Salem, Oregon - The planting of desirable grasses and other vegetation is a key strategy in restoring habitat for salmon and other threatened or endangered species in Oregon. But it will do no good if what is planted is infested with weed seeds. The Oregon Department of Agriculture is using education as a means to ensure the right kind of seeds go into the ground this spring.

"We definitely believe in the importance of habitat restoration projects on both agricultural and non-agricultural lands," says ODA director Katy Coba. "We just need to make sure efforts are not compromised by the introduction of weeds in those sensitive areas."

From the two-acre landowner who plants from a 20-pound bag of seed to a federal agency land manager responsible for thousands of acres that may buy seed by the ton, using clean, weed-free seed is critical to repairing the land.

"We have some major weeds out there right now and don't need any more from the planting of seeds," says Tim Butler, manager of ODA's Weed Control Program. Yellow starthistle, knapweed, and white top are examples of the kinds of weeds that can turn a restoration project sour over time.

"Habitat restoration projects are designed to get a desirable species to establish in a sensitive area," says Butler. "Grasses you are trying to establish have a fibrous root system that holds the soil together and prevents erosion. But if something undesirable like knapweed gets a hold, it can dominate the site with a tap-root system that doesn't hold the soil and can increase siltation in nearby streams."

Oregon's history- both past and present- offers examples of the unintended consequences of seed plantings that inadvertently included weeds.

In the late 1980s, to prevent erosion, the U.S. Forest Service used aircraft to drop grass seed on thousands of acres destroyed by fire in Northeast Oregon. Unfortunately, that seed was contaminated with yellow starthistle. The weed spread like a biological wildfire itself and became an expensive problem to deal with.

In the late 1990s, contaminated wheatgrass seed originating from California but sold by a Central Oregon seed dealer introduced yellow starthistle to several counties. As part of the construction of a new spillway at Ochoco Reservoir, a five acre site was seeded in 1997 with the tainted supply. When the site was monitored the following summer, starthistle was thriving. Workers had to hand pull hundreds of the unwanted weeds. Officials say the damage caused by contaminated seed may be worse than if the site had not been seeded at all. Today, the site still needs to be monitored to control any starthistle plants that might pop up.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of weed-free seeds- or more.

"It's better to spend the dollars up front- before planting," says Jim Cramer, administrator of ODA's Commodity Inspection Division.

ODA provides regulatory oversight of seed dealers through sampling and testing of product as well as auditing of records. Some companies may end up facing a civil penalty for selling seed containing a prohibited noxious weed. But even the most reputable of companies can find themselves in trouble with weed seeds if they don't intensively sample and test what they have. That's where the education role comes in for ODA.

Purchasers of seed- especially those involved in habitat restoration projects- need to make sure sampling and testing has been done. That goes for the farmer or rancher as well as the big agencies responsible for large tracts of land.

"Individual landowners probably can't afford additional sampling and testing of the seed," says Cramer. "But at a minimum, they can ask their supplier for the test reports and blending sheets. They should know the origin of their seed. Large agencies and municipalities have the opportunity to resample and retest the seed to minimize the potential of spreading noxious weeds in Oregon."

Another indicator of seed purity is the label. Like any other product sold commercially, the label will tell the buyer what the package contains- or at least it is supposed to. Some weed seeds are not prohibited as part of a seed lot. But the information should appear on the label.

"We tell municipalities and individual landowners never accept seed that is not labeled," says Cramer. "The label must state the variety and kind of each component in the bag including the weed seed amount by weight as well as any noxious weed that might be in there. The origin, purity, and germination for each component must be on the label."

All this effort should be done before the planting of the seed. Once it is in the ground, any weed problems are much more costly in time, effort, and money.

Finally, Cramer advises the big purchasers of seed to "bank" the good stuff.

"Once they have a clean seed lot established and they have confidence in it, they should make sure they buy enough of it. Every time you go out and buy seed, you have to go through the whole process of sampling and testing again. If you have already done that for one lot and you feel good about it, why do it again?"

Of course, any questions about the test reports, the blending reports, the labels or anything else connected to seeds should be referred to ODA.

Restoration projects will continue. Despite the strong reputation enjoyed by Oregon's seed industry, it never hurts to be certain about what is being planted. A weed seed planted today can undermine a project counted upon for tomorrow.

For more information, contact Bruce Pokarney at (503) 986-4559.

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