Guest column

Fighting Dalmatian toadflax before it spreads

By Mary McKinney
Posted 8/16/19

I often say that Dalmatian toadflax (Linaria dalmatica) is the weed that made Park County famous.

The county gained recognition for the cooperative efforts of upper South Fork landowners and …

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Guest column

Fighting Dalmatian toadflax before it spreads

Posted

I often say that Dalmatian toadflax (Linaria dalmatica) is the weed that made Park County famous.

The county gained recognition for the cooperative efforts of upper South Fork landowners and managers, state and federal agencies, as well as regional and local focus groups, in their battle to control this insidious species in the ’90s.

From this grassroots endeavor, the “Guidelines to Coordinated Management of Noxious Weeds in the Greater Yellowstone Area” was created. This handbook set the stage for how invasive species are managed throughout the West and is used as a template today throughout the entire country.

With that thought in mind, we need to once again address the issue of Dalmatian toadflax here. As you may know, Park County is over 4.5 million acres with over 80 percent of that public land — or about 3.5 million acres. Now that is a lot of ground to cover.

Private landowners can help in reducing infestations of this species on their property as well as keeping new infestations from spreading to areas free of this noxious invader. Humans and associated activities are the number one cause of spread.

It is more cost effective to mitigate this (or any invasive species) in front country areas before they spread to the backcountry, where resource costs increase dramatically. And without aggressive control efforts, Dalmatian toadflax will continue to spread onto our public lands.

Park County Weed and Pest crews are busy treating this and other noxious weed species throughout the county. As time and resources allow, we will be doing herbicide applications as part of our cost share program. However, landowners are responsible for preventing the spread of this and any other listed noxious weed species on their property and should take whatever measures to assist in this worthwhile  effort. 

The aggressive characteristics of this perennial species from the Mediterranean that include prolific seed production and a creeping root make eradication challenging. Using the proper herbicide along with other sound land management practices can be a useful tool in controlling this insidious plant. At a minimum, plants with seeds should be pulled or clipped and disposed of in the landfill or dropped off at our facility for incineration. Herbicide options are available for free to all Park County landowners.

Contact Park County Weed and Pest for more information by calling 307-754-4521.

(Mary McKinney is an assistant supervisor for Park County Weed and Pest.)

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