The Bannock Showcase Project
The Utah Idaho CWMA Bannock Showcase is an integrated pest management (IPM) project near Downey Idaho
The Bannock Showcase project is an integrated pest management project on leafy spurge near Downey Idaho. This photo, taken at the beginning of the project in 1999, shows a healthy population of leafy spurge in the bottom of the draw. Spurge infested hundreds of acres in this area.
Hundreds of goats are brought in as a form of biological control on leafy spurge.
The goats are actively herded and kept in infested areas. Once the goats get a taste for leafy spurge they seek it out, actively foraging on it and they gain good weight throughout the summer.
Another form of control used on this project is insect biocontrol. Several varieties of flea beetles can be collected at nearby sites by using sweep nets.
These Aphthona nigriscutis and A. flava flea beetles (the golden specks on the leaves) exfoliate the plant as adults and the larvae bore into the roots and destroy the plant beneath the soil.
After several seasons of goat and bug work the area is much improved. A few small areas may require herbicide treatments seasonally, but the insects and goats are keeping the leafy spurge in check.
In a few areas where the leafy spurge was particularly thick, much of the native vegetation was destroyed so reseeding was initiated in these areas to provide a natural competition against the spurge.
Dave Hallinan, the current Bannock County Weed Supervisor, spreads seed to help the area return to its native state.
This is what the area looks like today. What a difference a little effort can make. This area is once again productive rangeland for livestock and wildlife.
