Presentations include:

2:00 PM:  Ylva Lekberg MPG Ranch Soil Ecologist

The Dirt on Weeds: How Invasive Plants Alter Soil Ecosystems, Influcence Restoration & Impact Soil Health

This talk will focus on invasive plants, soil health, and commercial microbial inoculations. Ylva Lekberg grew up in Sweden and earned her Ph.D. at The Pennsylvania State University in Ecology in 2004. Ylka’s research focused on agroecology in subsistence farmers’ fields in Zimbabwe. After graduation, she continued to explore the role of mycorrhizal fungi for plant thermal tolerance in Yellowstone National Parks and for coastal grasslands in Denmark. For the past 15 years, she has focused on how intermountain invasive plants alter soil ecosystems and what the consequence of this may be for restoration.

3:00 PM:  Bart Morris Oxbow Cattle Company Owner

Managing Invasive Plants in Regenerative Ranching

This talk will focus on restoring ecosystem health to manage noxious weeds utilizing land use practices that allow recovery time for pastures, increase biodiversity, the use livestock to graze invasive species, and the reduction of reliance on chemical or mechanical interventions. Bart Morris grew up in the Big Horn Basin of Wyoming, where he spent much of his childhood working on ranches, hunting, and fishing. After a 16-year career working for Wyoming and Montana as a game warden and access coordinator, Bart and his wife Wendy started Oxbow Cattle Company in 2014, a ranch based on integrity, regeneration, and community.

COMPLIMENTARY DINNER at 4:00 PM (provided by Deer Lodge & North Powell CDs & Powell County Invasive Plants Office)

Agricultural Plant Pest Control – 1 credit

Regulatory Weed – 1 credit

Right of Way Pest Control – 1 credit

Dealer – 1 credit

Private Agricultural Pest Control – 1 credit