Fall 2023
50 years, 50 states
How Washington State University’s Master Gardeners program became a national, and global, model » More ...
Pests and Weeds
Summer 2022
Video: Slow Burn
A silent slow burn consumes thousands of acres of Washington State every year and the tribal lands are no exception to this burn. This burn isn’t caused by a wildfire and doesn’t produce any visible smoke. It’s the encroachment of invasive species as they slowly consume native and beneficial vegetation.
Tribes in the Pacific Northwest rely heavily upon natural resources for income generation and sustaining a way of life. There are significant wildlife, agriculture, and rangeland impacts to the Tribal lands.
(The video below was produced by Nathan Moses-Gonzales, M3 Consulting Group.)
Read about Native prescribed fire practices.
Summer 2021
Bullying blackberries
The blackberries are not what they seem.
They seem native, growing wild wherever they want, thriving along riverbanks, roads, railroad tracks, and trails; inside state, county, even Seattle city parks.
These abundant berries—great for pie and jam—are synonymous with summer in Washington state, particularly on the west side, where they take over greenbelts and backyards, abandoned lots, urban alleyways, and logged lands.
They grow, as it were, like weeds.
Emphasis on weeds.
Himalayan blackberries (Rubus armeniacus) are not only not native, they’re invasive. And they’re not actually Himalayan.
Call them the state weed of Washington. The plump, juicy, deep purple, and delicious weed of Washington.
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