Award purposethis project creates a strong partnership between the malheur county noxious weed department (mcnwd) and the vale district BLM to aggressively combat invasive weeds that threaten public…

The Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management Oregon-Washington awarded a $100,000 Cooperative Agreement to the County of Malheur on February 2, 2026, under the Good Neighbor Authority program (CFDA 15.015) to conduct invasive species management across public and private lands in Oregon through February 1, 2031.

The award funds a partnership between the Malheur County Noxious Weed Department and the Vale District BLM to conduct comprehensive weed surveys using GPS technology, apply targeted control methods across public roads, private lands, and BLM-managed areas, and perform ongoing monitoring and evaluation of treated sites. Priority species include rush skeletonweed, yellow starthistle, leafy spurge, knapweeds, toadflax, saltcedar, whitetop, pepperweed, medusahead rye, and ventenata. Deliverables include accurate GPS-based maps of weed infestations and treatment areas, treated sites across public and private lands, improved native plant growth, reduced wildfire risk, improved forage for wildlife and livestock, and enhanced water quality and scenic conditions. The work directly benefits local landowners, BLM, wildlife, livestock, the public, firefighters, and land managers through coordinated ecosystem restoration and hazardous fuels reduction across property boundaries.

Award purposethis project creates a strong partnership between the malheur county noxious weed department (mcnwd) and the vale district BLM to aggressively combat invasive weeds that threaten public and private lands. By coordinating efforts across property boundaries, the project will stop the spread of harmful species, protect native plants and wildlife, improve ecosystem health, and reduce wildfire risk. This collaboration ensures that weed control is strategic, efficient, and benefits the entire landscapenot just isolated parcels.activities to be performedcomprehensive weed surveys: locate and map infestations using advanced GPS technology to create accurate, up-to-date records of invasive species.targeted weed treatments: apply proven control methods on public roads, private lands, and BLM-managed areas to reduce infestations and prevent spread.ongoing monitoring and evaluation: revisit treated sites to confirm success, track regrowth, and adjust strategies for long-term control.priority species management: focus on high-impact weeds such as rush skeletonweed, yellow starthistle, leafy spurge, knapweeds, toadflax, saltcedar, whitetop, pepperweed, medusahead RYE, and ventenata, which pose the greatest threat to habitat health and fire safety.expected deliverablesaccurate maps of weed infestations and treatment areastreated sites across public and private landshealthier landscapes with stronger native plant growthreduced wildfire risk through better vegetation managementimproved forage for wildlife and livestockcleaner water and better scenic views for the publicintended beneficiarieslocal landowners, who will see fewer weeds spreading onto their propertyblm, which manages public landswildlife and livestock, which will have better food and habitatthe public, who will enjoy safer, healthier, and more beautiful landsfirefighters and land managers, who will benefit from reduced fire risk