FORT PECK, Mont. – Beginning the week of July 31, 2017, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will conduct vegetation management activities on the Seven Blackfoot, Billy, Wilson, McCarty, Sheep, Short, Cart Trail and Doney drainages located at the Fort Peck Reservoir in Garfield and Phillips Counties. Spraying will be done on approximately 350 acres in these drainages to control the spread of the noxious weed saltcedar along the shorelines and adjacent upland areas of the Fort Peck Reservoir in order to meet requirements of the National Invasive Species Act of 1996, Montana Noxious Weed Control Act and to comply with the Corps’ policy on the control of noxious weeds. Controlling invasive species also protects area recreation, fish and wildlife and associated habitat.
Montana-certified applicators using helicopters will spray with triclopyr and 2,4-D, both approved for use in aquatic environments by the U.S Environmental Protection Agency. Spraying will take place only when environmental conditions allow, such as little to no wind and no rainfall in the immediate forecast. While efforts will be made to conduct spraying during the week when public use is lower, spraying may occur on weekends since optimal spraying days can be limited due to wind or rain.
After public review of a draft supplemental environmental assessment, the “Final Supplemental Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact for Control of Saltcedar and Russian Olive, Fort Peck Reservoir, Montana” was released in April 2016.
Release no. 17-064