BEND, OR -- Most of us can't tell the difference between Puncturevine and a Spotted Knapweed, but that won't stop hundreds of volunteers from participating in the nation's largest weed eradication day on Saturday.
Event organizer Cheryl Howard says "Let's Pull Together" is an effort to get rid of non-native plants that can cause big problems. "They are an environmental disaster. So, if we look at communities in Montana or Wyoming, we see national forests that have been decimated by these plants; And in Central Oregon this is why it becomes a really big deal. We're surrounded by all of these beautiful natural forests."
Non-native, invasive weeds cost Oregon more than $100-million each year, and can also destroy local crops. Howard, who is also the Volunteer Coordinator for the city of Bend, started "Let's pull together" 12 years ago when she found an invasive plant in her garden. "It really falls to the community to be savvy on what these plants look like, and what they're looking for, so when folks see them out and about they know this plant does not belong here. This is an environmental disaster as big as if it was a wildfire."
Bend's Let's Pull Together begins at 9 a.m. Saturday at Summit High School, Pilot Butte State Park and the west side of the footbridge at the Old Mill. Afterwards, volunteers will be treated to a free lunch and live entertainment.
