The W**dWise program was created by the Clackamas SWCD to promote effective management of invasive w**ds in Clackamas County, Oregon. Invasive w**ds are plants that live outside their historic geographical range, and exhibit aggressive growth which has a detrimental impact on our social, economic, or ecologic resources. W**ds affect us in many ways including:
• Displace native vegetation
• Reduce crop yields
• Harm fish and wildlife
• Adversely affect human health
• Damage property and infrastructure
• Reduce forage for livestock and wildlife
• Decrease property values
• Increase erosion
• Decrease water quality and quantity
• Limit land use
• Disrupt ecological processes
Invasive w**ds are a form of biological pollution that alter landscapes. They not only degrade the quality of our land but convert that land into new sources of biological pollution. Actively management of these invasive w**ds prevents the establishment of additional infestations. As a result, controlling our invasive w**ds is imperative to preserving the integrity of our public and private lands. W**ds have a profound impact on our local economy. A recent study by the Oregon Department of Agriculture found that just 25 of our state-listed noxious w**d cost Oregonians $83.5 million a year in lost personal income. They estimate that if left unchecked, these same w**ds could cost Oregonians as much as $1.8 billion annually. These expenses are absorbed by all of us through increased food costs, higher taxes, and decreased property values. W**ds can also have a profound impact on our natural areas, where they displace diverse native plant communities. This expansion of w**d populations alters ecological processes and disrupts complex food webs that adversely affect fish and wildlife. The result is a landscape that is much less productive and less resilient to changing conditions. W**ds result in land that is more homogenous and less like the Oregon we love.
