Get reliable rangeland science

As part of an interdisciplinary research project during 2012-2015 we sought to identify and rank key factors that most limit the ability of stakeholders to control the spread of medusahead (Taeniatherum caput-medusae) in southern Cache County. Part of the local scene for over 20 years, medusahead has been viewed as a chronic and potentially dangerous adversary that has largely defied eradication efforts. We considered technical, economic, social, and institutional factors in our qualitative analysis. We used a multi-method approach founded on focus groups and interviews with stakeholders that included weed researchers, agency land-management personnel, and various landowner groups. While the final data set was patchy, it was sufficient to complete our objective. Overall, low and irregular funding emerged as the key factor most limiting progress for both applied research and outreach. Considerable study is still required to identify best practices for medusahead control with respect to herbicide application and vegetation manipulation; this requires higher levels of support than have been typical. Lack of an effective technical package for adoption by landowners remains the single biggest stumbling block; no package equals less landowner interest. Control efforts have been dominated by risky and sometimes costly seat-of-the-pants approaches; these result in stakeholder apathy. Adequate funding is also needed to attract and retain high caliber, well-trained "weed outreach coordinators" who can effectively engage the public and maintain programmatic continuity. A secondary factor of importance is the high degree of socio-economic heterogeneity in the study area; a weed coordinator must rally a critical mass of landowners to undertake weed control across the landscape; adjacent landowners may not share common views as to the nature or urgency of weed-related problems. Finally, institutional matters did not emerge as a constraint in our analysis. Weed professionals only reported positive experiences concerning their collaborative, inter-agency efforts to help control weeds.