Photo: Wyoming sagebrush & pronghorn antelope. © 2017 Delena Norris-Tull
George F. Hittle, Wyoming interview 2013
[Video interview conducted by Becky McMillen, transcribed by Dr. Delena Norris-Tull. Reviewed & approved by Larry Justesen, Nov. 19, 2020]
[George was the first statewide Wyoming Weed and Pest Coordinator. He is now deceased.]
"I grew up on a Wyoming ranch. I got through college after being in the armed services. My degree was in range management. Out of college I had a job with the BLM, in which I learned a lot. In 1971 I was hired as an Assistant Supervisor for the Hot Springs County Weed and Pest District, then I became the County Supervisor. When the Wyoming Weed Act was passed in 1973, the Weed Council and Dr. Harold Alley asked me to apply to be the first Wyoming Weed and Pest Coordinator. Of course, I told Harold to go to hell. But then I changed my mind. I started the job January 1, 1974. When I started I already could identify 250 grass species. But I didn’t know the names of any of the weeds. I had to learn the weeds on the job.
People don’t realize the economic costs of weeds. When you have an effective weed and pest program, it benefits the whole State, not just agriculture. It’s a regional, National, and international problem. Before the 1973 Act, not all Counties had a weed and pest program. The Counties themselves initiated forming districts, at the local area. When the 1973 law passed, all Wyoming Counties had to form Weed and Pest Districts. The first weed law was initiated by a rancher, Senator Howard Flitner, from Shell, Wyoming. John Rankin, a rancher out of Hot Springs County, was influential in holding the Weed and Pest Council together. If it wasn’t for him, we might not have had a statewide weed program. Later, he became a State Senator.
Former Governor Stan Hathaway and a lot of agricultural organizations and even some municipalities supported the bill. The biggest obstacle we had in getting the 1973 law passed was the Wyoming Department of Agriculture. They fought the bill. They wanted control of the Weed Districts. They wanted each district to have a two mill levy to support the work, but they wanted all the money to go to the State to doll back out to the Counties. That went over like a bombshell. We wanted local, county control. The decisions needed to be made out on the ground, not at some government office. The people wanted local control, and that’s what we got.
Governor Hathaway asked for our help in supporting the Wyoming Environmental Pest Control Act, designed to control pesticides. I got a call from the Legislative Council, and I went over the proposed legislation. I contacted John Rankin, and we met with Mick McCarty, and we worked on the proposed law till 2 AM. We got sponsors for the bill. Again, our biggest opposition was from the Wyoming Department of Agriculture. But the bill passed. This enabled Wyoming to meet EPA regulations on pesticides. Wyoming was the first state to submit its new legislation to the US EPA for approval. But at that time there was a pretty big feud between the Wyoming Department of Agriculture and the EPA, so North Carolina’s legislation was approved first. The Wyoming legislation was the second one in the nation approved by the EPA.
The Federal Plant Protection Quarantine Act deals with management of undesirable plants on Federal land. After it went through Congress, it was attached to the Federal Noxious Weed Control Act of 1974.
In 1977, we had the Carlson-Foley Act, which was supposed to provide a mechanism for the Federal land management agencies to pay into States for management of noxious weeds on Federal lands. I developed an amendment to that Act, as did Idaho and Montana. But it took ten years to get an amendment approved. Congressman Dick Cheney supported our efforts. Trying to figure out where the opposition was in the US Congress, he told us, “You’re messing with somebody’s pet law.” Finally, in 1987, we had a number of Western States supporting the amendment. We formed the Intermountain Noxious Weed Advisory Committee, to pursue a weed control program on Federal lands. I put together the first draft of the amendment. I worked with Karen Budd and the extension specialist from Colorado State University. We finalized the draft, took it back to the committee, and we got sponsorship for the bill from Senator Symms of Idaho. And suddenly we had a bill introduced into the US Congress. Meanwhile Senator Dorgan from North Dakota had introduced a similar bill. And Senator Baucus from Montana introduced another bill without notifying the Senator from Idaho. I found out about the three separate bills, and I called George Beck from Colorado State University and said, “We’re going to make a fast trip to Washington, DC.” We went to Washington and got the three bills resolved and got home the same day. We had a lot of sponsors by then on both the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate side. Wyoming Senator Alan Simpson was a supporter starting when he was a State Senator. Wyoming Senator Wallop was a strong supporter. The legislative aids are the people you have to convince first. They do the legwork and then they can help you convince the Congressmen.
The US Animal Plant Health Inspection Service wanted to take over that program. But they’re not a land management agency. The Federal land management agencies fought the bill. Finally, in 1990, President George H.W. Bush signed the bill into law. It is called The Management of Undesirable Plant Species on Federal Lands. This brought the Federal land management agencies into working with the States. After that, the Federal Agencies thought it was the best thing that had ever happened.
Wyoming and Montana developed the first two certified weed-free forage programs in the US. Montana had its own small program started about the same time as Wyoming’s. Montana’s program started out in Dillon. Then other Western States became interested, and it went regional. It’s pretty well nationwide now.
In 1987, we in Wyoming started putting together an educational program for children. We didn’t have a big budget to do it. We didn’t have anything to show agencies and groups, to raise money for education. In 1990, we put together the first video, “Enhancing Resources for the Integrated Management System.” We released it in 1992. The target audience was Federal Agencies, to help them understand the importance of educating children. Next we produced “Explosion in Slow Motion.” The target audience was County Commissioners, landowners, and other groups. My counterpart in Montana worked with me on it. We released it in 1994. So now we had something to show people, to raise funds for educational projects. I flew to Seattle and presented these videos to the Weed Science Society of America. They agreed to support our education program. I left the chemical companies out of these first two videos. But now it was time to involve the industries, and solicit funds from them. Agriculture in the Classroom and the American Farm Bureau got involved. I think we ended up with 36 sponsors. The Southern Weed Science Society was a strong supporter. We released the first video for children in 1996, titled, “The Kids Journey to Understanding Weeds.” We included activity packets. We developed separate packets of materials for each region of the US. We divided the US into six regions, including Alaska and Hawaii.
Unfortunately, the next person who took over as the Wyoming Weed and Pest Coordinator was not allowed to raise funds to continue the education program.
Back in the old days, when I got started, only three or four County Supervisors had college degrees. But they all get the same training. They all have to comply with County, State and Federal laws. In the beginning the County Supervisors had no health insurance and no retirement. Now they have those benefits.
In this job, you can’t get along with everybody, but when there’s a crisis, such as a death in the family, everybody works together. Because of my ranching background, I work well with the ranchers. I’ve had some summer workers who worked particularly well with the farmers.
In the 1970s and 1980s, we had really good rapport with Dr. Harold Alley from the University of Wyoming. I think he retired in 1986. Wyoming State Senator Gerry Geis said to me, 'I want you to put money in your budget for Harold Alley for research.' We put together a demonstration program using the integrated management system. We didn’t have any money to do research on the chemicals. Research on the chemicals were being paid for by the industry. During that time is when we got trials started to plant perennial native grasses to compete with invasive species. If one year the funds for this research got cut, the weeds would come back, and we’d get our funding back the next year. Some of the first perennials we tried were zoysia grass [not a native grass] and wild rye, both good forage for wildlife and domestic livestock. Then we tried wheat grass, big bluestem, and Garrison creeping foxtail [not a native grass], among others.
In the future, the challenge will be to get States to continue with the programs that have been established already. Education programs need to be developed."
Links to additional Wyoming County Interviews:
George F. Hittle, Wyoming interview 2013
[Video interview conducted by Becky McMillen, transcribed by Dr. Delena Norris-Tull. Reviewed & approved by Larry Justesen, Nov. 19, 2020]
[George was the first statewide Wyoming Weed and Pest Coordinator. He is now deceased.]
"I grew up on a Wyoming ranch. I got through college after being in the armed services. My degree was in range management. Out of college I had a job with the BLM, in which I learned a lot. In 1971 I was hired as an Assistant Supervisor for the Hot Springs County Weed and Pest District, then I became the County Supervisor. When the Wyoming Weed Act was passed in 1973, the Weed Council and Dr. Harold Alley asked me to apply to be the first Wyoming Weed and Pest Coordinator. Of course, I told Harold to go to hell. But then I changed my mind. I started the job January 1, 1974. When I started I already could identify 250 grass species. But I didn’t know the names of any of the weeds. I had to learn the weeds on the job.
People don’t realize the economic costs of weeds. When you have an effective weed and pest program, it benefits the whole State, not just agriculture. It’s a regional, National, and international problem. Before the 1973 Act, not all Counties had a weed and pest program. The Counties themselves initiated forming districts, at the local area. When the 1973 law passed, all Wyoming Counties had to form Weed and Pest Districts. The first weed law was initiated by a rancher, Senator Howard Flitner, from Shell, Wyoming. John Rankin, a rancher out of Hot Springs County, was influential in holding the Weed and Pest Council together. If it wasn’t for him, we might not have had a statewide weed program. Later, he became a State Senator.
Former Governor Stan Hathaway and a lot of agricultural organizations and even some municipalities supported the bill. The biggest obstacle we had in getting the 1973 law passed was the Wyoming Department of Agriculture. They fought the bill. They wanted control of the Weed Districts. They wanted each district to have a two mill levy to support the work, but they wanted all the money to go to the State to doll back out to the Counties. That went over like a bombshell. We wanted local, county control. The decisions needed to be made out on the ground, not at some government office. The people wanted local control, and that’s what we got.
Governor Hathaway asked for our help in supporting the Wyoming Environmental Pest Control Act, designed to control pesticides. I got a call from the Legislative Council, and I went over the proposed legislation. I contacted John Rankin, and we met with Mick McCarty, and we worked on the proposed law till 2 AM. We got sponsors for the bill. Again, our biggest opposition was from the Wyoming Department of Agriculture. But the bill passed. This enabled Wyoming to meet EPA regulations on pesticides. Wyoming was the first state to submit its new legislation to the US EPA for approval. But at that time there was a pretty big feud between the Wyoming Department of Agriculture and the EPA, so North Carolina’s legislation was approved first. The Wyoming legislation was the second one in the nation approved by the EPA.
The Federal Plant Protection Quarantine Act deals with management of undesirable plants on Federal land. After it went through Congress, it was attached to the Federal Noxious Weed Control Act of 1974.
In 1977, we had the Carlson-Foley Act, which was supposed to provide a mechanism for the Federal land management agencies to pay into States for management of noxious weeds on Federal lands. I developed an amendment to that Act, as did Idaho and Montana. But it took ten years to get an amendment approved. Congressman Dick Cheney supported our efforts. Trying to figure out where the opposition was in the US Congress, he told us, “You’re messing with somebody’s pet law.” Finally, in 1987, we had a number of Western States supporting the amendment. We formed the Intermountain Noxious Weed Advisory Committee, to pursue a weed control program on Federal lands. I put together the first draft of the amendment. I worked with Karen Budd and the extension specialist from Colorado State University. We finalized the draft, took it back to the committee, and we got sponsorship for the bill from Senator Symms of Idaho. And suddenly we had a bill introduced into the US Congress. Meanwhile Senator Dorgan from North Dakota had introduced a similar bill. And Senator Baucus from Montana introduced another bill without notifying the Senator from Idaho. I found out about the three separate bills, and I called George Beck from Colorado State University and said, “We’re going to make a fast trip to Washington, DC.” We went to Washington and got the three bills resolved and got home the same day. We had a lot of sponsors by then on both the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate side. Wyoming Senator Alan Simpson was a supporter starting when he was a State Senator. Wyoming Senator Wallop was a strong supporter. The legislative aids are the people you have to convince first. They do the legwork and then they can help you convince the Congressmen.
The US Animal Plant Health Inspection Service wanted to take over that program. But they’re not a land management agency. The Federal land management agencies fought the bill. Finally, in 1990, President George H.W. Bush signed the bill into law. It is called The Management of Undesirable Plant Species on Federal Lands. This brought the Federal land management agencies into working with the States. After that, the Federal Agencies thought it was the best thing that had ever happened.
Wyoming and Montana developed the first two certified weed-free forage programs in the US. Montana had its own small program started about the same time as Wyoming’s. Montana’s program started out in Dillon. Then other Western States became interested, and it went regional. It’s pretty well nationwide now.
In 1987, we in Wyoming started putting together an educational program for children. We didn’t have a big budget to do it. We didn’t have anything to show agencies and groups, to raise money for education. In 1990, we put together the first video, “Enhancing Resources for the Integrated Management System.” We released it in 1992. The target audience was Federal Agencies, to help them understand the importance of educating children. Next we produced “Explosion in Slow Motion.” The target audience was County Commissioners, landowners, and other groups. My counterpart in Montana worked with me on it. We released it in 1994. So now we had something to show people, to raise funds for educational projects. I flew to Seattle and presented these videos to the Weed Science Society of America. They agreed to support our education program. I left the chemical companies out of these first two videos. But now it was time to involve the industries, and solicit funds from them. Agriculture in the Classroom and the American Farm Bureau got involved. I think we ended up with 36 sponsors. The Southern Weed Science Society was a strong supporter. We released the first video for children in 1996, titled, “The Kids Journey to Understanding Weeds.” We included activity packets. We developed separate packets of materials for each region of the US. We divided the US into six regions, including Alaska and Hawaii.
Unfortunately, the next person who took over as the Wyoming Weed and Pest Coordinator was not allowed to raise funds to continue the education program.
Back in the old days, when I got started, only three or four County Supervisors had college degrees. But they all get the same training. They all have to comply with County, State and Federal laws. In the beginning the County Supervisors had no health insurance and no retirement. Now they have those benefits.
In this job, you can’t get along with everybody, but when there’s a crisis, such as a death in the family, everybody works together. Because of my ranching background, I work well with the ranchers. I’ve had some summer workers who worked particularly well with the farmers.
In the 1970s and 1980s, we had really good rapport with Dr. Harold Alley from the University of Wyoming. I think he retired in 1986. Wyoming State Senator Gerry Geis said to me, 'I want you to put money in your budget for Harold Alley for research.' We put together a demonstration program using the integrated management system. We didn’t have any money to do research on the chemicals. Research on the chemicals were being paid for by the industry. During that time is when we got trials started to plant perennial native grasses to compete with invasive species. If one year the funds for this research got cut, the weeds would come back, and we’d get our funding back the next year. Some of the first perennials we tried were zoysia grass [not a native grass] and wild rye, both good forage for wildlife and domestic livestock. Then we tried wheat grass, big bluestem, and Garrison creeping foxtail [not a native grass], among others.
In the future, the challenge will be to get States to continue with the programs that have been established already. Education programs need to be developed."
Links to additional Wyoming County Interviews: