Invasive Weed Management Program
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Controlling medusahead with intensive grazing
Medusahead is an aggressive and invasive non-native annual grass causing severe undesirable effects on western rangelands. Medusahead grows on more than a million acres of grassland, oak woodland and chaparral shrubland in California. The presence of medusahead can reduce the land's livestock carrying capacity by as much as 75 percent. Medusahead also impacts ecosystems by reducing plant diversity, the productivity of desirable plants, and wildlife habitat. Medusahead control has been explored since the 1950s, but with limited success. Burning is an effective method, but it is not widely used because of air quality and liability issues. Herbicides are not practical in rough terrain and selective herbicides targeting medusahead are not available.
Certified weed-free forage and straw is produced and available for sale in California! And we now have a supplier list!
A survey of weed-free forage suppliers and products has been completed by Wendy West and Becky Miller-Cripps, UCCE - Central Sierra, as part of the Yellow Starthistle "Stop the Spread into the Sierras" project.The weed free forage list was compiled by surveying County Agricultural Commissioners, which offer inspection services to certify materials as weed free. Certified weed-free forage is defined as: hay, feed, straw or straw mulch that has been inspected, and certified not to contain propagative plant parts or seeds of noxious weeds. The availability list is ready for use by land managers, project planners and recreationalist taking horses/livestock into the backcountry! (Read more...)
UC Weed Research and Information Center - Weed identification tool, events, photo gallery and online education. The Weed Research and Information Center is an interdisciplinary collaboration that fosters research in weed management and facilitates distribution of associated knowledge for the benefit of agriculture and for the preservation of natural resources.
| Event Name | Date |
|---|---|
| New Adult Volunteer Orientation (Virtual) | 1/29/2025 |
| New Adult Volunteer Orientation (Virtual) | 3/27/2025 |
Would you like information about our workshops?
We offer workshops throughout the year on various subject matter such as, Pond Management, Invasive Weed Control, and Wildfire - Protecting Your Home, just to name a few. Please add your name to the Join our Mailing List on the top menu to receive information on our next workshop.