Banner Photo: President Duane Nellis along with other University of Idaho leaders, legislators, congressional representatives, ranchers, Department of Fish and Game, and Bureau of Land Management officers outside of the Lee A. Sharp Experimental Area.
Memories and More in Malta
By Ysabel Bilbao
View photos of the President's visit below.
The large commercial bus picked up its load of passengers. Among them were legislators, agricultural experts, federal agency directors and university leaders including, President Duane Nellis. Our group soon departed on a two-hour trip to the Lee A. Sharp Experimental Area.
Those whose livelihood is based on rangeland enjoyed the scenic ride. There were ranches on either side of the road, and our trip was calm, until suddenly it was delayed. A small cattle drive had taken over the paved road, as the cowboys moved their herd from one area to the next. Not only were we stopped, but so was the potato truck on the other side of the road. The travelers on the bus roared with laughter, and comments came from the crowd, “Only in Idaho do you see a herd of cattle on the road, delaying a spud truck following it!”
A university president had not visited the site since 1986. President Gibb was the last to visit, and President Nellis sure wasn’t going to miss out.
“Land-grant colleges and universities are a part of our country’s foundation. Land-grant institutions are state leaders in research, especially in natural resources and agriculture. The Lee A. Sharp Experimental Area is the perfect example,” says Nellis.
While the experience was educational for the majority in attendance, for some it was a trip down memory lane.
“I felt a sense of wonderment and a sense of accomplishment looking at the weathered tent frame that now forms the floor of the administrative cabinet,” remembered LASEA student Kendall Johnson.
Johnson was a member of the class of 1957 and one of the first master’s candidates studying there. His research focused on fighting the halogeton glomeratus found growing in native shrubs. It was a noxious weed found in several parts of the U.S. especially the intermountain region. In 1940 the weed exploded, and because of its high concentration of salt, poisoned grazing animals. Thousands of head of sheep were killed, and cattle became ill. Eight years after the halogeton outbreak, Congress got involved and passed the Halogeton Control Act of 1948.
Little was known about what to do and managers debated how to handle the problem plant. The Burley BLM office preferred seeding infested areas but knew little about managing the crested wheatgrass, they were afraid for their livestock. Using herbicides was suggested, but range officials shied away from that option. The Department of Range Resources at the University of Idaho was called to help.
Right there, near Malta, at the University’s experimental area, Lee Sharp got to work. With the help of Professor Ken Sanders and rangeland committee member Bud Purdy, extensive grazing studies were launched. They, along with their students, waged war on the deadly shrub with crested wheatgrass. That was nearly 60 years ago, and their approach was one of the best examples of noxious weed control.
“It’s more than just research,” says Nellis. “A land-grant’s mission is to find value for society. The University of Idaho did that when it opened the Lee A. Sharp Experimental Area, and we continue today in all of our colleges and all over the state of Idaho.”
View photos of the President's visit below.
The large commercial bus picked up its load of passengers. Among them were legislators, agricultural experts, federal agency directors and university leaders including, President Duane Nellis. Our group soon departed on a two-hour trip to the Lee A. Sharp Experimental Area.
Those whose livelihood is based on rangeland enjoyed the scenic ride. There were ranches on either side of the road, and our trip was calm, until suddenly it was delayed. A small cattle drive had taken over the paved road, as the cowboys moved their herd from one area to the next. Not only were we stopped, but so was the potato truck on the other side of the road. The travelers on the bus roared with laughter, and comments came from the crowd, “Only in Idaho do you see a herd of cattle on the road, delaying a spud truck following it!”
A university president had not visited the site since 1986. President Gibb was the last to visit, and President Nellis sure wasn’t going to miss out.
“Land-grant colleges and universities are a part of our country’s foundation. Land-grant institutions are state leaders in research, especially in natural resources and agriculture. The Lee A. Sharp Experimental Area is the perfect example,” says Nellis.
While the experience was educational for the majority in attendance, for some it was a trip down memory lane.
“I felt a sense of wonderment and a sense of accomplishment looking at the weathered tent frame that now forms the floor of the administrative cabinet,” remembered LASEA student Kendall Johnson.
Johnson was a member of the class of 1957 and one of the first master’s candidates studying there. His research focused on fighting the halogeton glomeratus found growing in native shrubs. It was a noxious weed found in several parts of the U.S. especially the intermountain region. In 1940 the weed exploded, and because of its high concentration of salt, poisoned grazing animals. Thousands of head of sheep were killed, and cattle became ill. Eight years after the halogeton outbreak, Congress got involved and passed the Halogeton Control Act of 1948.
Little was known about what to do and managers debated how to handle the problem plant. The Burley BLM office preferred seeding infested areas but knew little about managing the crested wheatgrass, they were afraid for their livestock. Using herbicides was suggested, but range officials shied away from that option. The Department of Range Resources at the University of Idaho was called to help.
Right there, near Malta, at the University’s experimental area, Lee Sharp got to work. With the help of Professor Ken Sanders and rangeland committee member Bud Purdy, extensive grazing studies were launched. They, along with their students, waged war on the deadly shrub with crested wheatgrass. That was nearly 60 years ago, and their approach was one of the best examples of noxious weed control.
“It’s more than just research,” says Nellis. “A land-grant’s mission is to find value for society. The University of Idaho did that when it opened the Lee A. Sharp Experimental Area, and we continue today in all of our colleges and all over the state of Idaho.”
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