Invasive Weed Awareness

Harding County is the least populated county in the state with just over 700 people.  However, the county stretches over 2000 square miles of rangeland with agriculture (ranching) being the main economic driver.  The Harding County Invasive Plant Task Force was formed in 2001 to help create awareness of invasive weeds and build a preventative attitude among the residents.  Harding County does not have an invasive weed problem, yet neighboring counties to the north do have many noxious weeds.  We are making an effort to keep awareness alive in the county.

Noxious Weed - A non-native plant that aggressively invades or can directly injure natural ecosystems, native plant communities, fish and wildlife resources, livestock, agricultural interests, or public health.

Roy Clover and Mesa Roadrunner 4-H Clubs worked with leaders and members to construct weed billboards for the county.

Local ranchers volunteered their land and time to help us erect 4 billboards across the county

Four 4x8 home-grown billboards were made and put up at 4 different highways coming into Harding County.  These billboards are the first thing folks see as they enter the county.  They create an interest and awareness and the county extension office phone number is there to call.   This not only creates awareness in the county, but it also give a the 4-H members a chance to learn about invasive weeds.

We won’t have to spend a lot of money spraying and controlling weeds if we just don’t let them get established in the first place.  If locals can learn to recognize what is good and what is bad, we can destroy small infestations before they get out of control.

Regional Noxious Weed Meeting

In the spring of 2005, Harding County was one of 5 sites across the state that agreed to host a regional meeting concerning noxious weeds.  Agent worked with NMDA and a weed specialist from NMSU to host the meeting.  Over 35 people from the Northeast corner of New Mexico came for a presentation on hoary cress and perennial pepper weed (2 area weeds of concern) and general discussion about the threat of invasive weeds.  Brochures and information were handed out by NMDA and weed mounts were also available for viewing.

Weed Postcards/brochures

Weed ID postcards of 5 different weeds were laminated and bound together with O-rings to make 400 ID booklets.  These booklets are waterproof and durable.  They were then mailed to over 400 producers in the county along with a letter explaining the value of awareness.  Producers can put these cards in their pickups, carry them horseback, or just keep them handy for identifying weeds.  The five weeds were leafy spurge, hoary cress, perennial pepper weed, musk thistle, and Russian knapweed.