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High Country is a proud participant in Headwaters CWMA. We help coordinate meetings and provide grant writing and grant administration.
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HeadWaters CWMA
Introduction
The Headwaters Cooperative Weed Management Area (HWCWMA) covers portions of Teton, WY, Teton, Fremont, Madison, Bonneville, Jefferson and Bingham Counties, ID. It is a partnership of local governments, State and Federal agencies, local businesses and private landowners. High Country coordinates and acts as the fiscal sponsor for the partnership. The HWCWMA members meet regularly to coordinate area-wide activities to detect, prevent, contain, control, and eradicate noxious weeds on public and private lands.
Noxious weeds of major concern includes: yellow starthistle, rush skeletonweed, spotted knapweed, leafy spurge, houndstongue, musk thistle, yellow toadflax, Canada thistle, whitetop, Russian knapweed, Scotch thistle, plumeless thistle, perennial sowthistle, and black henbane. The rapid spread of these noxious weeds is a serious threat to the ecology and economy of Eastern Idaho.
The HWCWMA shares funds, equipment, staff, and ideas across jurisdictional boundaries. In hopes that a coordinated and cooperative weed-fighting strategy will result in more effective "on-the-ground" weed control. The HWCWMA supports an area-wide integrated noxious weed control program that uses all available tools and techniques to combat noxious weeds. The members meet 4 to 5 times a year to identify priorities and monitor progress. Additional ad hoc meetings occurred throughout the year to work out implementation strategies for specific projects.
Current Project Progress
We created many projects to complete in 2024 with 10 being funded as Idaho State Department of Agriculture (ISDA) projects during 2024 to try and address the most weed control as possible. All projects focused on herbicide treatments, and all were completed as planned. A Total of 11,021 acres were treated total and surveyed over 16,000 acres.
High Country assisted the CWMA apply for and ISDA grant to fund $255,209.00 for the 2025 field season. The CWMA plans to treat 12,322 acres.
The CWMA-Wide Project was set up such that if a new or greatly expanded noxious weed infestation is discovered in early summer, treatment plans could quickly pivot to address that infestation. Although rush skeletonweed continues to show up in more areas of the CWMA, no other new EDRR infestations were discovered. The yellow starthistle infestation in Bingham County remains but control efforts in recent years have been very successful.
Click here for the Headwaters CWMA 2024 End of Year Report
If you are a landowner needing help with noxious weeds in the Headwaters CWMA area we encourage you to contact your County Weed Superindendent or attend any of our meetings to get information and aid in treating your property.