BLM begins large-scale weed roundup

The Bureau of Land Management is taking to the air to kill weeds on the ground. The BLM Farmington Field Office and the San Juan Soil and Water Conservation District on Monday started the largest project of the year aimed at killing invasive weeds in San Juan County. The BLM contracted airplane pilots to drop herbicides on target areas throughout the week. The operation will try to kill 2,000 acres of cheatgrass and 20,000 acres of sagebrush in northwest New Mexico, mostly on BLM land, said Stan Dykes, the noxious weeds coordinator for the BLM in Farmington. The BLM will use different treatments for each of the two weeds. Sagebrush is a common invasive plant in the county because of a lack of wildfires, said Jeff Tafoya, a rangeland specialist for the BLM. The planes dropped tiny pellets of herbicide on the target areas. The pellets will dissolve the next time it rains and the chemicals will seep into the ground. The sagebrush's deep roots will eventually consume the chemical, which inhibits photosynthesis, Tafoya said...more