Ft. Peck Vegetation & Soil Assessment

Added: May 25, 2017 3:30 pm As part of the Fort Peck Project Invasive Species Management Plan, the U.S Corps of Engineers (USACE), Fort Peck Project, Fort Peck, Montana has scheduled aerial herbicide applications for Tamarix spp. (saltcedar) control on approximately 300 acres in Garfield and Phillips County's on Fort Peck Lake, Montana. Applications are scheduled for mid-July 2017. Research and monitoring will be conducted beginning pre-herbicide application as soon as contract is awarded and ending in 01May2022 at the Seven Blackfoot Drainage, Billy Coulee, and Armstrong Coulee areas of Fort Peck Reservoir.

To determine response to vegetation and soil community following herbicide applications to control saltcedar. The Contractor will assess vegetation and soil community and other characteristics at specified sites prior to herbicide application and post herbicide application.

Contractor will complete vegetation and soil assessment monitoring, studies and analyses. The data collected will be used to determine the impacts of management treatments in terms of vegetation abundance, species richness and relative species diversity. Soil analysis will allow us to monitor the effect of saltcedar (and saltcedar removal) on characteristics important for native plant growth. A Sampling and Analysis Plan (SAP) will not formally be provided by USACE.

There are three monitoring sites; Seven Blackfoot Drainage, Billy Coulee and Armstrong Coulee. At Seven Blackfoot Drainage, there will be fifteen 100 m transects parallel to the local topography (i.e., parallel to the lake shore or the stream channel).