Glacier-Two Medicine Alliance is co-hosting the first annual Two Medicine Community Weed Pull and Education Event on Saturday, August 6 to help fight noxious weeds in the Badger-Two Medicine. Volunteers are needed! This family-friendly event includes a couple hours of pulling weeds along access trails and riparian corridors in the beautiful Badger-Two Medicine, followed by a grilled lunch, educational presentations about invasive weeds’ ecological and cultural impacts, awards, and fabulous door prizes. 

This event is a great chance to get outside as a community, do some good for the land, enjoy a hot grilled lunch and maybe win an award (most weeds, longest taproot, etc.) or some cool door prizes. No experience is necessary and all ages are welcome.

Volunteers should meet at 9 a.m. in the gravel parking area across from the Glacier Trading Company in East Glacier for orientation and to caravan to trailheads in the Badger-Two Medicine.

Volunteers should dress appropriately for the weather, wear sturdy walking shoes, and bring a water bottle and snacks. We’ll have extra work gloves, tools as well a few bear sprays, if you’d like to borrow or you may bring your own.

 If you think you can participate, an RSVP would be appreciated to help us plan for lunch.

EDUCATIONAL PRESENTATIONS AND DOOR PRIZES

After the morning pull in the Badger-Two Medicine, the event shifts to Rising Wolf Ranch for a hot, grilled lunch, educational presentations, awards and drawings for door prizes. This year’s presenters are Pondera County Weed Coordinator Pam Converse who will discuss the ecological impacts of noxious weeds, Blackfeet traditional foods expert Mariah Gladstone who will discuss the impacts of weeds on traditional foods and other culturally significant plants, and Will Dewey from the Rocky Mountain Front Weed Roundtable who will offer insights on the use of biocontrols and other herbicide alternatives to manage noxious weeds. 

PART OF A BROADER EFFORT

The Community Weed Pull is one component of Glacier-Two Medicine Alliance’s efforts to help improve public and private cooperation in noxious weed management in the Badger-Two Medicine and adjacent private and public lands of the Blackfeet Reservation and Glacier National Park. Noxious weeds are a primary threat to the outstanding fish and wildlife habitat and biological diversity in one of the most intact ecosystems left in the United States. Noxious weeds also impact traditional foods and other plants that are culturally significant to Blackfeet people. And they have a huge impact on rural livelihoods, especially agriculture. To help fight the scourge of noxious weeds, Glacier-Two Medicine Alliance participated in the annual Marias Pass Spray Day (thank you to all our volunteers who showed up!), is sponsoring additional weeds work in the Badger-Two Medicine by the Piikani Lands Service Crew (an all Blackfeet conservation crew hosted by the Montana Conservation Corps), will release approximately 7,000 additional knapweed root weevils, and taking steps to improve monitoring in order to stop the spread.

THANK YOU TO OUR CO-SPONSORS AND DONORS

Partnerships are key to success. Glacier-Two Medicine Alliance would like to thank all our co-sponsors, donors, and volunteers for pulling together to fight noxious weeds!

Event Co-Sponsors

• Rocky Mountain Front Weed Roundtable

• Wild Montana

• The Wilderness Society

A huge thank you to Jim and Chris Stewart at Rising Wolf Ranch who generously provided the lunch.

Door prizes were donated by area businesses and the Montana Wildlife Federation.

MORE INFORMATION 

For more information or questions about the Two Medicine Community Weed Pull, please contact our community engagement coordinator Jordyn Steele at jordyn@glaciertwomedicine.org.