well, I saw a few parallels in this recent story in the Billings (Montana) Gazette. I know first hand about these damn things, they are all over my land, sort of like Ronnie's Russian Olive is all over him.


Russian olive difficult to eradicate

By MATT HAGENGRUBER
Of The Gazette Staff

The one good thing about the spread of invasive Russian olive is that removing them can be plenty of fun.

Once planted for windbreaks and erosion control, Russian olive is increasingly looked upon by ranchers and landowners as disruptive to native plants and ecosystems, and more people want to remove it from their land. But the plant can grow in bare, mineral soils and can be very tough to eradicate.

One way to combat its spread is with a Bobcat and hydraulic Tree Terminator shears. The $6,000 device fits onto a Bobcat and eats through an 8-inch tree in five seconds. Follow up the cutting with a quick douse of herbicide, and the tree [bitch] probably won't come back.

That's the method being taught by Jeff Mosley and Brent Roeder, scientists with the Montana State University Extension Service. They were at a ranch outside Huntley on Friday to demonstrate the technique to about 40 ranchers and landowners. The event was sponsored by the Yellowstone County Conservation District.

"Nobody that I know of is talking about getting rid of Russian olive. It'd be Quixote-like," Mosley said. "But maybe you thin them out a bit. Because when you get to the point where it's thick, oftentimes that's all you have."

Mosley said the plants - native to Europe and Asia - have been in America for about 100 years. They have long, silvery-green leaves and berries and thorns more than an inch long. It has taken them a full century to begin taking over, but that's what worries Mosley.

"It's kind of snuck up on us, and now I can't see anything but," he said. "I really think we're on the brink of something big."

Mosley said Russian olive grows thick and is often found growing underneath cottonwood trees.

He said there can be 1,000 trees per acre. As old cottonwoods die and fall, Russian olive takes over and prevents young cottonwoods from growing.

Mosley said someone in Hysham found the carcass of a deer [Ronnie] that wandered into a Russian olive patch and couldn't get out. He said the deer died standing up.

It's not a popular food for cattle or sheep, but Russian olive is popular for deer, birds and other wildlife. The Extension Service doesn't advocate total eradication. Instead, Mosley recommended reducing Russian olive coverage to about 25 to 40 percent of total foliage, which allows native trees and grasses to survive.

Mowing and widespread herbicide use isn't recommended, since the trees come back quickly after mowing and herbicides can damage other plants. But the preferred method requires expensive equipment.

Bob Hector, Yellowstone County Conservation District supervisor, said some counties and groups are starting to work together to buy the equipment, especially since removing the plant will likely become more important in the future.

"This is cutting-edge stuff," he said.


plexi

Surely Yogi & Boo Boo could educate other critters to chew on the RO tree...



ROCKMAN