adn.com | Talk Dirt To Me : Invasive weeds bill moves to Senate

Talk Dirt To Me

Do you love to make mud pies, grow a houseplant, eat veggies, or stop to smell the bouquet on your co-workers desk? Everyone enjoys a bit of green growing around him or her and then there are those that are passionate and needy when it comes to dabbling in the dirt. With this blog, we'll try to satisfy those needs and tell you about what's going on with the Anchorage gardening scene. You know, as I finally learned, it's all about the dirt.

Photographer and gardener Fran Durner (fdurner@adn.com) writes the blog.

Interactive Map

2008 Anchorage garden tour

Take an interactive tour of the gardens showing in Anchorage's garden tour, with photos and audio commentary from each gardener.

Invasive weeds bill moves to Senate

Posted by talkdirt

Posted: March 17, 2008 - 10:39 pm

Cheryl writes: Weed warriors, there's good news from Juneau.

Lori and Troy Zaumseil report that HB 330 had its second and third reading on St. Patrick's Day on the floor of the House -- fitting, since it's such a good green bill -- and was put up for full vote. it passed unanimously.

This is the bill that would create a statewide weed coordinator as well as set up a program to organize efforts to fight invasive, noxious weeds in our state.

This would be the first step toward making Alaska eligible for federal funding and creating long-term strategies and defenses against the threat.

These aren't innocuous garden-variety weeds we're talking about but weeds like the river-clogging purple loosestrife that states Outside have spent tens of millions of tax dollars trying (mostly unsuccessfully) to eradicate. Or orange hawkweed, which crowds out and kills every forage plant around it. They and others like them threaten wildlife and salmon and have started showing up in Alaska.

But here, we still have a small window of time to stop them before they establish themselves.

Rep. Craig Johnson, R-Anchorage, who sponsored the bill, spoke briefly on its merits and Rep. Max Gruenberg, D-Anchorage, also spoke on its behalf.

Rep Gruenberg noted that he'd received a copy of the noxious weed pocket guide available for free at Cooperative Extension Service offices and passed it on to a Master Gardener friend. She assured him that these invaders are a serious problem and fighting them is worthy of his support, and he endorsed the bill prior to the vote.

The measure goes now to the Senate Resources and Finance Committees. If it's passed there, it will go to the full Senate for a vote, and if successful, on to Gov. Palin.

All this has to happen before the end of the session, so as Lori says, it's a race against time.

login or register to post comments

1 March 18, 2008 - 5:23pm | tagalak

Thank You Lori & Troy Zaumseil

Wow.... I heard from Dora Wainright at CES in Anchorage that this bill did pass and how proud everyone at Cooperative Extension Service was of both Lori and Troy. It's great to live in a state where a couple voices CAN make to our state... for the betterment of our state in fighting invasives!!! Thanks to both Lori and Troy for pursuing this bill. I want them to know that what they are doing can and WILL make a difference. From my small section of Muldoon, I salute you both and say THANKS MUCHLY! Nickel LaFleur

login or register to post comments | flag this »

March 19, 2008 - 5:03am | imlorijean

Thank YOU

we appreciate your ongoing encouragement. There are lots of people around the state working on this issue (and have been for a long time), I think we were just sort of the spark plug that fired up the engine!! But it's rolling now! Not easing up though, it will take vigilance on the part of everyone!

See you at the Botanical Gardens Spring Conference!

Lori and Troy

login or register to post comments | flag this »

March 31, 2008 - 10:07am | tagalak

Great to meet you - Keep up the good work

Lori and Troy,
Thanks for being a large part of the Bloom Town Celebration as well as the Alaska Botanical Garden Fair's Sustainability Conference.... your dedication is commendable and remarkable! I remain in your corner as your biggest cheerleader.... Nickel LaFleur

login or register to post comments | flag this »

Search Jobs | Place an employment ad

Important warning about e-mails purporting to be from the adn.com staff.

Daily News Jobs | RSS Feeds | ADN Store | Newspapers in Education | Privacy Agreement

Talk Dirt To Me

Interactive Map

Multimedia

Garden clubs and associations

Garden resources

Garden Blogs

Archive

Invasive weeds bill moves to Senate