MAPPING WEEDS ON ANCESTRAL LANDS:
A COLLABORATIVE PILOT PROGRAM ENGAGING
NAVAJO AND HOPI YOUNG ADULTS
Natalie Pyrooz | June 28, 2016
Presented at the 13 th Biennial Conference of Science and Management on the
Colorado Plateau and Southwest Region
Mission:
To empower individuals to positively impact their lives,
their communities and their environment.
Southwest Conservation Corps:
Ancestral Lands Program
• Began in 2008
• Served 118 youth in 2015, and projected to serve 150 youth in 2016
• Projects include:
• Traditional farm program
• Hiking Club (Acoma)
• Invasive species management
• Historic preservation
• Fencing
• Trail maintenance/construction
• Tree planting and seedling
• Roving + Place Based Crews
Navajo BIA Needs: Weeds Mapping
• 10,698,258 acres
• 9796 grazing permits (2010)
• Most recent data on invasive
species from 2009
• Southwest Biological Science Center,
USGS
• Broader scale
• Wants:
• Treatments effective?
• Early detection
• Finer scale
• Lack of resources/personnel/funding
Social Benefits to the Navajo Nation
(Photo: Wolfgang Staudt/flickr/cc)
Project Scope:
3 Project Areas
- Western Navajo Agency
District 5
- Navajo Partitioned Lands
(within Chinle Agency)
- Kinlichee Chapter (within
Ft. Defiance)
50 Targeted Species
Roadsides/rights of way, stream
corridors, rangelands
Methods
Recruitment: local youth
Training:
Basic botany/plant ID
Field ID of target species
Use of tablets, basic GIS editing
Attributes collected:
% cover
area
phenology
Acroptilon repens
Common name: Russian knapweed
Family: Asteraceae
Life Cycle: Perennial
Flowering Period: Late spring to
early summer
Description: Shoots are erect,
branched and are typically 1 to 3
feet tall when mature.
Leaves on the lower portion of the
stem are 2 to 4 inches long and
deeply lobed, while upper
leaves are smaller and less lobed
with smooth margins. Dense grey
hairs cover the surface of
both shoots and leaves. Flower
heads occur on shoot tips, and are
urn-shaped, generally 1/4 to
1/2 inch in diameter with smooth
papery bracts. Flower color can
range from pink to lavender
or white. Seeds are covered with
many fine hairs and have a pappus
on the apex. Roots grow
vertically and horizontally in the soil
and have a brown to black scaly
appearance, especially
near the soil surface. These black
roots can be used to distinguish
Russian knapweed from other
closely related highly invasive
knapweeds.
Methods:
Materials
 Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1
 Garmin GLO GPS receiver
 MapItFast app
 ArcGIS Collector
 ArcGIS
Results
Total Species Detected (24)
Acroptilon repens
Bassia scoparia
Bromus japonicus
Bromus rubens
Bromus tectorum
Carduus nutans
Centaurea diffusa
Cirsium arvense
Cirsium vulgare
Convolvulus arvensis
Elaeagnus angustifolia
Erodium cicutarium
Grindelia squarrosa
Halogeton glomeratus
Linaria dalmatica
Marrubium vulgare
Onopordum acanthium
Salsola kali
Solanum elaeagnifolium
Tamarix spp.
Tribulus terrestris
Ulmus pumila
Unknown
Xanthium strumarium
Total Area Surveyed
550.85 miles (roadsides and washes)
559.45 acres (rangelands)
1
2
Acres
2
Halogeton glomeratus
# of Infestations
25
3
Xanthium strumarium
40
Ulmus pumila
5
Tribulus terrestris
80
Tamarix spp.
83
Solanum elaeagnifolium
92
Salsola kali
48
Onopordum acanthium
20
Marrubium vulgare
1
Grindelia squarrosa
60
Erodium cicutarium
101
Elaeagnus angustifolia
120
Convolvulus arvensis
1
Cirsium vulgare
2
Cirsium arvense
Centaurea diffusa
2
Carduus nutans
140
Bromus tectorum
0
Bromus rubens
2
Bromus japonicus
Bassia scoparia
100
Acroptilon repens
Total Infestations and Acres Mapped per Species,
Navajo Partitioned Lands
126
600
106
500
91
78
400
300
46
30
200
7
100
0
Total Infestations and Acres Mapped per Species,
Kinlichee Chapter
100
700
94
90
600
80
500
70
63
60
400
50
300
40
35
33
30
200
23
19
20
14
100
10
1
0
0
Bromus
tectorum
Carduus
nutans
Cirsium vulgare Convolvulus
arvensis
Acres
Elaeagnus
angustifolia
# of Infestations
Onopordum
acanthium
Salsola kali
Tamarix spp.
What did you most enjoy:
“Looking at these different kinds of invasive species. Getting to know how these plants look
like in different times of the season.”
“The botany training, identifying plant species. Using technology, survey methods. Traveling
and seeing different landscapes. Camping and being outside.”
“Just to know the plants where I live on the Rez. And what harm they do to livestock. And
talking to people in Navajo was tough but they know the plants that get their livestock sick
and I’m glad to tell them the names of the plants in Navajo.”
How did your experience help you to grow?
“To learn how to get through technical difficulties... This
project brought peace within myself and to encourage
other such as youth, friends, and family, about my travels
and line of work.”
“This helped to let people know what grows… the land is
most important to the Navajo and whats growing on their
lands. So speaking Navajo is important to know.”
“With the program it helped me grow a lot in my technical
capabilities how to gather information and edit if needed. I
feel I grew from new knowledge and I’ve gained
experience.”
Lessons Learned: Places to Improve
Emphasis on
accuracy/precision;
discussion of those words
Improve attention to detail
Lessons Learned: Places to Improve
• Emphasis on % cover estimates, calibration between crews
• Streamline data management
• Improve QC process
• Internet accessibility difficult: changed service providers
• Distance: Difficulty with offices/work spread out all over
• Recruitment: consider targeting youth that will benefit
more/have more experience
Lessons Learned: What worked well
• Having one crew train another, supported by tech coordinator
• Training weeks covered the gamut of skills required
• Botanist (NAU) in field to introduce field ID of plants
• Plenty of face-time in field to answer questions
• Giving them freedom to work things out on their own
• Focusing on 1-2 problem areas at a time to help them improve
their work
• Introducing them to ArcGIS during the field season so that they
can learn QC procedures, improve data collection techniques
• Both apps used (mapitfast, collector) were easily picked up by
field crews
• 8-day hitches maximize time in field when there is significant
travel time; non-camping crews efficiency is also high due to
going home at night, less field prep, when travel time close
Moving forward
Special thanks to the Navajo BIA personnel and to Americorps
for funding these opportunities to young adults, and to the
participants for their hard work all season.