Time: 7:00 – 10:00 AM. Working period is always flexible, just communicate your intentions with the leader.

Where:  Meet at Badger Mountain West Trailhead parking lot – 5305 East 210 Private Road N.E. Directions: just drive up Dallas Rd. a few hundred feet south from the Candy Mountain turnoff. Watch for the Badger Mt. Westgate sign on the right side of the road near the crest of the hill. Then turn left off of Dallas Rd. onto Private Road 210 and follow a row of windbreak trees that leads to the parking lot, just beyond a metal shed on your right Don’t leave anything in your car that may appear valuable since some car break-ins have occurred.

Duties: Locating and hand pulling Yellow Starthistle and Diffuse Knapweed Plants. The Rush Skeletonweed plants are left rooted in the ground, but are clipped of their blooms and buds, and the remaining plant stems individually “painted” with Roundup herbicide. (not all crew members do this task). Plants range in size from short, small plants to larger branched plants with thorns. At present, plants are ranging from only a few inches in height up to 3 feet in height, depending on species and individual growing conditions. They may occur as single plants, small groupings, or in small patches. Presently we are seeing weeds in the full blooming stage with many in seeding stage, making them more easily identified, but also needing quicker removal. We will bag and remove the plant material.

Tools and Clothing: Bring good strong gloves — leather is best! Long sleeved shirts and long pants are recommended for scratch and sun protection. Don’t forget a hat. A small set of pruning clippers is sometimes useful. Generally, just pulling and bagging the plants has proven to be the most practical method of removal. Since we are constantly moving, a fanny pack or small backpack is useful to carry your “stuff” — gloves, phone, water, snacks, tools, sun protection, etc. Bring heavier plastic bags for the weeds if you have them – like feed bags or potting soil bags, etc. The weedmaster will have bags, too.

Terrain: We are working off-trail where the ground is sloped and uneven with plenty of dry Cheatgrass, rocky in some areas — sturdy boots recommended. The weedmaster suggests using boot gaiters to keep the Cheatgrass out of your socks and boots. The Cheatgrass is again plentiful this year!

Reply to: davidbeach47@gmail.com Please let the weedmaster know as early as possible, so they can have an idea who to be looking for and how large of a group to expect for assignments, etc. After meeting at the parking lot, we sometimes drive our vehicles, or carpool to another location closer to the work area.