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Stinkingwater Area Medusahead Management Plan

Counties: Harney

Primary Resource Concern:
Pest pressure - Plant pest pressure
Degraded plant condition - Plant structure and composition

Project Description:
The goal of the Stinkingwater Area Medusahead Management Plan is to contain, compartmentalize, and reduce the medusahead infestation within the management area. The Stinkingwater Medusahead Management Area has been subdivided into 5 treatment units, which will be addressed using a phased approach over the course of approximately 14 years. The project is a cooperative effort with the Harney County CWMA with coordinated, landscape scale treatments on BLM, state, and private lands within the management area. Implementation began in the Phase 1 treatment unit - Beaver Table. It is anticipated that adequate financial assistance has been made available in FY2018 to treat all Phase 1 properties, and implementation in the Phase 2 treatment unit - Crane-Buchanan can begin in FY2019.

Conservation Practices Offered

  • Herbaceous Weed Control (315)
  • Integrated Pest Management (595)
  • Prescribed Grazing (528)
  • Fence (382)
  • Prescribed Burning (338)
  • Range Planting (550)
  • Access Control (472)
  • Firebreak (394)
  • Fuel Break (383)
  • Spring Development (574)
  • Water Well (642)
  • Pumping Plant (533)
  • Pipeline (516)
  • Watering Facility (614)
  • Upland Wildlife Habitat Management (645)

Collaborating Partners

  • Natural Resources Conservation Service
  • Bureau of Land Management
  • Harney County Cooperative Weed Management Area
  • Agricultural Research Service
  • Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
  • Oregon Department of Agriculture
  • OSU Extension
  • Department of State Lands
  • Private farmers and ranchers

Application Questions
NRCS uses prioritization questions to evaluate applications for this initiative. See the list of workload prioritization questions on the Oregon EQIP page. Ranking questions below will also apply.

Ranking Criteria

  1. Application is for Integrated Pest Management of Medusahead rye within the Phase 1 Beaver Table Unit or the Phase 2 Crane-Buchanan Unit of the Stinkingwater Medusahead Management Area.
  2. Application is for Integrated Pest Management of Medusahead rye within the Phase 3 South Stinkingwater Unit, the Phase 4 North Stinkingwater Unit, or the Phase 5 Crowley Unit of the Stinkingwater Medusahead Management Area.
  3. A road intersects or passes within 50 feet of the medusahead infestation.
    Answer Yes to 4 or 5, but not both.
  4. The medusahead infested area consists primarily of desirable perennial vegetation which is capable of natural recovery following treatment.
  5. The medusahead infested area includes monocultures of medusahead which will require range seeding to establish desirable perennial vegetation following treatment.
  6. The management unit generally supports a healthy plant community with a minimum of 3 deep rooted perennial bunchgrasses per square meter.