Photo: Cattails (native) with Russian Olive (non-native) in the background. © 2020 Delena Norris-Tull
Who am I?
I am Dr. Delena Norris-Tull, Professor Emerita of Science Education, University of Montana Western.
I am a botanist and have two published books on botany of the Southwestern United States (Tull, 2013; Tull & Miller, 2003). Over the past five decades, I have lived in the following Western States, Texas, Arkansas, Alaska, and now Montana. Over time, I have become increasingly alarmed by the apparently ineffective efforts in managing invasive plant species, and by the apparent lack of attention to the impacts of the increased use of herbicides and pesticides on ecosystems, native plants, wildlife, livestock, and humans. And I have been concerned by the lack of importance placed on restoring damaged lands by re-planting with native species. In 2017, supported by a sabbatical from the University of Montana Western, from which institution I retired in 2018, I began my research on the management of invasive plants in the West.
In my first rounds of interviews and literature review, I uncovered a number of inconsistencies between policies and practices related to invasive plant species management: inconsistencies between and within State Agencies, inconsistencies between State and Federal agencies, and inconsistencies between Federal Agencies. These inconsistencies appear to have a negative impact on the ability of County, State, and Federal Agencies to reverse the damages caused by the spread of invasive species.
It is my hope that this book will provide policy-makers, County, City, State, and Federal Agencies, and farmers, ranchers, and foresters, with a useful basis for the management of cropland, rangeland, suburban and urban properties, natural habitats, and forests, to assist Western States in saving millions of dollars that currently appear to be poorly invested.
In addition to reviewing the scientific research literature on management of invasive plant species, I have conducted interviews with representatives from State and Federal Agencies operating in Western States. Because the interviews have been invaluable in understanding the management of invasive plants, I will continue to conduct interviews with agency representatives from Western States.
Thanks to Slade Franklin, Wyoming Weed and Pest Coordinator with the Wyoming Department of Agriculture, I borrowed, and have transcribed, archival minutes from three of the early “Western Weed Control Conferences,” held in the 1940s. These minutes provide insights into the earliest attempts to manage weeds, and herald the beginning of the use of petrochemicals as part of the attempted solutions. Slade also loaned me a set of videotaped interviews held with Wyoming County Weed and Pest Supervisors. With permission from Becky McMillen, the director of the interviews, I have included the transcripts of those interviews, as they represent the collective wisdom of individuals, each with decades of experience managing noxious weeds.
Related section:
Who am I?
I am Dr. Delena Norris-Tull, Professor Emerita of Science Education, University of Montana Western.
I am a botanist and have two published books on botany of the Southwestern United States (Tull, 2013; Tull & Miller, 2003). Over the past five decades, I have lived in the following Western States, Texas, Arkansas, Alaska, and now Montana. Over time, I have become increasingly alarmed by the apparently ineffective efforts in managing invasive plant species, and by the apparent lack of attention to the impacts of the increased use of herbicides and pesticides on ecosystems, native plants, wildlife, livestock, and humans. And I have been concerned by the lack of importance placed on restoring damaged lands by re-planting with native species. In 2017, supported by a sabbatical from the University of Montana Western, from which institution I retired in 2018, I began my research on the management of invasive plants in the West.
In my first rounds of interviews and literature review, I uncovered a number of inconsistencies between policies and practices related to invasive plant species management: inconsistencies between and within State Agencies, inconsistencies between State and Federal agencies, and inconsistencies between Federal Agencies. These inconsistencies appear to have a negative impact on the ability of County, State, and Federal Agencies to reverse the damages caused by the spread of invasive species.
It is my hope that this book will provide policy-makers, County, City, State, and Federal Agencies, and farmers, ranchers, and foresters, with a useful basis for the management of cropland, rangeland, suburban and urban properties, natural habitats, and forests, to assist Western States in saving millions of dollars that currently appear to be poorly invested.
In addition to reviewing the scientific research literature on management of invasive plant species, I have conducted interviews with representatives from State and Federal Agencies operating in Western States. Because the interviews have been invaluable in understanding the management of invasive plants, I will continue to conduct interviews with agency representatives from Western States.
Thanks to Slade Franklin, Wyoming Weed and Pest Coordinator with the Wyoming Department of Agriculture, I borrowed, and have transcribed, archival minutes from three of the early “Western Weed Control Conferences,” held in the 1940s. These minutes provide insights into the earliest attempts to manage weeds, and herald the beginning of the use of petrochemicals as part of the attempted solutions. Slade also loaned me a set of videotaped interviews held with Wyoming County Weed and Pest Supervisors. With permission from Becky McMillen, the director of the interviews, I have included the transcripts of those interviews, as they represent the collective wisdom of individuals, each with decades of experience managing noxious weeds.
Related section: