In 1981 the Cass County Weed Control District was established to control the spread of noxious weeds in Cass County The District operates under a five member County Weed Board appointed by the County Commission . The Weed Control Officer is responsible for the daily activities of the District.
Mission: Provide leadership and education in the long term control of noxious weed management through cultural, biological and chemical control.
Fargo Cass Public Health in cooperation with Cass County Weed Control will be conducting their 4th Liatrus for Lythrum Plant Exchange Program on Wednesday, July 23 from 6-8 PM. The exchange sites will be at the Recycling site at 25th St. & 17th Ave S. Fargo, and the parking lot at the Veterans Memorial Arena, 10th St. & 7th Ave E. West Fargo.
All Fargo, West Fargo and Cass County residents are encouraged to dig up and bring in their Lythrum plants to exchange them for Liatrus. Residents will receive one Liatrus plant for each Lythrum brought in. Residents that have previously removed Lythrum from their gardens are also eligible to receive a Liatrus plant on a one for one exchange.
Lythrum, also called Purple loosestrife, is a non-native garden plant which has become a serious invader of North Dakota wetlands. Lythrum seeds spread to rivers, streams and waterfowl brood ponds, crowding out cattails and other native plants that deprive waterfowl and songbirds of their natural habitats. Liatrus is a native perennial flower that closely resembles Lythrum in size and flowering habit.
Wild Lythrum has been found in ditches and water ways in Cass and Richland Counties and in the Sheyenne River Valley south of Valley City. More than 1500 Lythrum plants have been exchanged in Fargo and Cass County during the previous plant exchanges. Each Lythrum plant is capable of producing over 1 million seeds which contributes to its explosive potential to infest our waterways.
For more information or comments on the pilot program, contact Stan Wolf, Weed Control Officer at (701) 298-2388. Lower Sheyenne Purple Loosestrife Project. Five counties in the lower Sheyenne River drainage basin from Valley City to the Red River cooperate in scouting the Sheyenne River drainage basin including the, Maple, Wild Rice, and Rush Rivers, drainage ditches and wetlands. Purple loosestrife and Salt cedar have been spotted in the project area, GPS mapped and controlled via hand pulling or chemical application. The scouting is conducted every year in late summer when the loosestrife is in boom and easiest to see.
Cass-Ransom-Richland Cooperative Weed Management Project. In 2004 Houndstongue was identified in Cass, Ransom, and Richland Counties . Houndstongue is toxic to livestock, especially horses, destroying the liver. Livestock will die about six months after ingesting a deadly portion. The cooperating counties will be scouting pastures and rangeland in southwestern Cass and in the Sheyenne Grasslands, identifying and controlling houndstongue infestations. Spotted knapweed, Common teasel, and Bull thistle, found in Cass County , are also included in this project.
Gravel Pit Weed Control. Barnes, Cass, Ransom, Richland , and Sargent county weed boards and gravel pit owners/operators in the five county area are cooperating develop a program for controlling noxious weeds in gravel pit areas. The goal is to reduce and eliminate the spread of noxious weed seeds with gravel and aggregate products. Gravel pit areas will be inspected by the weed officers and certificates will be issued if the pit areas comply with the ND Weed Control Law. We encourage all aggregate buyers to request a copy of the weed inspection certificate from their gravel supplier prior to purchasing any aggregate product.
In 1981 the Cass County Weed Control District was established to control the spread of noxious weeds in Cass County The District operates under a five member County Weed Board appointed by the County Commission . The Weed Control Officer is responsible for the daily activities of the District.
