management Areas (CWMAs) since 2002. Each District has target weeds, especially in their inventoried gravel pits. Some are using biocontrols to combat Dalmation toadflax and Spotted knapweed.