Improving landowner access to effective invasive weed management methods

Invasive plants threaten native biodiversity, degrade range and agricultural land, and have the potential to cost billions of dollars annually. Despite plentiful scientific information and resources on this topic, landowners and managers often fail to manage weeds effectively. Successful weed management requires proactive and effective action relevant to particular weed species and environmental conditions, and persistence over time. We have created an easy-to-use web tool designed specifically for private landowners that integrates environmental conditions input by users (including, but not limited to, weed species and coverage, and desired management outcome) and current scientific information in order to recommend best practices for custom weed management. The goal of our tool is to facilitate successful management actions by connecting motivated landowners to the appropriate and most effective methods and resources. We plan to promote the use of this tool among landowners in and around the Missoula Valley in order to ensure that the resources available to control and prevent weed infestations are accessible to those who need them