Volunteer now to help fight wilderness weeds

The Daily Inter Lake

The Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation needs help to combat noxious weeds in the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex this month and September.

Volunteer projects from day trips to weeklong "volunteer vacations' are being offered throughout The Bob and include work in weed mapping, identification, hand pulling, and other treatment methods, according to a news release.

When noxious weeds enter a pristine wilderness landscape, they begin to unravel native ecosystems by severely altering and compromising wildlife habitat, native vegetation and aesthetic values.

Volunteer projects still open include:

n Big Salmon Lake Weed Mapping, Aug. 14-21. Help inventory and map goat weed along the shoreline of Big Salmon Lake. Spend your work days on a raft mapping with GPS units on the largest lake in the wilderness for this backcountry trip.

n McCabe Point Weed Pulling, Aug. 27-28. This is a great project for folks with limited time. Help pull knapweed for two days with exceptional views in the Monture Creek drainage north of Ovando.

n North Fork Blackfoot Weed Pulling, Aug. 29. This day trip will work along the North Fork of the Blackfoot River in the Scapegoat Wilderness hand-pulling infestations of knapweed.

n Meadow Lake Weed eradication, Sept. 4-8. Spend a week in the Scapegoat Wilderness helping to rid this area of weeds.

For more information or to register for projects, go to www.bmwf.org or call 387-3808. RSVP for trips one week ahead of time; a $50 refundable deposit for multiple day projects is required.