YAMPA RIVER LEAFY SPURGE PROJECT
Grants
Green/Yampa River
Inundative Biological Control Strategy Project
Spring 2025 Update
In February our Inundative Biological Control Strategy Project (IBCS) grant funds were frozen by the federal government. At this time we anticipate having to cut back on the original scope of our planned biological control activities. We intend to field a smaller, but energetic crew of unpaid volunteers this summer, to collect and distribute leafy spurge beetles on multiple participating private, city and state properties. As in the past, we will also be working with the Yampa River State Wildlife Area to help distribute spurge biological control purchased with state funds, as well as coordinating with the Moffat and Routt County weed programs. ​Monitoring of existing biocontrol populations will also be a priority this summer, although, again, the number of individuals able to do that monitoring will unfortunately have to be reduced.
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In early April, the County Commissioners of Moffat and Routt counties wrote a joint letter to Senators Hickenlooper and Bennet, and Congressmen Neguse and Hurd. Their letter outlines the importance of the Yampa River Leafy Spurge Project's contributions to state-mandated weed control, and sums up with:
"This popular public-private partnership program relies on the use of voluntary participation from willing landowners and deploys volunteers to maximize financial efficiencies. It is precisely the type of program that must continue if we are to meet our obligations under Colorado law to manage leafy spurge. We ask that you help us in our efforts by advocating for continued federal funding through The Green/Yampa River Inundative Biological Control Strategy Project. We stand ready to support you in those advocacy efforts."
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To see a copy of the Commissioners' letter, click HERE.
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See also "Routt and Moffat county commissioners call for continued federal funding for invasive weed control," published in the Steamboat Pilot & Today, May 1, 2025.
Introduction (from Spring 2024)
The Green/Yampa River Inundative Biological Control Strategy Project (IBCS) is funded through a grant received by Dinosaur National Monument (along with Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and Grand Canyon National Park) in late 2023, as part of a larger National Park Service Colorado River Invasive Species initiative, using federal Inflation Reduction Act dollars. It is a multi-year project (2024-2030), and funding is primarily for acquiring and dispersing biological control agents for Russian knapweed and leafy spurge in the Green and Yampa river watersheds, on any lands that are managed by a willing partner (including private lands).
The Yampa River Leafy Spurge Project’s track record—for working with public and private partners to distribute leafy spurge biological control in the Yampa River watershed—substantially contributed to the success of the IBCS grant process. The YRLSP is recognized as a primary partner with Dinosaur National Monument for future biological control efforts using IBCS funding. The Friends of the Yampa, in their role as the YRLSP’s fiscal agent, will also participate in the “banking” and distribution of IBCS project funding.
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An organizational meeting to develop a Work Plan for the IBCS was held on January 22, 2024. To read the meeting notes, click HERE.
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Emily Spencer, of Dinosaur National Monument, also presented a PowerPoint on the IBCS grant at the January 22 meeting, which can be viewed HERE.
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So, just what is an "Inundative Biological Control Strategy"? See a detailed discussion on our Biological Control page, HERE.
IBCS-funded Leafy Spurge Biological Control
2024 Accomplishments
Inundative Biological Control Strategy Project funds purchased 32,050 leafy spurge biological control insects from the Colorado Department of Agriculture in early 2024. These were then released in Dinosaur National Monument, on private lands near Craig during the 2024 YRLSP Show Me Trip, and on the Yampa River State Wildlife Area during the two-day YRLSP Youth Outreach event.
This year’s leafy spurge biological control collection trip to Ashton, Idaho, was also funded with IBCS grant money. On July 6-9, thirteen participants from the Leafy Spurge Project, Dinosaur National Monument, Colorado Department of Agriculture, Friends of the Yampa, and private landowners from Sunbeam traveled to Ashton, Idaho, to catch, sort, and transport leafy spurge beetles back to the Yampa River. The result was the release of approximately 72,550 leafy spurge biocontrol insects at multiple locations in the Yampa Basin, plus and an additional 7,300 released on the Green River in Dinosaur National Monument, just downstream of the confluence with the Yampa. For a more detailed description of the Idaho collection trip, click HERE.