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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, plant productivity and health
  • Terrestrial habitat - Terrestrial habitat for wildlife and invertebrates
  • Fire management

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)
  • Prescribed Grazing (528)
  • Fence (382)
  • Prescribed Burning (338)
  • Access Control (472)
  • Firebreak (394)
  • Fuel Break (383)
  • Pumping Plant (533)
  • Pipeline (516)
  • Spring Development (574)
  • Pest Management Conservation System (595)
  • 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. Is the application for IPM of Medushead Rye within the Phase 1 Beaver Table Unit or the Phase 2 Crane-Buchanan Unit of the Stinkingwater Medusahead Rye Management Area?
  2. Is the application for IPM of Medusahead Rye within the Phase 3 South Stinkingwater Unit, Phase 4 North Stinkingwater Unit, or Phase 5 Crowley Unit of the Stinkingwater Medusahead Management Area?
  3. Does a road intersect or pass within 50 feet of the medusahead infestation?
    Answer yes to Q4 or Q5, but not both:
  4. Does the medusahead infested area consist primarily of desirable perennial vegetation which is capable of natural recovery following treatment? 
  5. Does the medusahead infested area include monocultures of medusahead which will require range seeding to establish desirable perennial vegetation following treatment?
  6. Does the management unit generally support a healthy plant community with a minimum of 3 deep rooted perennial bunchgrasses per m2?