The war on weeds
County board prepares to trigger major offensive against Rush skeletonweed

By Larry Meyer
Argus Observer
Thursday, October 29, 2009 11:12 AM PDT

Malheur County Weed Inspector Gary Page shows the weed that will be the focus of a continuing spray campaign in the county. The weed crowds out native species that are used for forage.

VALE — The Malheur County Weed Board is staging a major offensive against Rush skeletonweed after the wild plant surged in different areas of the county.

“It just took off on us,” Gary Page, county weed inspector said, while surveying a grove of it on the United States Bureau of Land Management land south of Vale. He surmised the wet spring was conducive to get more seeds to sprout on the hillside just east of Lytle Boulevard.

The spindly stalks of the weed have little or no value as forage for livestock or wildlife, as they contain a white latex substance that can cause sores in the mouths of the animals that eat it. The plants also produce a lot of seed in the fall so they can spread quickly.

“There was lot a more this year than previously,” Page said.

Rush skeletonweed is a primary noxious weed the county weed board has been battling with the support of grants. It displaces native plants and grasses which are beneficial to wildlife and livestock.

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Wednesday, the Malheur County Court tentatively awarded a contract to Washburn Contract Services Inc. from Dallas, for the next spray program for Rush skeletonweed. The contract was awarded pending the agreement of the Bureau of Land Management.

“Most of it (land to be sprayed) is BLM land,” Page said.

In a letter to the County Court and Page, one of the bidders, David Bunker, Branch Enterprises, Nyssa, asked the court to consider if the lowest bidder is the best selection when he is from out of the area.

“Is the contractor capable of multiple trips to and from the spray locations due to our varied weather or other factors in a timely manner?” Bunker asked. “Is the contractor selected knowledgeable about of our area, its residents and locations of the weed in question?” the letter continued.

Paul Washburn, Washburn Contract Services, says he is doing work in Eastern Oregon and Idaho.

“I do have a presence in the general area,” he said.

Familiarity with the area was not a part of the criteria listed in the request for proposals, Stephanie Williams, county counsel, said.

Washburn bid a spray rate of $52.50 per hour, Plantworks of La Grande bid $62.50 and Branch Enterprises bid an hourly spray rate of $65 per hour.

The weed board had received at $53,000 grant for the program.

Turning to land use issues, the Malheur County Court agreed to allow the planning department to submit a proposal for a new land use zone in rural areas for approval by the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development.

If approved, “rural lands” would be an intermediate zone, from which lands could then be rezoned to rural residential without having to take an exception to goal 3 and goals 14 in Oregon’s Land Use Planning laws, regarding agricultural lands and urbanization.

“The land ceases to be EFU (exclusive farm use),” Jon Beal, county planner said.

The rural lands zone would contain three sets of criteria to determine if the land, at least 10 acres, does not meet the definition of resource lands regarding agricultural property. The proposal will be sent as an amendment to the county’s comprehensive plan, Beal said.

The planning department also submitted a request to DLCD for a grant to assist Nyssa and Vale to do an economic opportunity analysis in the county to develop an economic development strategy coordinated with the county and to complete an inventory of lands sufficient to capture legitimate economic opportunities.