Cache County Airport

99.9% eradication of Cutleaf Vipergrass

The Cache County EDRR project by the Cache County Weed Department has been an excellent example of detailed, continuous mapping of new EDRR species. They have also excelled at communicating with private landowners to ensure that these high priority weeds are being taken care of quickly. For monitoring, we, at Utah Department of Agriculture and Food (UDAF), broke this project out into 3 separate monitoring projects based on the EDRR species. For this report, cutleaf vipergrass (Scorzonera laciniata) will be the focus.

Cutleaf Vipergrass photo by: Utah Weed Supervisors


Why worry about it

Non-native species are adapted to ecological communities elsewhere. Their arrival can destabilize native communities, threatening biodiversity and agricultural productivity. Non-native species can be difficult to control once established. Ongoing monitoring and increased awareness are vital to detecting and controlling species like cutleaf vipergrass before they become established.

This project was located at the Logan-Cache Airport. Cache County has several populations of cutleaf vipergrass. This site had a large population with the guarantee of regular treatment. Since this site was an airport, the probability was high that weedy species could be transported long distances. Removing noxious weeds at this site was very important to minimize long distance spread. Additionally, these areas were sometimes mowed to minimize fire risk. The clippings were sometimes used for hay, which could be another source of spread. The airport and hay were both important land uses and a source of seed dispersal.

Due to the airport being the primary location, transportation of weed seeds over long distances was almost a guarantee.


Treatment, Timing, and Monitoring Methods

photo by: Utah Weed Supervisors

We monitored this site pretreatment in 2019 and post treatment in 2020 and 2021. We took several measurements along the 3 transects including landscape photos, ground cover photos, line-point intercept measurements, line intercept measurements, and density counts.

There is no research on the best methods for controlling cutleaf vipergrass. Some sources suggest pulling or mowing the weed before it goes to flower. Alternatively, Montana State suggests to treat the weed the same as salsify and spray with 24D and dicamba before flowering. Projects like this one will help to inform and provide better support for best treatment methods for cutleaf vipergrass.


Charts and Graphs

Transect 1 June 2019 and June 2021 after treatments

Transect 2 June 2019 and June 2021 after treatments

Transect 3 June 2019 and June 2021 after treatments


Conclusion

This project is very close to meeting the goal of 0% cover of cutleaf vipergrass. The success is likely due to regular treatment and the extreme drought. After the drought, cutleaf vipergrass may return. Field bindweed was not greatly affected by the treatment or the drought. Alternative methods of control should be considered for this species. The total decrease in vegetative cover is concerning and could also be due to the mix of drought and treatment. After treatments are complete, reseeding should be considered to help minimize a reinfestation of noxious weeds.

Project summary for 2021

photo taken by Jerry Caldwell (Utah Weed Supervisor)

Project Partners

Thank you to Cache County Vegetation Management Division for managing the project, always arranging access to the different sites and for assisting with the data collection!

UDAF funds projects on a SIIPA score method

To learn more please visit https://utahweedsupervisors.com

Utah Department of Agriculture

Aaron Eagar

Mapping and reporting

Cutleaf Vipergrass photo by: Utah Weed Supervisors

photo by: Utah Weed Supervisors

Transect 1 June 2019 and June 2021 after treatments

Transect 2 June 2019 and June 2021 after treatments

Transect 3 June 2019 and June 2021 after treatments

Project summary for 2021

photo taken by Jerry Caldwell (Utah Weed Supervisor)

Thank you to Cache County Vegetation Management Division for managing the project, always arranging access to the different sites and for assisting with the data collection!