Tim Leeds Havre Daily News tleeds@havredailynews.com
A local conservationist has warned that a plant brought to north-central Montana 100 yeas ago could present a problem in Beaver Creek Park for future generations. “Unfortunately, different things we brought into this country we thought were very beautiful but turned out to be a real problem,” Conrad Nystrom, chair of the Hill County Conservation District, told the Beaver Creek Park Board at its meeting Monday. Nystrom said a patch of Russian Olive trees, brought into the area to be used for shelter belts and windbreaks during the homesteading era, are growing near Eagle Rock in Beaver Creek Park. The problem, Nystrom said, is once the trees grow in a wetland area they tend to crowd out the other vegetation. “In 50 to 75 years the area from there on down would be solid Russian Olive,” Nystrom said. “It’s our hope and recommendation that the county deal with those immediately.” Russian Olives were also a topic of a conservation tour of the Milk River in April. Hill County Weed District Supervisor Terry Turner told members of the river float-trip tour that when Russian Olives grow in areas with large amounts of water, like river or creek banks, they take over. Warren Kellogg of the Montana DepartResources and Conservation told the tour group that DNRC is dealing with Russian Olives that are causing problems all over the state. Although they did not seem too bad on the Milk River west of Havre, he said, if not dealt with they could become so thick that people could not push through them to reach the river. Nystrom suggested Monday that the county look into designating the trees a noxious weed, which would increase control of the plant and possibly prevent it from taking over in areas like Beaver Creek. It could also lead to the state declaring the species a noxious weed, he said. Nystrom said declaring the plant a noxious weed could lead to problems, because the trees are so common in shelter belts throughout the county. “I think it’s very beautiful ,” Nystrom said, “and if you declared it a noxious weed what would you do with them?” Park Board Member Mel Gomke asked the same question. Not many other trees will grow in the arid plains of north-central Montana, he said. Gomke pointed out that the area in Beaver Creek with Russian Olives is relatively small, and doesn’t seem to be spreading south. Nystrom said that isn’t certain. “I’m not so sure it isn’t moving south,” he said. “I think it could.” Another issue is wildlife habitat, he said. Russian Olive, which was widely promoted in Montana until the early 1970s, was originally thought of as providing wildlife habitat. Now, research is showing that native vegetation is much better for habitat, Nystrom said. Many native animals including up to one-third of native birds living near streams, including a number of rarer species will not live in areas dominate by Russian Olives. Nystrom said Russian Olives do not support many insects, so this is especially true for animals which live off of them. “It’s not as good a deal as we thought it was,” he said. Nystrom said the conservation district believes the county needs to do something quickly to take care of the Russian Olives in Beaver Creek. “My biggest concern on Beaver Creek is it will take over ,” he said. “It’s going to cost you a lot more, eventually, if you don’t deal with it, I think.” The board agreed to discuss the issue with Weed District Supervisor Terry Turner, and to look into the possibility of declaring it a noxious weed only in streamside or wetland areas. Park Board Chair Steve Mariani said he agreed it was the right time to look into it. “It is kind of nice to know about it before it becomes a nightmare,” he said.ment of Natural
