Re: Noxious Weed Free Hay & Products

[Cris Potmesil <camelot@fascination.com>]

THANK YOU, Bob, for this wonderful response. I considered posting 
yesterday on this subject but knew I couldn't put the words together right.
The remarks about the Law being dumb, unreasonable and unenforceable,
and sneaking around checkpoints to avoid detection really got my hackles 
up. I've flagged more Canadian Thistle for spraying than I care to think 
about. A little forethought and consideration would be much appreciated 
when you are traveling or riding through one of those 'unreasonable 
Western states.' I'll do my damndest to play by the rules in your part of the 
U.S. so please do the same in mine.


Cris--a Nebraska farm girl
Green River, Wyo.
camelot@fascination.com


At 08:37 AM 3/22/98 -0700, you wrote:
>Usually I stay out of these discussions until I can stand the
>misinformation and inaccuracies no longer. So the time has come.
>
>First a bit of history!!! The legislative controls are not, initially, on
>hay. They are on the transportation of NOXIOUS WEED SEEDS! The laws
>concerning this were instituted by the grain growers through out the
>central and western states to prevent the spread of crop damaging weeds
>like bindweed, thistles of all varieties, skeleton weed Russian Thistle
>(TUMBLE WEED) and so on. 
>
>The USFS picked up on this and used the laws as existing, for the
>transportation of the seeds, and included the hay as a carrier of weeds.
>What most people do not consider is the other ramifications of the existing
>laws. The main transportation vector, as agreed by USFS field personnel, is
>mechanical. The soles of shoes, vehicular tires, etc. Therefore there is a
>beginning trend that road construction and maintenance equipment used on
>USFS lands ( and BLM and State lands also) must be cleaned and inspected
>prior to use. This could be (and has been at Yellowstone Park) carry over
>to your horse trailer.
>
>Now some on this forum have discounted the effort of weed eradication.
>Picture a ride that goes along a very nice trail for a few years then that
>same ride route becomes infested with Bull Thistles!! The ride is no longer
>a viable entity as the thistles have rendered the trail unusable!!! It has
>happened in our area!!! Cleaning the vehicles that used this trail could
>have prevented the problem.  Early attention to the problem with a bit of
>control could have saved this trail. 
>
>Consider your own pasture, it may be very good now but an invasion of Hoary
>Cress (white top) or Tansy Ragwort can render it completely unusable in a
>few seasons. Can you afford this?? 
>
>NOXIOUS WEEDS ARE A VERY SERIOUS PROBLEM!!!  It is not just the hay
>transportation factor, it is also the hay purchase cost factor and very
>importantly the hay quality factor. 
>
>Your County Agent or the State Department of Agriculture can and will refer
>you to producers of quality noxious weed free hay and hay products. Most
>western counties have weed commissions that also are knowledgeable of
>producers of such hay. 
>
>When you ignore or flaunt the regulations, you are not only contributing to
>and worsening the problem, you are also setting your self up for increased
>restrictions and costs in the future. 
>
>Remember, every pound of weed in the hay field is a pound of feed denied
>your horse and an increase in the cost of the hay he does get.
>
>Bob Morris
>Morris Endurance Enterprises
>Boise, ID
>
>