Camp Sherman wrestles with iris

Concerned residents met Saturday morning to learn about fighting the yellow flag iris invasion in Camp Sherman's Lake Creek area.

The meeting was led by Pete Schay, vice president of the Friends of the Metolius (FOM) and the champion of efforts to control the spread of yellow flag.

Schay, on behalf of FOM, secured an Oregon Department of Agriculture funded grant through the Oregon State Weed Board.

Maret Pajutee of the Forest Service, Dave Langlund of the Oregon Department of Agriculture, and Steve Davis, director of public works in Jefferson County, joined Schay.

The purpose of the meeting was to inform residents of the planned spray of yellow flag iris along Lake Creek in late September.

The project was begun a few years ago using the Fischer property in Camp Sherman as an experimental site. They initially covered yellow flag with plastic, which killed everything. They also tried other control methods, ultimately finding herbicides worked most efficiently.

According to Langlund, this is one of the last areas in Oregon to attack the yellow flag iris.

Residents who like the yellow flag asked two questions: Could they keep their yellow flag if they didn't have waterflows on their property that extended to other homeowners? Their other concern was whether spray could destroy existing landscaping.

Pajutee said the Forest Service's goal is to confine, contain and control - not eradicate. This is still America, she commented, and if you can control the yellow flag that is great.

Davis added that the plants can become big and bulky, but if there isn't a water source, they won't escape the landscape.

Schay expressed a willingness to meet with people individually to show them the areas on their property which will be sprayed and to listen to their concerns about not spraying other plants.

Davis asked for approval from landowners within 60 days.

Spraying will take about a week and will be done late in September, just as the plants are becoming dormant. He will spray the herbicide Habitat, which passed federal regulations for use in riparian areas.

Schay will let people know the week or 10-day period they will be spraying. They will try to work with people who want to be on their property to observe the application.

Part of the grant money will go to giving landowners native plants to replace the yellow flag. The spray stays in the tuber, so replanting will begin a year after the initial spraying. One hope is that the native plants will then be able to establish, and weed out the non-natives.

Langford said the plant could be here forever, but through control, in subsequent years it won't be as intense. Their hope is that the herbicide will drop it down enough that some sites can be managed with a shovel.