Photo: Sagebrush & Pronghorn Antelope, south of Pinedale, Wyoming. © 2017 Delena Norris-Tull
Commentary by Dr. Delena Norris-Tull on the Interviews with Wyoming County Weed & Pest Supervisors:
Video interviews were produced on DVD, directed and narrated by Becky McMillen, 2014. Insight Creative Independent Productions.
Each videotaped interview was 1-2 hours long. With the permission of the director, Becky McMillen, I have transcribed the videotaped interviews, summarizing key points. I have summarized the notes in the first person, using “I” and “We,” when referring to the person being interviewed. While I attempted to use the words of the interviewees verbatim, the rapidity with which I wrote my notes, while listening to each DVD interview, meant my notes are not always verbatim.
Slade Franklin sent my transcriptions to each interviewee, to ensure that my notes are an accurate representation of each individual’s comments. These interviews are extremely valuable in providing an in-depth look at the history of weed control in the Western United States.
The first two interviews, with Josh Shorb and Slade Franklin, combine their comments provided in the first and the final DVDs in the set. Those two DVDs also include various excerpts from the longer interviews that follow. To avoid redundancy, I did not include most of those interview excerpts in this first section. Each subsequent interview was included on a single DVD.
Because my focus has been on weeds, and not pests, I have typically omitted the usually short section of each interview that addressed pests. Almost universally, the pests mentioned in each interview were mosquitoes, grasshoppers, and prairie dogs, with a couple of mentions of Mormon crickets. In the interview with Allen Mooney, I did include his comments about control of prairie dogs, because it highlights an on-going conflict between State and Federal invasive species designations. Please, refer to separate chapters on bark beetles and prairie dogs, where I describe the problems with attempts to control or eradicate these native species.
After listening to and reflecting on these interviews, a number of aspects of these interviews seem relevant to me.
Next Sections:
To return to the Wyoming County interviews:
Commentary by Dr. Delena Norris-Tull on the Interviews with Wyoming County Weed & Pest Supervisors:
Video interviews were produced on DVD, directed and narrated by Becky McMillen, 2014. Insight Creative Independent Productions.
Each videotaped interview was 1-2 hours long. With the permission of the director, Becky McMillen, I have transcribed the videotaped interviews, summarizing key points. I have summarized the notes in the first person, using “I” and “We,” when referring to the person being interviewed. While I attempted to use the words of the interviewees verbatim, the rapidity with which I wrote my notes, while listening to each DVD interview, meant my notes are not always verbatim.
Slade Franklin sent my transcriptions to each interviewee, to ensure that my notes are an accurate representation of each individual’s comments. These interviews are extremely valuable in providing an in-depth look at the history of weed control in the Western United States.
The first two interviews, with Josh Shorb and Slade Franklin, combine their comments provided in the first and the final DVDs in the set. Those two DVDs also include various excerpts from the longer interviews that follow. To avoid redundancy, I did not include most of those interview excerpts in this first section. Each subsequent interview was included on a single DVD.
Because my focus has been on weeds, and not pests, I have typically omitted the usually short section of each interview that addressed pests. Almost universally, the pests mentioned in each interview were mosquitoes, grasshoppers, and prairie dogs, with a couple of mentions of Mormon crickets. In the interview with Allen Mooney, I did include his comments about control of prairie dogs, because it highlights an on-going conflict between State and Federal invasive species designations. Please, refer to separate chapters on bark beetles and prairie dogs, where I describe the problems with attempts to control or eradicate these native species.
After listening to and reflecting on these interviews, a number of aspects of these interviews seem relevant to me.
- It took a long time for the Federal Agencies to come on board in assisting States in dealing with weeds. It is clear that, had it not been for the work at the State and County levels, Federal Agencies likely would have never joined in the efforts.
- The Wyoming State and County Weed and Pest agencies have been instrumental in helping other States and the Federal Agencies understand the importance of the problems.
- The interviews all reveal a deep level of respect for the many individuals that the County Weed agents collaborate with across the State. They demonstrate a strong sense of family in their interactions with each other.
- In several interviews, short-sighted management practices by Federal Agencies are described.
- Several interviewees describe the challenges and the joys of working with farmers and ranchers.
- Several interviewees describe the unexpected challenges of working with small-acreage landowners/homeowners to control weeds, as subdivisions have emerged in many rural communities over the years.
- None of the interviewees mention the role of restoration of native plants or planting of native seeds as part of the components for managing weeds. However, that may be because in Wyoming, the DOT is the main State agency involved with reseeding with natives, while the County Weed & Pest Districts work with the MT Department of Agriculture.
- It is clear that herbicides are still considered the number one method for pushing back on weeds. There is little mention of the potential health and environmental impacts of herbicides. However, little funding has been available to study these impacts. Within this website, refer to the section Funding for research on herbicides, for some background.
- While some individuals recognize that herbicides are not able to eradicate invasive species, some individuals still believe that the goal of using herbicides is to eradicate weed species. WIthin this website, refer to the sections The Myth of Eradication and The Myth of the Silver Bullet
- No one talks about the problems caused by herbicide resistance.
- Biocontrol is a relatively new technique for controlling weeds. Several individuals describe some interesting challenges to the use of biocontrol. Refer also to the separate section of these webpages on biocontrol.
- No one talked about the potential Impact that global climate change will have on agriculture and the further spread of weeds. However, the purpose of these interviews was to provide a historical look at the management of noxious weeds in Wyoming. Concerns about the impacts of climate change are relatively new.
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To return to the Wyoming County interviews: