Knapweed pulling party Saturday at Rocks of Sharon

PUBLIC LANDS — A knapweed pulling party is scheduled at the Rocks of Sharon area of the Dishman Hills Conservation Area ‘s Iller Creek Unit on Saturday, June 13.

Meet at the Stevens Creek trailhead parking area at 9 a.m.

Organizer Bob Strong recommends bringing at least two liters of water, work gloves and a gardening trowel or big, flat tip screwdriver. “Using one of those tools makes it a lot easier to get all of the taproot out, which is essential,” he said.

Knapweed is a highly invasive foreign weed that chokes out native vegetation by absorbing soil nutrients and moisture, Strong said.

• See details of noxious weeds on the Spokane County Weed Board website .

“It also excretes a poisonous compound into the soil that further weakens native plants. It will eventually spread and take over any area where it gets started unless suppressed or eradicated.”

Knapweed is one of the most common foreign weeds in this area.

Directions: From the junction with 57th Avenue, drive southeast on Palouse Highway 5.5 miles and turn left (north) on Stevens Creek Road. Follow this road 2.2 miles to the trailhead parking area.

“You can stay and work as long as you want to and leave when you want to,” Strong said, noting that volunteers can pick as much knapweed as they want for free.