Management of Cattail (Typha spp.) Stands with Glyphosate to Disperse Blackbirds

Authors

George M. Linz, United States Department of Agriculture/APHIS/WS National Wildlife Research CenterFollow
H. Jeffrey Homan, United States Department of Agriculture
Ryan L. Wimberly, United States Department of Agriculture, North Dakota/South Dakota Wildlife Services
Philip Mastrangelo, United States Department of Agriculture, North Dakota/South Dakota Wildlife Services
William J. Bleier, North Dakota State University, Fargo

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

10-6-2004

Citation

Published in the Proceedings of the International Sunflower Conference, Fargo, North Dakota, United States

Comments

United States government work

Abstract

In the Prairie Pothole Region of North Dakota and South Dakota, blackbirds (Icteridae) gather by the thousands in large premigratory roosts in late summer and early fall. Wetlands dominated by cattails (Typha spp.) provide ideal roosting habitat for these aggregations. Sunflower fields near large roosts can receive substantial damage. To eliminate potential roosting sites, Wildlife Services of the United States Department of Agriculture has implemented a cattail management program that aerially sprays dense cattail stands with the herbicide glyphosate m-(phosphonomethyl) glycine]. The continued viability of the program depends on a positive benefit-cost ratio and minimal environmental impacts. In this paper, we discuss the economics and ecological implications of cattail management in the northern Great Plains.