Taming of the Traveler

The Unwanted TravelerThe Unwanted TravelerHeather Wagner

Bogle Junior High School

References

1. Tellman, Barbara, 2002.  Invasive Exotic Species in the Sonoran Region, The University of Arizona Press Arizona-Sonoran Desert Museum.

2. Schrag, Dale R., Theisen, John D., Haury, A. David. 1997. Prepared for the Historical Committees of the Mennonite Church, and the Western District Conference of the General Conference Mennonite Church, Bethel College North Newton, Kansas 67117

3. Russian Thistle Management under Conservation Systems in Pacific Northwest Crop-Fallow Regions.  Pacific Northwest Conservation Tillage Handbook Series No. 16 Weed Control Strategies, July 1995. 

4. Willoughby, Susan The American West copyright, 1996. Heinemann Library, Halley Court, Jordan Hill, Oxford OX2 8EJ. 

5. Hurt, Douglas R.  1985 The National Grasslands:  Origin and Development in the Dust Bowl.  Agricultural History, 59 (2): 246-259. 

6. Schwinning, Susanne, Starr, Benjamin I., Wojcik, Nathan J., Miller, Mark E., Ehleringer, James E., Sanford, Robert L. Jr. 2005.  Effects of Nitrogen Deposition on an Arid Grassland in the Colorado Plateau Cold Desert. Rangeland Ecology and Management, 58 (6):  565-574 

7. ARS Crop Protection & Quarantine National Program, 2002. USDA FY Annual Report. 

8. Drought Management on Range and Pastureland:  A handbook for Nebraska and South Dakota, Nebraska Cooperative Extension Service EC 91-123.

The Journey Begins Here The Traveler Turns Ugly

People’s perceptions of the West were aided by the railroad development. Easterners began traveling West and returned with many tales and according to Susan Willoughby, “by the 1880’s people back in the East had developed a very romantic image of the American cowboy” and the Western frontier. Their romantic images of the West were further compounded with accounts of “stories of the exploits of men like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Jesse James and Billy the Kid”, which captured the public’s imagination. Men such as these were turned into romantic heroes in dime novels and magazines, adding to the allure and the perception of this region. Not only did these dime novels and magazines impact the perceptions of the West, historically Hollywood has also had an influential hand in enhancing popular culture and the overtly romanticized images of the West in Hollywood Westerns. Relying on technological advancements in filmmaking such as the transition from silent movies to “talkies,” “by the end of the decade (1930’s), Hollywood had become a major contributor to popular culture” and in some cases their Westerns created false impressions of the West. Throughout various songs and poems, the tumbleweed has been portrayed as a drifter, a loner, something that refuses to be tied down; similar to the way cowboys have been portrayed by Hollywood. The linking of the always popular cowboy with the invasive weed, helped plant the tumbleweed into the hearts of those who romanticized the Old West. 4

 

In the late eighteenth century, Mennonites in Prussia were invited by Catherine the Great of Russia to settle lands newly-won from the Turks in the Ukraine” 1 They settled in the regions of the Ural Mountains, which would later have a profound impact on the central plains of America and later the American Southwest.

Although some remained in the steppes of Russia despite undergoing religious persecution, “in the 1870s thousands of these Mennonites left the steppes of Russia for the plains of central North America” 2 It is estimated that over 20,000 Mennonites, who had been farmers in the Ural Mountains, were pulled to the American plains as their new homeland and in 1887, many had settled in South Dakota.

The Traveler is Culturally Embraced

The traveler is celebrated in Chandler, Arizona, where it is used to create the annual Christmas Tree that is displayed in the town square.

It is believed that the non-indigenous species may adapt to the new climates and develop a competitive advantage over the native species that occupy the grasslands. The non-native species appear to have the ability to modify their resources in ways that the native species fail to capitalize. The study also suggests that the abundance of Nitrogen in the grasslands has caused the native grasses, which typically have a low Nitrogen need, to lose their competitive advantage in the grasslands. Now fast-growing species with a high Nitrogen requirement are able to thrive in the grasslands, while choking out the native grasses. 5

This shows a house after a windstorm where the traveler was forced to stay.

Flaxseed wasunknowingly tainted with Russian thistle seed and was brought over by the Russian immigrants.

Russian thistle (Tumbleweed) traveled to America in 1877.

This species of thistle possesses a special form to disperse its seed, which was developed on the wide-open plains of Russia. It is a fast growing herbaceous annual with a fast growing taproot and the ability to germinate under a wide range of conditions. Since a mature plant may set more than 250,000 seeds it can quickly establish itself over very large areas. Areas that contained shrubbery and undergrowth were fortunate because they could stop the tumbling weeds and help contain the spread of the weed. However on the open plains of South Dakota and Nebraska, and eventually the barren desert lands, the tumbleweed had optimum conditions to conquer the land in vast quantities and at accelerated speeds. 3

The background of this movie is the U.S. Civil War 1861-1865, a mere 12 years before the traveler arrived.

Scene from the movie where Hollywood romanticizes the traveler, adding to the allure and regional acceptance of the weed.

The Russian thistle is adapt at invading ecosystems, depleting water supplies and aiding to soil erosion. Photograph taken during Dust Bowl.

The unwanted traveler encroaching upon a peanut farm.

Continued research they also detected some specifics about the Russian thistle. When they had observed the rapid growth of the thistle, they began to monitor and measure the growth rates of the thistle before removing it from the plot. The measured the stem density and noted that it was not affected by N-level or N-form, two of the types of nitrogen they were testing on the grasses. However, they did notice that both forms of nitrogen that were used in the experiment significantly affected the shoot biomass of the thistle. The study also pointed out that native grasses were insensitive to the summer rains and continued to grow at normal rates. These studies can illustrate the changes that take place in the physical system of the Earth’s surface. 6

The study, which is taking place in Pullman, Washington and is being conducted by ARS scientists, was designed to compare herbicide usage, cost, and efficacy of a selective herbicide applicator for post harvest Russian thistle control. They have been testing new application technologies, coupled with other management strategies, which will assist in improving environmental quality and reducing Russian thistle in Washington State, where more than one million acres are presently infested. Understanding the biological makeup of the tumbleweed is essential in reducing costs related to the use of inefficient herbicides and can assist in the development of an herbicide that will have a lasting impact on the Russian thistle. 7

There was a study conducted in 2003 to determine if Russian thistle could be controlled in the Pacific Northwest by actually using a reduced herbicide application. Russian thistle is a problem in the region after crops have been harvested, and is controlled by using two techniques, tillage or broadcast spreading of various herbicides. Several different herbicide/tillage combinations were tested to determine which mix would be the most cost-effective method in controlling the thistle in this region. It is estimated that in the Pacific Northwest alone, it costs farmers more than fifty million dollars to treat the thistle, because of reduced yields, and in some cases loss of money due to inferior crops. 8