Yellowflag Iris and Purple Loosestrife on the Clearwater River

In 2004 when the Missoula County Weed District initially mapped the infestation of yellowflag iris that had recently been reported to us on the Clearwater River between Salmon Lake and the Blackfoot River, we faced a daunting challenge: 10 miles of river, both banks heavily infested and nearly 83 acres of dense thickets peppered with yellowflag iris. The yellowflag iris was already beginning to fill-in shallow bays on Elbow Lake, degrade wetlands and river bank habitat on the Clearwater River and was threatening to spread onto the Blackfoot River. A partnership was formed with the Montana Depa...