An Upper Sandy Basin Priority Weed Partnership
What’s it all about?
The Weed Smackdown is a collaborative partnership between Clackamas Soil & Water Conservation District (CSWCD) and the Sandy River Watershed Council (SRWC) dedicated to combating invasive weeds in the upper Sandy River Watershed. The partnership was started in 2013 to experiment with the large-scale removal of a particular weed, the invasive policeman’s helmet (Impatiens glandulifera), which proliferated along the Salmon and Sandy Rivers. This fast-growing annual weed impacts water quality and increases erosive potential along rivers and streams, leading to the inevitable destruction of vital salmon habitat if left untreated. Removal of the weed is relatively easy and seeds have a very short soil life expectancy, making this particular weed a tempting, and effective, control target.
Over the years, this project has evolved from controlling a single species to surveying and treating a variety of high priority weeds. Other priority species of concern in the area include garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata), false brome (Brachypodium sylvaticum), knotweeds (Fallopia sp.), orange hawkweed (Hieracium aurantiacum), and spurge laurel (Daphne laureola). The partnership is currently working to survey all of the properties which border the two rivers above the Salmon-Sandy confluence for all of the priority weeds currently known to the area and any other priority weeds that might occur.
Previously, we have partnered with a youth conservation crew, Project Youth Employability and Support Services (YESS), to treat policeman’s helmet infestations along the Salmon River. Project YESS did a fantastic job of controlling policeman’s helmet while teaching underprivileged youth important professional skills and providing employment opportunities and support. With the dissolution of Project YESS in 2017, local restoration contractors are stepping up to provide survey and control services until another program for disadvantaged youth can be brought on board.
Why is our work important?
Our primary focus area for this project, the Lower Salmon River, provides very important and productive anadromous fish spawning and rearing habitat, making it an important river to protect from degradation. As its name suggests, the Salmon River provides vital habitat to summer steelhead, winter steelhead, coho salmon, and spring Chinook salmon, as well as native cutthroat trout and native and hatchery rainbow trout. The upper portions of the river contain meadow complexes that support a wide diversity of wildlife habitat, including Roosevelt elk and greater Sandhill cranes, and a large variety of rare and unique plant communities, one being a native podgrass (Scheuchzerias palustris), whose population along the Salmon River is the largest in the state.
Aside from its ecological benefits to the surrounding ecosystems, the Salmon River is a treasured recreational destination for fishing, hiking, and camping. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM)’s Wildwood Recreation Site is a hub for many recreational activities and is one of the numerous areas that are positively impacted by the great work of the Weed Smackdown. Our efforts has shown significant regeneration of native vegetation on previously infested sites and returning salmon populations to adjacent tributaries, including steelhead in Weeburn Creek. We are very grateful for all of our supporting partners and cooperating landowners for allowing us to carry on this valuable work for future generations.
Where are we now?
Through consistent annual treatments, meticulous site surveying, and dedicated outreach efforts, data has shown that populations of policeman’s helmet have decreased significantly over the years. In 2019, CSWCD and SRWC staff and contractor crews implemented an impressive number of treatments, while many previously treated populations were documented as very sparse or even absent. These reductions provide the incentive to inch further downstream once populations in the upper stretches are fully controlled.
Sara Ennis (SRWC) and Courtney Gattuso (CSWCD) scout for weeds along the Salmon River. (Shameless selfie by Sara)
Surveying efforts from the Weed Smackdown have allowed us to document Early Detection and Rapid Repose (EDRR) weed populations before they get out of control, which will save us lots of time and resources down the road. To ensure the success of our control efforts, we will continue to educate the public, provide educational materials, and outreach to new landowners in the coming years. We fully understand that this project would not be as successful as it is without our committed partners and supporting landowners, and we are very appreciative of that. With so many boots on the ground, pesky weeds are no match for the wrath of the Weed Smackdown!
For more information about the Weed Smackdown, contact:
Courtney Gattuso
WeedWise Specialist/CWMA Coordinator
Clackamas Soil and Water Conservation District
503-210-6015