Scott Valley — The U. S Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the Siskiyou County Department of Agriculture (SCDA) are proposing a project to treat leafy spurge along the Klamath and Scott rivers as well as Quartz Valley tributaries.

According to a recent USFWS press release, “The objectives of this proposed project are to control or eradicate existing occurrences of leafy spurge and to prevent this species from dispersing along these water courses.”

The release says the proposed project would only occur on private lands where landowners have granted permission to the SCDA to enter and treat leafy spurge on their property. Individual occurrences would be treated using an integrated pest management strategy, in which appropriate treatment methods would be based on site specific conditions. A variety of control methods including biological, manual and herbicide are proposed and up to 72 acres of leafy spurge occurrences may be treated annually for up to five years.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), leafy spurge is an aggressive, persistent, deep-rooted perennial weed native to Europe and Asia that invades a wide variety of habitats in the U.S. and Canada. The USDA leafy spurge website says, “Leafy spurge crowds out desirable plants, is toxic to cattle and horses, and costs producers and taxpayers an estimated $144 million a year in just four states alone (Montana, Wyoming and North and South Dakota),”

A draft Environmental Assessment (EA), containing three alternatives will be available at www.fws.gov/yreka today to provide background information to interested parties who wish to review and provide comments.

A hard copy may be obtained by contacting the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at 842-5763.

 

Comments on the EA can be sent by email to SpurgeEA@fws.gov or submitted in writing to Erin Williams, Leafy Spurge EA, U. S. Fish and Wildlife Office, 1829 S. Oregon Street, Yreka CA 96097. Email or written comments must be received on or before Feb. 13.