Corps targets vegetation on sandbars
BY ALYSSA MEIER
Editor
Missouri River sandbars south of the Garrison Dam will undergo some vegetation control next month, as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers attempts to create some more suitable habitat for native species.
According to the Corps, certified applicators will use helicopters to begin spraying sandbars between the Garrison Dam and Huff in September. The spraying is meant to keep the sandbars free of vegetation, in hopes of increasing the nesting areas for the endangered interior least tern and threatened piping plover.
Approximately 250 acres of sandbar are in need of treatment, which will use glyphosate and imazapyr herbicides, both approved for aquatic use by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Spraying will take place on days when there is little wind or rain, with priority being to spray during the week.
The Corps began current vegetation control and removal activities on selected sandbars in 2012.
