Liberty County Weeds: Come Out With Your Hands Up!

by Suzi Taylor
From the 1997-98 4-H Clover Project Selection Guide

08/07/97

From a distance, the Sweetgrass Hills look like rounded volcanoes rising from the plains north of Chester. The hills, which are really much more like mountains or buttes, are rich in ranches, native grasses, cattle...and a silent invader known as knapweed.

Knapweed, a certified noxious weed in Montana, looks harmless at first glance but is a relentless killer, choking out native plants and livestock forage. Controlling knapweed is never fun and never easy, but it is absolutely essential.

To help with noxious weed control, county weed supervisor Jim Ghekiere enlisted the help of some ambitious Liberty County 4-H'ers.

For the past two years the 4-H'ers have gathered to fight knapweed, sometimes gathering up to 20 garbage bags of hand-pulled weeds.

"I had kind of helped my dad pick weeds" but had never participated in such a large-scale weed control project, said Marjorie Dafoe , 13, of the Foothills 4-H Club. Marjorie and her cousin joined the effort two summers ago, traipsing across the hills and filling big black garbage bags.

"We went up there to the quarry and Jim Ghekiere and John Maatta (Liberty County Extension agent) gave us a presentation on noxious weeds," she said.

The project has proved to be both an educational experience and a welcome help for ranchers in the Sweetgrass Hills. "Educating those 4-H members about knapweed helps pass the torch of stewardship on to the next generation ," said Ghekiere.

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