BLM plans post-wildfire aerial herbicide treatment west of Maupin

PRINEVILLE, Ore. (KTVZ) -- The Bureau of Land Management's Prineville District Office will soon begin aerial spraying of the herbicide imazapic on 370 acres of land burned by the 2020 White River Fire, about 10 miles west of Maupin.

Application is weather-dependent and may occur any time between Monday and October 6, officials said. It is expected to take one day to complete.

All public entrances to these lands will be posted with herbicide and specific closure information prior to spraying. For safety, members of the public should stay out of this area during spraying and for 12 hours after spraying is complete.

The spraying will treat noxious weeds and invasive non-native weeds. A pre-burn analysis of the area indicated that one third of the approximately 1,100 acres of BLM-managed land burned in the wildfires was infested by noxious and invasive annual grasses. The analysis determined that the entire project area would be infested in seven years, if left untreated.

All treatments would be designed to minimize impacts to other resources such as water, wilderness, wildlife, and recreation. No herbicide will be applied within 100 feet of the White River, the BLM said.

Brand names of the herbicide imazapic include Plateau, Panoramic 2SL, and Nufarm 2SL.

For more information, please call the project lead, Larry Ashton, at (541) 416-6738. Project maps are available upon request from the Prineville District Office by calling (541) 416-6700.