Grant County invasive grass bill gets first hearing

Published 2:15 pm Monday, March 8, 2021

A bill specific to Grant County had its first hearing.

The first public hearing for Senate Bill 21 was March 1 as local representatives and Grant County residents spoke on the importance of addressing what they called a disaster in Murderers Creek caused by invasive grass.

SB 21 directs the state Fish and Wildlife Commission to develop and adopt an invasive grass pilot program in the Phillip W. Schneider Wildlife Area.

The program will be designed to increase habitat quality and forage for mule deer and livestock, site resistance to grass invasion and understanding the roles that soil microbes, organic matter and nutrients play in affecting resistance to annual grass invasion.

State Sen. Lynn Findley, R-Vale, presented the bill to the Senate Committee On Natural Resources and Wildfire Recovery and said the bill is important to the residents of Grant County.

“Annual invasive grass species have altered the landscape in the South Fork of the John Day Watershed and reduced the ecosystem, including forage and habitat for wildlife and livestock,” Findley said.

Findley said the passage of the bill will continue to prioritize a reduction in annual invasive grass species and hopefully bring more skills and knowledge on eradicating invasive grass across Oregon in the future.

Rep. Mark Owens, R-Crane, testified in support of the bill and said the noxious weeds impact Oregon economically and through the fire regime. He said, when a fire goes through an area and restoration programs are not enacted, noxious weeds can develop.

Owens said he was able to view the impact of invasive grass that came from the Canyon Creek fire with Grant County resident Loren Stout. Owens saw miles of ventenata, an invasive grass, and said the area has the potential for another historical fire.

“This (invasive annual grass) came from the Canyon Creek fire, and we’re here to repeat that process again,” Owens said.

Grant County Commissioner Sam Palmer testified about firefighters and the detriment to their health when inhaling burning invasive grass.

“These three weeds (Medusa Head, ventenata and cheatgrass) are silica-based weeds that, when they burn, they put small glass particles in the air that our firefighters and citizens breath” that affects the lungs on a microscopic level, Palmer said.

Grant County resident Frances Preston said the Murderers Creek Wildlife Area is no longer viable due to the impacts from the invasive grass. She said the silica base makes invasive grass inconsumable by wildlife.

“I pray that you move Senate Bill 21 forward and provide the future support needed for ODFW to do what is now critically necessary to meet the goal to improve habitat, site resistance and resilience,” Preston said.

The committee will vote on the bill on a date not yet scheduled.