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lishing the Federal Interdepartmental Committee on Management 

 of Noxious and Exotic Weeds. The Forest Service will serve as co- 

 chair of this committee. 



The Forest Service has been effective in implementing both pre- 

 vention and control programs for noxious weeds on national forest 

 system lands. We emphasize preventing the introduction of a nox- 

 ious weed as the most important action. The most effective preven- 

 tion programs are cooperative efforts with State and county weed 

 organizations, and surveys for invading noxious weeds conducted 

 cooperatively by the Forest Service and Uvestock permitees. 



In wilderness and back-country areas, we are working with out- 

 fitters, guides, volunteers and recreationists. In addition, noxious 

 weed information for the public is provided at ranger district offices 

 arid recreation trailheads. A new prevention program developed for 

 the national forests in Colorado and Wyoming will require all hay 

 brought on to national forest system lands to be certified as weed- 

 free. 



If prevention efforts fail, operations to control the noxious weed 

 must be conducted. The most effective control operations are coop- 

 erative efforts between Federal, State, county and private land 

 owners. The control programs are usually designed to eradicate a 

 noxious weed within an entire watershed so that we can prevent 

 a reestablishment by water or animals after the control operation. 



To encourage these cooperative efforts, the Forest Service has 

 helped to estabUsh the Western Weed Coordinating Committee 

 which focuses on coordinating noxious weed programs among all 

 land owners. Other coordination actions include the sharing of 

 equipment and personnel, combined training and biological and 

 chemical controls. 



When a new exotic pest is discovered in the United States, a se- 

 ries of immediate research activities must be conducted. These in- 

 clude research on how to survey and determine the extent of the 

 infestation, how to prevent the spread of the pest, how to eradicate 

 it, and what, if any, damage it will do. Because introductions of ex- 

 otic pests cannot be anticipated, it is difficult for us to build fiind- 

 ing for this research into our regular program. We are working to 

 solve this problem because we believe that this research is some of 

 the most cost-effective research we can do. 



In response to the exotic plant problem in Hawaii, the Forest 

 Service is working with the Park Service, the Fish and Wildlife 

 Service, the Hawaii State Department of Agriculture, the State for- 

 ester and the University of Hawaii in a biological control program. 

 We are working to develop biological controls and we have been 

 successful in securing release of insects that have been very effec- 

 tive against gorse. 



A similar problem exists on national forest system lands. Many 

 species of exotic plants are invading these lands. The Department 

 of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service is conducting much 

 of the research that is being done on these exotic plants, but there 

 is still much research that needs to be done. To initiate efforts on 

 these forest and rangeland ecosystem noxious weeds, the Forest 

 Service is currently evaluating a proposal to co-locate a biological 

 control unit at Bozeman, Montana, with ARS and with Montana 

 State University. 



