HomeMy WebLinkAbout20143909.tiff RESOLUTION
RE: APPROVE STATE NOXIOUS WEED FUND GRANT APPLICATION FOR
ERADICATION OF CERTAIN SPECIES ALONG SOUTH PAWNEE CREEK AND
AUTHORIZE ELECTRONIC SUBMITTAL
WHEREAS, the Board of County Commissioners of Weld County, Colorado, pursuant to
Colorado statute and the Weld County Home Rule Charter, is vested with the authority of
administering the affairs of Weld County, Colorado, and
WHEREAS, the Board has been presented with a State Noxious Weed Fund Grant
Application from the County of Weld, State of Colorado, by and through the Board of County
Commissioners of Weld County, on behalf of the Department of Public Works, Weed Division, to
the Colorado Department of Agriculture, with terms and conditions being as stated in said grant
application, and
WHEREAS, after review, the Board deems it advisable to approve said grant application,
a copy of which is attached hereto and incorporated herein by reference.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of County Commissioners of Weld
County, Colorado, that the State Noxious Weed Fund Grant Application from the County of Weld,
State of Colorado, by and through the Board of County Commissioners of Weld County, on behalf
of the Department of Public Works, Weed Division, to the Colorado Department of Agriculture be,
and hereby is, approved.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED by the Board that Tina Booton, Pest and Weed Division,
be, and hereby is, authorized to electronically submit said grant application.
The above and foregoing Resolution was, on motion duly made and seconded, adopted
by the following vote on the 17th day of December, A.D., 2014.
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
WELD COUNTY, COLORADO
ATTEST: d xidp:'(,k, �� ref �-. /�
IDoYiglas4Rademac r, Chair
Weld County Clerk to the Board EL
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APPROVE FORM:
Mike Free
County Attorney
i liam F. Garcia
Date of signature: 1.--to
2014-3909
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MEMORANDUM
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TO: Clerk to the Board DATE: December 12,2014
FROM: Tina Booton, Public Work 1-(/✓ve)
Jay McDonald, Director of ' i s lc orks
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SUBJECT: Agenda Item
This request is for applying for a Colorado Department of Agriculture grant to cost-share on
Dalmatian toadflax, absinth wormwood and Russian knapweed; while treating hoary cress
and perennial pepperweed. We are asking for $27,000. Weld County's in-kind match is
$25,726, partners match is $15,100.The total in-kind match is$40,026.
This grant application is for lands in northern Weld County down to CR 100 and from Cr 13
on the West to CR 145 to the East.
Please add this item to the agenda for Wednesday,December 17,2014.
2014-3909
STATEOF COLORADO OFFICE USE ONLY-DO NOT WRITE IN THIS SPACE
C D A Colorado Department of Agriculture Reviewed by Date
Tar Noxious Weed Management Program
CO305 Interlocken Parkway, Broomfield, CO 80021
• Tel: (303)869-9030 Fax:(303)466-2860
www.colorado.gov/weeds
State Noxious Weed Fund Grant Application
Important: Before completing this application form, please read the instructions in the RFP.
***Form IViust Be Opened In Adobe Reader or Pro In Order To Save Responses"—
Project Name Weld County Dalmatian Toadflax and Absinth Wormwood Eradication
Project Manager/ Tina Booton
Contact
Organization Weld County Weed Divison
Address PO Box 758
City Greeley State CO Zip Code 80632
Phone Number 9703046496 Fax Number 9703046497
Email tbooton@weldgov.com
Project Overview
Proposed Start Date Proposed End Date Grant Request
(click in box to use Apr 20, 2015 (click in box to use Oct 2, 2015 Amount(no$ $27,000
drop down calendar) drop down calendar) or,e.g. 12345)
Brief Description Cost-share funds for landowners to continue working on the eradication of Dalmatian toadflax and
of Project absinth wormwood. Start working with landowners on the newly discovered hoary cress and perennial
(one paragraph synopsis Pepperweed infestation along South Pawnee Creek and several unnamed dry tributaries.Along with the
of the abstract) Russian knapweed 8 miles north of Briggsdale and approximately 12 miles north of Hwy 14 and just
east of CR 49.
In the table below,please enter the species and total acres proposed for treatment in this grant. Don't worry about density, gross
acres is tine. You can add as many rows as you need.
Species List Private Local State State National BLM NPS Other Tribal
(common name) Land Gov't (CPW) (SLB) Forest Federal
Dalmatian Toadflax List B eradicate 275 100 25
Absinth Wormwood List B eradicate 7.5 1.5 8
Hoary Cress List B eradicate 50 100
Perennial Pepperweed List B eradicate 5
Russian Knapweed List B eradicate 15 70
ACRE TOTALS 347.5 101.5 208
Project Evaluation Criteria
The fields below will expand to fit the amount of text entered. However you must tab (or click) out of the box for it to expand and
fully display the text entered.
Compliance with Noxious Weed Act:
For local governing entity applicants, are you currently in compliance with the Act, or do you plan to be in compliance with the Act
by the end of the grant period?
Compliance With Noxious Weed Act
Now By End Of Grant Process
❑X [] Adopt and administer noxious weed management plan covering entire jurisdiction.
® ❑ Appointed local advisory board.
Actively working on eradicating List A and selected List B species.
Directly or indirectly managing public ROWs.
Describe the importance of the project(locally, regionally, state-wide),the selected species, and why it should be considered a
high priority for funding.
Dalmatian toadflax is a high priority for eradication in Weld County. This species was originally brought to our attention from
concerned landowners. Since this time we have been working on education, mapping the extensiveness of the infestation and
eradication with chemical treatments. In 2014 a large number of landowners made chemical treatments to address this species.
Over$15,000 was spent on the cost-share program. It is important to continue forward with this same momentum to cost-share
with landowners in 2015 so that the eradication goal is achievable.
Absinth wormwood is set for eradication by 2020. In 2014 we got the last non-compliant landowner on board with chemical
treatments. Having more cost-share money available to help with this effort will mean the difference of meeting the eradication
goal or loosing the progress that was made in 2014.
Hoary cress and perennial pepperweed was identified along South Pawnee Creek and the unnamed tributaries leading to it.
This infestation is located approximately 4 miles north of New Raymer bordering CR 129. It is essential to the USFS Pawnee
National Grassland and to the Weld County Weed Division to get control of these species before they do too much more
damage to the natural environment along this creek.
Russian knapweed has been identified growing in two different areas in and bordering the USFS Pawnee National Grassland.
In 2014 the landowners where contacted and work began to chemically treat the infestations. Additional treatments will be
needed over the next few years to eradicate these populations.
Describe management_goals for List A species in this project. Please include your short-and long-term plans, timeline for
elimination based on past and potential results,measurable milestones used to evaluate your progress towards elimination (for
example, 25% population reduction by next year, 50% in the following, and elimination 3 years from now), and future efforts
beyond the scope of this grant period. (If not-applicable type N/A.)
N/A
Describe management goals for proposed List B species subject to elimination in the county/counties affected by this project.
Please include your short-and long-term plans, timeline for elimination based on past and potential results, measurable
milestones used to evaluate your progress towards elimination (for example, 25%population reduction by next year, 50%in the
following, and elimination 3 years from now), and future efforts beyond the scope of this grant period.
(If not-applicable type N/A.)
The management goals for the List B species is eradication in three to five years from today.What has been noticed in previous
years is that with dedicated focus and attention,the private landowners will address the noxious weeds. Without this attention,
the weeds tend to take a back seat to the necessity of their continued control. An additional obstacle with this project is the
number of out-of-county and/or state landowners that own these parcels infested with noxious weeds. It takes extra work to
persuade these landowners of the infestations on their property and the responsibility to control the noxious weeds when they
can not readily visit the property themselves. With this project, a dedicated seasonal staff member will be hired to focus on
these eradication species in northern Weld County and address these special situations.The plan is to then build this position
back into the regular budget for 2015 to continue this work until full eradication of all species is achieved.
Absinth wormwood treatments through 2014 have successfully reduced the original stand by 50% and up to 100% in some
areas that have been treated on a regular basis for several years. With a staff member who can focus on this species
eradication by 2018 is possible. The goal would be to reduce the existing population by 50% each year from 2015 and 2016;
then there would be two years of monitoring to verify that no additional plants develop.
Overall the goal is to eradicate Dalmatian toadflax west and east of Highway 85 and south of County Road 138 on the east side
and south of County Road 126 on the west side. The populations north of these roads will be suppressed with the eradcation
goal targeted for a later date. The southern area should be eradicated by 2020. The northern area should be eradicated by
2035 at the latest. In 2014,the southern part of the infestation will be reduced by 20%. Each year afterward a 20 to 25%
reduction will be achieved. This should provide eradication by 2020 for this lower area. The northern area is largely owned by
six landowners/land managers. Weld County will work with these landowners to focus on suppression until the goal for
eradication can be achieved.
The hoary cress and perennial pepperweed infestations have recently come on the radar in this portion of the county. The goal
is to treat all of the known infested acres with a commercial applicator based on Weld County bids. The goal is to reduce these
infestations by 50 to 75%with this treatment. Follow-up treatments and mapping will be done from 2016 through 2018 with
eradication reached by 2019.
Russian knapweed will continue to be treated on the Grassland and private landowners land. In 2015 a 50% reduction in the
infestation will be achieved. Each year afterward a 25% reduction will be achieved until eradication is achieved by 2019.
Describe management goals for other List B species, and any List C species. Please include your long-term plans, timeline for
elimination based on past and potential results,measurable milestones used to evaluate your progress towards elimination (for
example, 25%population reduction by next year, 50% in the following, and elimination 3 years from now), and future efforts
beyond the scope of this grant period. (If not-applicable type N/A.)
N/A
Does your project include an integrated weed management strategy? If so, please describe the various management tools that
you will use and how you decided that this strategy will be the most effective. (If you are not using an IWM strategy type N/A.)
Absinth wormwood, Dalmatian toadflax, hoary cress, perennial pepperweed and Russian knapweed will be chemically treated
at the appropriate growth stage to reach the eradication goal. Chemical treatments provide better control of the perennial weeds
by addressing the root growth. Chemical treatments are also more effective on the large acreage infestations when there is
good grass competition. The chemical treatments disturb less soil than digging or pulling would.
Reseeding will be used if an area has limited native plant competition. The goal is to have a good amount of positive, native
competition so that the noxious weeds do not return. Typically this will be accomplished with seeding native grasses.
Occasionally,forbs might be utilized if the site is best reclaimed with the addition of native broadleaved and shrub plants.
Biological control will be used on the northern-most Dalmatian toadflax infestations. These infestations occur in steep draws and
large patches, where biological control might be a viable option for reducing the Dalmatian toadflax population and suppressing
it. The lower infestations are being eradicated with the use of chemical treatments.
If your project has a prevention or education function or component, please describe what it entails, and what outcomes you
expect to achieve. (If not-applicable type N/A.)
Education is essential to help us get landowner buy-in to treating the weed species. Besides the established fact sheets that will
be updated in early 2015, 32 face-book posts will be done once a week throughout the project. These face-book posts will cover
these species as well as other species and everything related to weed control.
We also partner with West Greeley Conservation District to include a project related weed article in their newsletters that reach
upwards of 11,000 landowners within the project area. The featured weed in the newsletter during the project will be on Russian
knapweed.
Working with the USFS Pawnee National Grassland staff,we will also supply content for their Range Bulletin in 6 of their issues.
These Range Bulletins go to all permittees. Working together we will also provide weed specific handouts to the grazing
associations boards in the spring. There are 2 grazing associations (Crow Valley Livestock Cooperative Inc. and Pawnee
Cooperative Grazing Association)on the Pawnee National Grassland. In each grazing association there are about 40
permittees between these two associations.
Additionally,we will mail out information letters and post cards while making phone calls to landowners that are infested with the
absinth wormwood, Dalmatian toadflax, hoary cress, perennial pepperweed and Russian knapweed. This will provide one on
one education.
Describe any partnership/s that exist for this project, including the responsibilities and contributions of each partner. Please
include how long the partnership/s have existed, and describe their value to you in terms of achieving your management goals.
(If this is a single-applicant project type N/A.)
For this project the partnership breaks down as follows:
CDOT: $2500 cash for the Weld County Weed Division to spray Highway 85 from Nunn to WY. The current partnership with
financial support from CDOT has been in existence since 2011.
Pawnee National Grassland: $5000 in-kind for them to treat and monitor their own lands for absinth wormwood, Dalmatian
toadflax and Russian knapweed. This partnership has been in existence since 2005.
West Greeley Conservation District: $6100 in-kind to print and mail one issue of their newsletter promoting the project and
providing education about the noxious weeds of concern.The West Greeley Conservation District has also partnered with
$1800 in cost-share funds for the treatment of the Russian knapweed.This partnership has been in existence since around
2002.
Colorado State Land Board: Historically provides the cost-share funds needed for landowners. Their fiscal year runs July 1 to
June 30. The funds they provided for cost-share with landowners was spent in the fall of 2014. Some funds ($500) remain for
the biological control of Dalmatian toadflax in the spring of 2015. This partnership has been in existence since around 2000.
Weld County Government: $24,962 in-kind and cash to implement and carry out the grant activities.
Do you have assurances from project participants that they are committed, formally or informally, to sustaining noxious weed
control efforts on the lands they own or manage? This includes cost-share recipients and/or local, state or federal land
managers? Please describe the types of agreements, if any, that are in place (including informal "handshakes"to MOUs,
MOAs, to contracts). (If you have no formal or informal agreements type N/A.)
These are long standing partnerships in this project. We have worked together over the years on various projects to address
weed concerns. These partnerships have been evolving since the early 2000's. The assurances from the partners have been
informally made. The commitment has been seen by the number of years we have worked together and each party has kept
their word.
Without these partnerships it would not be possible to help the landowners of Weld County as much as is done by the Weed
Division. The partnerships have helped in acquiring grant funds as well as other educational opportunities. Not only are these
entities a financial partner, they also provide the Weed Division with information and serve as another set of eyes on the land.
Is this the first time you've applied for state weed funds as an organization, or for your county or jurisdiction? Please describe
your start-up goals and funding needs (short-term, including this grant application, and longer-term needs as well). (If this is an
established program or partnership, type N/A.)
N/A
Please summarize the specific, measurable project objectives/activities that will be funded by this grant. These should be
measurable objectives that can be used to evaluate your project's effectiveness at the end of the grant. (Example: We will
complete two rounds of herbicide treatment(spring and fall)on all targeted weed species between June and September.)
1. All landowners will treat the absinth wormwood on the lands in their control by the end of June, before seed set.
2. Landowners with Dalmatian toadflax will treat their infestations by either spraying or pulling the plants. By the end of
September at least 15 landowners will have addressed their infestations.
3. Biological control insects will be released on three of the properties at the WY border to start the establishment of these
insects to be treating the Dalmatian toadflax in the hard to reach areas within the project zone.
4. All known hoary cress and perennial pepperweed infestations will be treated by a commercial applicator in the spring of
2015.
5.All landowners with Russian knapweed will treat their infestations to reduce the number of acres infested by 50%.
Please include any other information you wish us to consider in reviewing your grant application. (optional)
ATTESTATION
ALL APPLICANTS PLEASE SIGN:
Your electronic signature below indicates your agreement with the following statements.
By typing my name in the following box I certify that to the best of my knowledge and belief, the statements
and data in this application are complete, true, and correct. In addition, I have thoroughly read the
instructions and guidelines described in the RFP.
Printed Name and position title Tina Booton, Weed Division Supervisor and Doug Rademacher, County Commissioner Chair
Signature (type/s/your name) /Tina Booton/and/Doug Rademacher/
Date Dec 17, 2014
Deadline for receipt of applications is January 9, 2015 5 .m.
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Please email all forms to:
steve.ryder@state.co.us
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