Report From the Field: Ball Creek Ranch

Justin Petty, The Nature Conservancy's North Idaho land steward, sends this field report from Ball Creek Ranch Preserve:

Hello Folks-

The last weekend in April we had 11 volunteers from the Conservation Biology Club at the University of Idaho come to Ball Creek Ranch to help plants trees and shrubs in the WRP wetlands. In 2 days they were able to get close to 2000 plants in the ground. We had a lot of fun, and they have expressed a desire to come back in the fall to help with other projects. Halleluiah for volunteers! The birds were grateful too........they were landing in the trees as quick as we could unload them, and before we could even get them planted.




This Friday we will be hosting a Weed Awareness Day at Ball Creek Ranch. The program is as follows:

Mike Gondek w/ NRCS : Seeding following herbicide applications, NRCS programs available to private landowners
Duke Guthrie w/ Boundary County Weed Control & Brad Bluemer w/ Bonner County Weed Control : Boundary County Noxious Weeds and New Invaders, County assistance programs available to private landowners
Scott Soults w/ The Kootenai Tribe : Developing a plan for good pasture management
Doug Evans w/ BLM : Biological control of weeds
Jeff Knetter w/ IDF&G : Integrated Weed Mgt.

These discussions will be followed by a field tour of Ball Creek Ranch, where we'll be identifying weeds, showing likely places to find certain species, and discussing the corresponding treatment methods.

The program will last from 9am to noon and will conclude with a catered lunch. It should be a good time and provide useful information for those in attendance.

Justin