San Juan Public Lands People - USDA Forest Service

4 SAN SAN JUAN JUAN PUBLIC PUBLIC LANDS LANDS PEOPLE
PEOPLE
PUBLIC LANDS CENTER NEWS
Weed Weed Warrier Warrier Allison Allison Rohwer Rohwer at at work.
work.
Weed Warriors Named
PAGOSA SPRINGS – The San Juan’s annual Weed
Warrior Awards were handed out last month. Returning
champions Pagosa Ecologist Sara Brinton
and Pagosa Ecology Crew member Allison Rohwer
took top honors again by inventorying 116 sites
for a total of 2,178 acres of noxious weed infestations
on public lands. As is the custom, they were
presented with a gift certificate to Steamworks
Brew Pub.
Katie Jorgensen, San Juan Public Lands Engineering, will be honored at a
later date as Rookie of the Year for best improved Weed Warrior. Katie went
from inventorying 0 acres in 2007 to 1,042 acres in 2008. Other notable
weed warriors include the Pagosa Fuels crew, Becca Smith, Mark Roper, and
Anne Dal Vera and the Columbine Wilderness Crew.
In 2007, the Leadership Team
encouraged managers to include
noxious weed inventory as part of
all normal field work. The annual awards recognize employees who work outside
of the noxious weed program but who report the most weed inventory
using the San Juan’s noxious-weed geodatabase.
Another incentive is that the Renewable Resources
Program promises a $500 reward to any
employee(s) finding and documenting the first
infestation of yellow starthistle on the unit (although
we hope no one wins).
Noxious weeds, and invasive species in general,
impacts all public land users and uses. An
accurate inventory helps the agency define the
problem, project the budget needed to combat
infestations, and identify priority treatment and
monitoring areas.
- Mark Tucker
Weed Weed Warrier Warrier Rookie Rookie of of of the the Year Year Katie
Katie
Jorgensen Jorgensen has has a a positive positive positive attitude.
attitude.
Sara Sara Brinton Brinton goes goes after
after
noxious noxious noxious weeds weeds weeds with with with a a a twinkle twinkle
twinkle
in in her her eye.
eye.
Calling Calling all all field-going field-going field-going employees!
employees!
Learn Learn Learn your your weeds, weeds, carry carry a a GPS, GPS, and and and inventory inventory them. them.
them.
Here Here are are just just four four of of the the nasty nasty species species species we’re we’re looking looking for:
for:
Leafy Leafy spurge spurge Yellow Yellow toadflax toadflax Spotted Spotted knapweed
knapweed Yellow Yellow starthistle
starthistle