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Invader species gain ground in Rogue Valley By PAUL FATTIG Steve Bulkin recently took a break from his day job of battling alien invaders to take a relaxing bicycle ride along the Bear Creek Greenway. But the aliens were lying in wait. "Out of four bikes, we had six flat tires," lamented the Rogue River National Forest silviculturist. "It was all from puncture vine. "Puncture vines can go from germination to seed production in less than two weeks," he added. "With a plant that prolific, you have to act fast to stop it." Acting fast is what folks like Bulkin hope to do to combat the invasion of alien plants taking root in Southern Oregon. Although the ranks of noxious weeds are relatively small, experts warn there is the potential for a population explosion that will threaten native plants, wildlife and commercial crops throughout the region. "The sooner we get to them, the smaller the population and the easier it is to eradicate them," Bulkin said. "You let them get established and it will cost more to get rid of them. It will also be much more difficult." The Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management are working with the Oregon Department of Agriculture and local governments to wage war against the invasive plants. There is talk now of re-establishing a Weed Advisory Board for the Applegate Valley to organize private landowners concerned about the noxious weeds. This past summer, inmates from the Jackson County Jail were hired to pull yellow starthistle in the Applegate Valley. Over near Ashland, agronomist Ken French, the noxious-weed specialist for the state Department of Agriculture, spent part of last month digging out a thicket of 14-foot Scotch thistle. The huge thistle with needle-like spines and a bony, pale-green frame is tough enough to grow in a blackberry patch. The European native was probably introduced through livestock feed, according to French. Other invaders rearing their spiny heads in the region include Canada thistle, milk thistle and distaff thistle. There are also other noxious weeds like Dalmatian toadflax, medusahead grass and tansy ragwort that threaten crops or animals. Purple loosestrife, once sold as a decorative plant by a local nursery, will choke out native plants in waterways, Bulkin noted. Some alien plants, like spotted knapweed and leafy spurge, can cause blisters on human skin. "All of these are eurasian species that have co-evolved with grazing pressure for thousands of years," Bulkin said. "They've armed themselves. They've created spines and toxins and all kinds of things. They are ready for invasion. "Their reproductive strategies are fine tuned. They put out millions of seeds a year, sometimes twice a year. They can spread very easily." In the Siskiyou National Forest, the quick spread of noxious weeds concerns Bob Ettner, the forest's natural resource staff officer. "We have such a high botanical value with a lot of rare sensistive plants," he said, and noxious weeds could threaten them. "We have a low invasion rate at the moment," he said. "But a new introduction of an exotic plant could change that real fast. We're trying to stay ahead of the curve." New species pop up periodically, he said, noting that a forest botanist spotted a noxious weed known as a "biddy biddy" growing in the lawn at the forest's Gold Beach visitor center. "It was basically a ground cover with burrs," Ettner said, noting that the plant was quickly removed. "They can show up just about anywhere." In the Siskiyou, invasive plants such as yellow starthistle, Scotch broom and gorse are currently an issue, he said. "Gorse is bad news for everybody," he said of the plant that served as the fuel for the fire that swept through the coastal town of Bandon early in the century. "But this is something that everyone can help fight," he said of noxious weeds. "People just need to be educated about how to prevent them from getting established and from spreading." In the Rogue River forest, Supervisor Mike Lunn, who also supervises the Siskiyou, has declared war on noxious weeds, using a variety of weapons that include manual, mechanical, biological, fire and herbicide attacks. "We need to take direct and immediate action on controlling these noxious weeds while the infestations are still small so we can prevent their spread, especially high in the watershed," Lunn said in a statement earlier this month. Bilkin agreed. "We need to take action while the populations are small," he reiterated. "Once they are established, they are extremely difficult to remove. "The public can help by becoming aware of the problems associated with these noxious weeds," he added. "We still have people planting purple loosestrife. They don't understand it will take over riparian habitat and displace native vegetation." Meanwhile, new invaders are still showing up, he said. "We got this thing that showed up at the (BLM's) Provolt Seed Orchard called a spiny cockleburr that makes starthistle look like a pansy," Bulkin said. "It's armed from head to toe and it grows to about five feet tall. That's something we don't need." For more information on noxious weeds, check out the Rogue River National Forest Web site -- www.fs.fed.us/r6/rogue -- and click on "Alien Invasion." Agronomist Ken French can be reached at (541) 839-4385. His mailing address is: Ken French, Noxious Weed Control, P.O. Box 312, Canyonville, OR 97417. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA