Forced to Spray

[DIYARCHERYJUNKIE]

I see noxious weeds all over timber land.  It always made me wounder why the county bothered me when I had them in my yard but up the road Weyco has them everywhere.  Seems the herbicide isn't curbing the weeds at all and could probably be done away with.  The only affect it would have is less hoffrot.

[headshot5]

A last note from me on this thread.

To those who care here is the RCW for weed control on private timberlands. 

http://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=17.10.140

DIY feel free to call it in if it fits section 1a, 1b, or 1c (with restrictions). See section 2 (linked above) for what timberlands are accountable for.  See Chapter 17.10 for additonal information on Weed control board etc.   

[Sandberm]

Here's a new angle on the spraying-hoof rot discussion.
If you log in SW Washington, you are virtually FORCED to spray.
We logged and didn't spray.  Now the county is on us for weeds and wants us to spray Canadian thistle.  This is a plant I can't keep out of my GARDEN, let alone clearcut. 
Clean air rules forced the switch to spray from burning, now you must spray to keep the weeds down.
Of course, big timber with locked gates can have weeds and nobody would know or care. 
Damned if you do, dammed if you don't.

How many acres did you log?

[Huntbear]

The chemical you spray makes all the difference in the world....

Milestone is safer than aspirin if mixed correctly and can be sprayed right at your horses feet while they are feeding.  Milestone kills: Thistle, knapweed, scotchbroom, scentless mayweed, Oxeye Daisy, Mullen, Hounds Tongue just to name a few.. 

MSM-60 is another pasture safe herbicide, that works wonders on thistle.

If you are spraying defoliant then all bets are off... that stuff is nasty.

OH, and I work for the Noxious Weed board in Kittitas County.

You want a nasty noxious weed, look up Hounds Tongue..  it is as bad or worse than Tansy Ragwort.. it will kill cattle, elk, deer, horses.. attacks the liver.  And it spreads like wildfire.. if you hike over in this area especially in the Teanaway.. you get those little velcro seeds on you?  That is Hounds tongue and now you are carrying it to a new location to spread.. it attaches to animals too.. so elk, cattle, deer, bears and humans all move it around.  One meadow in the New DNR Community forest was so infested it took over 600 gallons of spray to deal with the issue and we did not get it all.. Will hit it again next year. 

[Stein]

Is someone honestly trying to make the case that herbicides might not be bad for people or animals?  Really?

I'll give you a teaspoon of herbicide and a weed and pick one to eat.  We'll see how honest that assessment is.

[4fletch]

Take the illiagals up there and have them pull and dig them out by hand

[Mudman]

Why isnt weeds an issue after large forest fires then?  Or is it? Burn baby burn.

[fireweed]

I know a bit about plants, and have been watching over the years from the days of slash burn to today.  After a slash burn the land would come back in fireweed, trailing blackberry, pearly everlasting.
When they spraying started, it basically changed the whole succession of what comes back in low elevation after disturbance.   Fireweed (aka deer feed) is does not come back for years.  These natives are completely replaced by ragweed (where site-prep sprayed) and mostly thistles where the land wasn't sprayed. 
The whole set of vegetation has changed--probably permanently.

[DIYARCHERYJUNKIE]

I agree.  I started to take notice to the road sides and clear cuts recently, looking for specific weeds I don't think the spraying has near the effect they think it has.  Either that or I just happen to hunt everywhere that theses weeds are more prevalent, but I doubt it.  The above mentioned is probably the biggest affect the spray has.  That and hoof rot.  With the amount of weed I have seen lately they would have to spray from the ground to have any serious affect.  The thick timber probably block a lot of the weed from aerial spray.  I know I don't want to hunt where they sprayed from the ground along the roads. Round up ready elk steaks just sound bad.

[4fletch]

I didn't look at all the posts but they spray on the east side and no hoof rot there that I know of

[Curly]

I didn't look at all the posts but they spray on the east side and no hoof rot there that I know of

If it is bacteria that likes to live in wet soil conditions that is affecting elk, then it would reason that elk in eastern WA may not get hoof disease because the bacteria doesn't live there very easily.  And, if spraying is causing an immune problem with the elk being able to fight off the bacteria, then that could be why elk in areas that have been sprayed are affected.   

Then again, maybe spraying has no correlation to hoof disease whatsoever?  I don't know.  I do know that spray sure doesn't seem like it could be beneficial whereas burning the cuts had some definite benefits.

[DIYARCHERYJUNKIE]

  

Even if it didn't have a relation to this disease it probably does others.  Lots of others.  Immune problems being one of many.  Did thousands of elk really need to become infected and die to know that spraying just isn't good and is bad for wildlife all around.  This all didn't need to happen for us to voice our concerns.  But I guess most of us didn't care till the steaks at home might make you sick.  Where are all the non hinters outraged that wdfw would allow such a thing to happen?  Do they only care to take away hunters rights?  Not protect the animals like they all claim?  Pressure needs to be put on these groups to voice their concern about hoof rot.

[billjr64]

Why isnt weeds an issue after large forest fires then?  Or is it? Burn baby burn.

Climb Mt St Helens and look north, you will see a large area of scotch broom and little else.