"Hello Everyone,

 Congressman Walden applauds House passage of Weeds bill, 10/4/04, Walden's office.

Congressman Walden wanted you to know that today the House of Representatives passed the Harmful Non-Native Weed Control Act (S. 144), introduced by Senator Larry Craig from Idaho.  Greg cosponsored a bill with the same language in the House and is a long-time proponent of providing federal assistance to states and eligible weed management entities so they have the tools necessary to control, and possibly eradicate, noxious weeds. 

Greg believes that noxious weeds must be contained where they currently live and be removed before we lose more of our natural resources and wildlife habitat.  Weeds are causing serious resource damage, resulting in a significant decline in the health of our forests, range and private lands.  Over 100 million acres are known to be infested with invasive weeds nationwide, a number that is increasing by 3 million acres each year.  There are over 20 million acres of public land occupied by weeds and that number is increasing by 4,600 acres per day by some estimates.  The displacement of native plants by weeds has also increased the potential for listing of both plants and animals under the Endangered Species Act. 

The funds authorized in this bill will fall under the supervision of the Secretary of the Interior and will be allocated to provide assistance to eligible weed management entities, coordinate projects with existing weed management areas and districts, stimulate the formation of additional local or regional cooperative weed management entities, and leverage additional funds from a variety of public and private sources.  Projects would be conducted on both public and private lands to promote healthy, diverse, and desirable native plant communities by reducing the threat posed by harmful, non-native weeds. 

Representing Oregon's Second District, Greg has firsthand knowledge of how destructive these plants can become.  He has toured public land covered with invasive weeds, like yellow star thistle, and has witnessed first hand how thousands of acres can be destroyed.  This destruction is not limited to public land and many private landowners have contacted the Greg, asking that pressure be placed on their federal neighbors to control the spread of weeds from public to private lands. 

Additionally, Greg continues to work along side his colleagues in the Congress to secure funding for programs like the Agricultural Research Service center in Burns and other invasive weed research programs in the region.  These funds are a giant step towards ensuring that research programs, like the one in Burns, have the personnel and equipment to arm us all with the research so that we can all better battle invasive weeds.

If you have a question or comment, please give me a call or send me an email. 

Thank you and have a great day!  

Colby

P.S. I encourage you to take a moment to visit Greg's website at http://walden.house.gov where you can send him an email, read about current legislative issues, fill out an online survey and also sign up for his weekly e-newsletter, the Oregon Congressional Connection."

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Colby Marshall

Congressman Greg Walden's office