In brief: Knapweed pulling party scheduled at Dishman Hills

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

Participants should 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.

“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.

Pend Oreille River trail planned

The region’s next great shared-use trail could be a 25-mile trail along the Pend Oreille River in Idaho from Oldtown near the Washington stateline east to Dover at Lake Pend Oreille.

Trail planning by local citizens – along with area, state and federal agencies – has been going on for years, and the National Park Service is on board.

A Pend Oreille River Passage Trailhead Party to roll out the draft plan is set for Saturday at two venues:

• Dover Joe and Roll, 101 N. 4th St. in Dover, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

• Rotary Park, U.S. 2, Oldtown, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.

The Rotary Park event includes a fair and an 11 a.m. presentation, with an opportunity to review and offer feedback on the draft plan.

Fire restrictions – already

The Wenatchee Ranger District will begin camfire restrictions starting Friday, noting that limiting fires to designated campgrounds in the first half of June is far earlier than normal.

A campfire restriction means that wood and charcoal fires are allowed only in designated campgrounds with fire rings, some classified Wilderness areas and specially designated sites.  Pressurized liquid gas stoves are still allowed.  Briquette fires are not allowed in the restricted area.

The campfire restrictions do not include developed campgrounds on the Wenatchee River Ranger District.

“The hot and windy conditions have cured many of the fire fuels in our area,” said Michelle Ellis, Fire Management Division Chief for Wenatchee River. “We try to avoid implementing campfire restrictions until absolutely necessary, but we’re there and we want to keep people and communities safe.”

Additional information is available on the web at: http://www.fs.usda.gov/okawen or by calling the

Wenatchee River Ranger District at 509.548.2550.  The Leavenworth office is open Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m.