TEAM Leafy Spurge announces projects for 1999

Article taken from The Jamestown Sun, Saturday, January 30, 1999

Several existing and new research and demonstration projects were funded by TEAM Leafy Spurge ad hoc committee recently, paving the way for a second summer of coordinated areawide efforts at battling one of the region's most costly noxious weeds.

TEAM Leafy Spurge coordinator Chad Prosser said the ad hoc committee was pleased with results produced by existing projects - which were implemented last summer and range from multi-species grazing demonstrations to herbicide studies - as well as with the overall quality of new proposals submitted for consideration.

A total of 10 existing and seven new projects received funding totaling more than $1 million. New projects approved for the upcoming field season include:

Tony Caesar, plant pathologist, USDA-ARS Northern Plains Agricultural Research Laboratory, Sidney: A study and demonstration of naturally occurring, soil borne plant pathogens and their relationship with biocontrol agents.
Bob Carlson, professor of entomology, North Dakota State University, Fargo: Regional distribution and demonstration of the long-horned beetle, a stem-boring biocontrol agent that has been shown to work well in moist soils.
Diane Larson, research biologist, U.S. Geological Survey Biological Resources Division, St. Paul, Minn: A cooperative project with Theodore Roosevelt National Park to evaluate the effect of leafy spurge control efforts, the effect of those efforts on native plant and animal communities, and the effect of leafy spurge on native plant and animal communities.
Chad Prosser, TEAM Leafy Spurge coordinator and TEAM Leafy Spurge Technology Transfer team leader, USDA-ARS NPARL: A demonstration of various herbicides.
Tim Faller, director, North Dakota State University-Hettinger Extension Research Center: A study to determine the feasibility of a producer-owned sheep coop to provide sheep for leafy spurge control within a multi-species grazing program.
Douglas Johnson, Grasslands Initiative Team leader, U.S. Geological Survey Biological Resources Division, Jamestown - Effects of Leafy Spurge Invasion on Grassland Bird Populations: Research to evaluate how leafy spurge disrupts native plant communities and how that disruption effects bird populations.
Tom Steger, South Dakota field manger, Bureau of Land Management, Belle Forche, S.D.: A cooperative weed database and mapping project between the B.L.M., South Dakota Department of School and Public Lands, South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks, U.S. Forest Service and National Park Service.

TEAM Leafy Spurge is a five-year research and demonstration project funded by the USDA-ARS in partnership with the USDA-Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service. Its goal is providing landowners and land managers with proven leafy spurge control techniques based on sustainable integrated pest management strategies.

For additional information on TEAM Leafy Spurge, biological control of leafy spurge or Integrated Pest Management, contact TEAM Leafy Spurge coordinator Chad Prosser at 406-482-9403 (email at chad@mail.sidney.ars.usda.gov).