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Paul Dunn ReportingForest officials are trying a new way to find noxious weeds. They're asking a dedicated hunters group to help them create a map.
Forest officials are taking the year to find as many noxious weeds as they can in vegetation. Ecologist Denise Van Keuren says hunters are a perfect fit for it.
Denise Van Keuren: "They tend to have G.P.S. equipment, which is important for this, horses, ATV's. They know the back country."
Van Keuren says some of these weeds are poisonous to horses, deer and elk.
Weed Inventory Supervisor Jo Proctor says they now need to teach hunters the difference between a Yellow Star Thistle and a leafy Spurge.
Jo Proctor: "The majority of the sportsmen that I know, they have an attitude that they want to give back to the resource where they're taking from the resource."
Proctor says once they know where the weeds are, they can get rid of them a lot easier.
