Gallatin Invasive Species Alliance is becoming

We have a different name and broader vision, but we remain dedicated to healthy and resilient ecosystems throughout the Gallatin Watershed. Click on logo above to learn more!

Pretty Wildflowers?

Think again!

Oxeye daisy is an invasive plant.

"Invasive plants are ecological tumors that won't stay in your yard." - Dr. Doug Tallamy

Noxious Weeds...

Are invasive plant species that are able to establish easily, grow quickly, and spread to the point of disrupting biological communities or ecosystems.

Habitat Transformers

Noxious weeds are known as "habitat transformers" because they change the physical structure and forage availability in habitats, eventually pushing out resident wildlife.

Biodiversity Threat

Invasive non-native species are capable of causing extinctions of native plants and animals, reducing biodiversity, competing with native organisms for limited resources, and altering habitats. This can result in fundamental disruptions of local ecosystems.

Invasive Species...

Replace native plant communities

Accelerate soil erosion

Degrade water quality

Damage fish & wildlife habitat

Decrease the value of land

Reduce recreation opportunities

Increase trail maintenance costs

The Gallatin Invasive Species Alliance is a 501c3 non-profit organization

working to protect natural resources from the threats of invasive species.

Help us conserve the places we love!

Noxious Weeds Have Widespread Impacts

Wildlife

Noxious Weeds...

Reduce forage - spotted knapweed has reduced available winter forage for elk by 50-90%
Alter thermal and escape cover
Change water flow and availability to wildlife
May reduce territorial space necessary for wildlife survival
Disrupt seasonal distribution patterns

Rainbow Trout, Gallatin River, Montana.jpg

Water & Fish

Noxious Weeds...

Increase soil erosion, thus decreasing water holding capacity and storage
Alter hydrologic cycles in riparian areas, lower the water table, and affect flooding cycles
Increase sedimentation of streams, impacting spawning grounds and food sources

In areas dominated by spotted knapweed, runoff is 1.5 times higher and sediment yield was found to be 3 times higher (Lacey, et all. 1989)

Native Plants

Noxious Weeds...

Reduce biodiversity
Replace complex communities with simple communities
Displace rare plant species
Serve as reservoirs of plant pathogens
Compete for pollinators

Landowner & Community

Noxious Weeds...

Reduce the value of land
Require resources (time and money) to manage
Impact neighborly relations, as inaction by one landowner negatively affects others
Degrade aesthetic values

Recreation & Hunting

Noxious Weeds...

Reduce recreation & hunting access on private lands
Alter habitat for game animals and fish
Decrease success of hunters and anglers
Increase cost to manage trail systems

Ecosystem

Noxious Weeds...

Alter fire intensity and frequency
Modify successional pathways
Act as alternate hosts for insects an diseases
Initiates a process that many scientists believe is the beginning of desertification

Partners