As stewards of over 3.2 million acres of public and private lands the Rogue Basin, the Jackson and Josephine County Cooperative Weed Management Areas (CWMAs) help in control invasive plants in riparian zones, floodplains, and wetlands throughout the Rogue Basin. Riparian areas are not truly restored if diverse native plant communities degrade over time from an invasion of aggressive non-native species.
The two CWMAs, who work together, are a group of state and federal agencies, local governments, tribes, nonprofits, community organizations, and individuals who have joined their efforts to combat invasive species in the Rogue Basin. Coordinated by RBP staff, the CWMAs provide a forum to share information and resources, collaborate on planning, and cooperate on invasive species management. The CWMAs work with integrated pest management experts. They also engage the public with “Let’s Pull Together” events for volunteers.
Much of the local efforts have targeted garlic mustard. Treatment and monitoring data indicate that the CWMAs are both preventing plants from going to seed and reducing soil seed banks. The program also targets other species, such as dyer’s woad, shiny geranium, barbed goatgrass, perennial pepperweed, houndstongue, spotted knapweed and Rush skeletonweed.
Principal funders have been the Oregon State Weed Board and the Bureau of Land Management.
