Noxious Weeds Training
2026-05-15 09:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Benton County Noxious Weed Control Board, 1841 Terminal Dr, Richland, Washington, 99354, United States
Training will be provided by the Benton County Noxious Weed Control Board, Native Plant Society, and Friends of Badger Mountain. We expect the session to last for up to two hours, including an optional “field trip” at the end to observe noxious weeds growing among native plants in the wild. The Field Trip depends on finding a close-by area with several species, which are at a large enough growth stage to be able to distinguish varieties. The goal is education about invasive weeds, especially the particularly harmful ones classified as Noxious Weeds. We will focus on the several species that are infesting our local communities, including the ridgeline preserves of Badger and Candy Mountains. In addition, we will discuss how to distinguish native plants from noxious weeds and talk about control measures that preserve native plants.

Community members wanting to learn more about noxious weeds in the area are urged to attend – we all see them every day on vacant lots, roadsides, etc. Do you want to help restore and beautify our iconic ridgeline shrub steppe preserves? Friends of Badger Mountain has been deploying volunteer weeding crews to manually remove the noxious weeds from our wonderful mountain preserves and trails for the past nine years. Significant reductions have been achieved, but like our gardens, weeds continue to return. We are tentatively planning to start this year’s volunteer weeding crews sometime around the middle of May. We especially invite those of you for this training who might be interested in volunteering to help us continue cleaning up the remaining Badger and Candy Mountain noxious weeds. Expect some tasty treats to keep your blood sugar levels up at the training.Please RSVP to me if you are thinking of attending the training session, it helps immensely with the planning! Invite others you think would be interested.

Hike Through Time on Candy Mountain
2026-05-16 09:00 - 11:00 | Candy Mountain Preserve Trailhead, 71004 E 669 PR NE, Richland, WA, 99352, United States
Join Manhattan Project National Historical Park rangers and REACH Museum educators on a free guided, 3.6-mile (5.8 km) round-trip moderate hike to the top of Candy Mountain on Saturday, May 16 from 9:00 am to 11:00 am Pacific time. There will be several stops along the trail up to the summit where rangers will share short histories about the events and people that shaped the mid-Columbia region. Hikers will move forward in time as the stops progress from the Ice Age Floods to the Manhattan Project and its legacies. Topics will include the Native Peoples who have lived here since time immemorial, the Lewis and Clark Expedition, the arrival of Christian missionaries, and the selection of Hanford for plutonium production during World War II. Hikers will gain 555 feet (170 m) of elevation as they hike to the top of Candy Mountain. Participants should be prepared to hike uphill, bring water and food, and plan for a variety of weather. Meet in the Candy Mountain trailhead parking lot by 8:45am for a 9:00am departure.

Weeding Crew - May 20
2026-05-20 07:00 - 10:00 | Candy Mountain Preserve Trailhead, 71004 E 669 PR NE, Richland, WA, 99352, United States
Where: Meet at Candy Mountain Trailhead parking lot. Address is 71004 E. 669 PR N.E. Directions – turn off of Dallas Rd. onto PR669 Rd. NE. Drive uphill to the parking lot on the right. Don’t leave anything in your car that may appear valuable since some car break-ins have occurred.

Duties: Locating and hand pulling or clipping Cereal Rye plants. Plants range in size from shorter (2 ft), plants to larger (4 ft+). They may occur as single plants, small groupings, or in small to large patches. We are still experimenting with removal methods, but for now, will bag and remove most of the plant material.

Tools and Clothing: Bring good strong gloves — leather or heavier rubberized garden gloves! Dress for the weather forecast. 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 often 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, clothes, 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. I 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 with good tread, arch support, and ankle protection is recommended. I suggest using boot gaiters to keep the Cheatgrass out of your socks and boots. The Cheatgrass is again plentiful this year!

Weeding Crew - May 31st
2026-05-31 07:00 - 10:00 | Candy Mountain Preserve Trailhead, 71004 E 669 PR NE, Richland, WA, 99352, United States
We will be weeding (treating):

Rush skeletonweed

Yellow starthistle

Diffuse and potentially other knapweeds

Puncturevine (also known as tackweed or goathead)

Kochia.

Tools and Clothing: Bring good strong gloves — leather or heavier rubberized garden gloves! Dress for the weather forecast. 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 often 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, clothes, 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. 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 with good tread, arch support, and ankle protection is recommended. We suggest using boot gaiters to keep the Cheatgrass out of your socks and boots. The Cheatgrass is again plentiful this year!

Don’t leave anything in your car that may appear valuable since some car break-ins have occurred at these parking lots.

Contact Weedmaster Pietro Matinelli at pietromartinelli97@yahoo.com or (925) 207-6293 to:

Make alternative work arrangements

Confirm start time

Confirm meeting arrangements

Sign up for e-mail updates.

Weeding Crew - June 3rd
2026-06-03 07:00 - 10:00 | Candy Mountain Preserve Trailhead, 71004 E 669 PR NE, Richland, WA, 99352, United States
We will be weeding (treating):

Rush skeletonweed

Yellow starthistle

Diffuse and potentially other knapweeds

Puncturevine (also known as tackweed or goathead)

Kochia.

Tools and Clothing: Bring good strong gloves — leather or heavier rubberized garden gloves! Dress for the weather forecast. 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 often 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, clothes, 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. 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 with good tread, arch support, and ankle protection is recommended. We suggest using boot gaiters to keep the Cheatgrass out of your socks and boots. The Cheatgrass is again plentiful this year!

Don’t leave anything in your car that may appear valuable since some car break-ins have occurred at these parking lots.

Contact Weedmaster Pietro Matinelli at pietromartinelli97@yahoo.com or (925) 207-6293 to:

Sign up for e-mail updates.

Make alternative work arrangements

Confirm start time

Confirm meeting arrangements

Weeding Crew - June 5th
2026-06-05 07:00 - 10:00 | Trailhead Park, 525 Queensgate Dr, Richland, WA, 99352, United States

Weeding Crew - June 7th
2026-06-07 07:00 - 10:00 | Trailhead Park, 525 Queensgate Dr, Richland, WA, 99352, United States

Weeding Crew - June 10th
2026-06-10 07:00 - 10:00 | Candy Mountain Preserve Trailhead, 71004 E 669 PR NE, Richland, WA, 99352, United States

Weeding Crew - June 12th
2026-06-12 07:00 - 10:00 | Candy Mountain Preserve Trailhead, 71004 E 669 PR NE, Richland, WA, 99352, United States
We will be weeding (treating):

Rush skeletonweed

Yellow starthistle

Diffuse and potentially other knapweeds

Puncturevine (also known as tackweed or goathead)

Kochia.

Tools and Clothing: Bring good strong gloves — leather or heavier rubberized garden gloves! Dress for the weather forecast. 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 often 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, clothes, 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. 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 with good tread, arch support, and ankle protection is recommended. We suggest using boot gaiters to keep the Cheatgrass out of your socks and boots. The Cheatgrass is again plentiful this year!

Don’t leave anything in your car that may appear valuable since some car break-ins have occurred at these parking lots.

Contact Weedmaster Pietro Matinelli at pietromartinelli97@yahoo.com or (925) 207-6293 to:

Sign up for e-mail updates

Make alternative work arrangements

Confirm start time

Confirm meeting arrangements

Weeding Crew - June 14th
2026-06-14 07:00 - 10:00 | Candy Mountain Preserve Trailhead, 71004 E 669 PR NE, Richland, WA, 99352, United States

Weeding Crew - June 17th
2026-06-17 07:00 - 10:00 | Candy Mountain Preserve Trailhead, 71004 E 669 PR NE, Richland, WA, 99352, United States

Weeding Crew - June 19th
2026-06-19 07:00 - 10:00 | Candy Mountain Preserve Trailhead, 71004 E 669 PR NE, Richland, WA, 99352, United States

Weeding Crew - June 21st
2026-06-21 07:00 - 10:00 | Candy Mountain Preserve Trailhead, 71004 E 669 PR NE, Richland, WA, 99352, United States

Weeding Crew - June 24th
2026-06-24 07:00 - 10:00 | Candy Mountain Preserve Trailhead, 71004 E 669 PR NE, Richland, WA, 99352, United States

Weeding Crew - June 26th
2026-06-26 07:00 - 10:00 | Candy Mountain Preserve Trailhead, 71004 E 669 PR NE, Richland, WA, 99352, United States

Weeding Crew - June 28th
2026-06-28 07:00 - 10:00 | Candy Mountain Preserve Trailhead, 71004 E 669 PR NE, Richland, WA, 99352, United States
