Idaho Weed Conference 2011

Conservation Seeding and Restoration Inc will be attending the Idaho Weed Conference, March 2 – 3, 2011

“The Idaho Weed Control Association invites you to attend the tenth Annual Idaho Weed Conference. This conference is for private landowners and agencies who have responsibilities for vegetation management. Topics include Marketing, NPDES/EPA Permits, Herbicide Management, IPM Solutions, and more.”

The Boise Hotel & Conference Center
3300 S. Vista Avenue
Boise, Idaho
(at exit #31 off I-84)

Native Focus: Crataegus douglasii, Douglas Hawthorn

Native Focus: Crataegus douglasii, Douglas Hawthorn, is a thorny, much-branched shrub or small tree from 6-30 ft. in height. Small tree with compact, rounded crown of stout, spreading branches; often a thicket-forming shrub. Twigs are reddish and bear thick, oval, toothed leaves. White flowers occur in dense, terminal clusters and are followed by blue-black berries. It’s a larval host for the Gray Hairstreak, Mourning Cloak, and Azure Butterflies.

This species is a handsome ornamental with showy white flowers, glossy foliage, and odd, shiny black fruits. It is named for its discoverer, David Douglas (1798-1834), the Scottish botanical explorer. Cattle and sheep browse the foliage; pheasants, partridges, quail, and other birds consume the berries. The most widespread western member of its genus, Black Hawthorn is also the only species north to southeastern Alaska. (Lady Bird Johnson Wildflowers)

Recycling and Food Contaminants

RecycleBank unlocks “The Pizza Box Recycling Mystery”

“Many people admit trying to “sneak” their pizza boxes in with cardboard boxes and such. In reality, this does more harm than good as the contaminated cardboard could ruin the whole recycling batch.

Food is one of the worst contaminants in the paper recycling process. Grease and oil are not as big of a problem for plastic, metal and glass, as those materials are recycled using a heat process. But when paper products, like cardboard, are recycled, they are mixed with water and turned into a slurry. Since we all know water and oil don’t mix, the issue is clear.

Grease from pizza boxes causes oil to form at the top of the slurry, and paper fibers cannot separate from oils during the pulping process. Essentially, this contaminant causes the entire batch to be ruined. This is the reason that other food related items are non-recyclable (used paper plates, used napkins, used paper towels, etc).

“The oil gets in when you’re doing your process of making paper,” said Terry Gellenbeck, a solid waste administrative analyst for the City of Phoenix. “The oil causes great problems for the quality of the paper, especially the binding of the fibers. It puts in contaminants, so when they do squeeze the water out, it has spots and holes.”

But what about other things regularly found on paper products, like ink? “Most inks are not petroleum-based so they break down fast. Food is a big problem,” he said.

Also, be mindful of adhesives that may be on the pizza box (coupons, stickers, etc.) as those are contaminants. Known as “pressure sensitive adhesives (PSAs)” these can ruin the recycling process just as much as oil or food remains.”

Read more about recycling and food contaminants on the RecycleBank website…

(photo and blog info shared from the Reyclebank site)

Top Ten Widespread Invasive Plants in Idaho

(photo of Canada thistle: Alec McClay)

Top Ten Widespread Invasive Plants in Idaho according to EDDMapS, Early Detection & Distribution Mapping System: providing a picture of the distribution of invasive species across the U.S.

1. Canada thistle
2. spotted knapweed
3. field bindweed
4. Scotch thistle
5. cheatgrass
6. poison-hemlock
7. Russian knapweed
8. hoary cress
9. leafy spurge
10. dalmatian toadflax

Our Roots

With a $1,500.00 startup budget and a $75.00 computer purchased from the Salvation Army, Conservation Seeding & Restoration, Inc was officially incorporated on the 1st of January 2003 by Steven Paulsen, Starla Paulsen, and Kevin Osborne.

Today CSR, Inc. is a viable fully fledged vertically integrated native restoration company. CSR, Inc. has provided services to almost every demographic and market imaginable in the western United States. CSR, Inc has been integral in developing native ecology communities for oil and gas restoration fields, butterfly gardens, and home landscapes.

Restoring the Planet one Native plant at a time is a central part of CSR, Inc.’s business model. It is an important part of our business to know that what we do will out-last our children’s children, and bring us as a community closer to the land. This allows us to perceive and participate in the world around us in a way that few in these times are able to experience.

Attracting Bees, Tips from the NRCS

Attracting Bees, Tips from the NRCS “Backyard Conservation“

In the United States, there are nearly 5,000 different species of native bees. Most of them are solitary, friendly bees that nest in holes in the ground or burrows in twigs and dead tree limbs. These bees do not have hives to protect them, so they are not aggressive and rarely sting. Bumblebees, carpenter bees, sweat bees, leafcutter bees, digger bees, and others pollinate many different kinds of plants. They play a critical role in healthy wild plant communities and gardens. About 30 percent of our diet is the direct result of a pollinating visit by a bee to a flowering fruit tree or vegetable plant. Providing bee habitat in your yard can increase the quality and quantity of your fruits and vegetables.

Bees are extremely sensitive to many commonly applied insecticides. If you must use chemical insecticides in your garden, apply them in the evening when bees are less likely to be active.

Bees are attracted to most flowering plants, and are especially fond of blue and yellow flowers. Try planting your garden to have different species blooming in the spring, summer, and fall.
Bee Houses

A good use for untreated scrap lumber (at least 3 to 5 inches thick) is to drill holes (from 1/8-inch to 5/16-inch in diameter) about 90 percent of the way into the thick wooden block. Space the holes about 1/2-inch to 3/4-inch apart. The 5/16-inch holes work best as homes for orchard bees which are excellent pollinators of fruit trees. Hang your bee blocks under the eaves of your house or garden shed, protected from direct sun and rain.

Native Focus: Agastache urticifolia, Nettleleaf giant hyssop, Horsemint

(photo credit)

(Nettleleaf giant hyssop, Horsemint in the CSR greenhouse)

Native Focus: Agastache urticifolia, Nettleleaf giant hyssop, Horsemint, is a species of flowering plant in the mint family known by the common name nettle-leaf giant hyssop. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to California to Colorado, where it grows in many habitat types. This is an aromatic perennial herb growing an erect stem with widely spaced leaves, each lance-shaped to nearly triangular and toothed. The leaves are up to 8 centimeters long and 7 wide. The inflorescence is a dense spike of many flowers. Each flower has long sepals tipped with bright purple and tubular corollas in shades of pink and purple. The fruit is a light brown, fuzzy nutlet about 2 millimeters long. The plant was used medicinally by several Native American groups, especially the leaves.  (Wikipedia)

Annual Company Meeting

Conservation Seeding and Restoration Inc held their annual company meeting this past week. Company policies reviewed and presentations were given concerning company benefits being offered for the upcoming year. Our general manager also gave a recap of the past year’s successes as well as go over our upcoming workload and future direction of the company. New this year was an awards ceremony and gifts for employees that have been with CSR for more than two years.

Thank you to all our families, friends, and clients for another great year.

Fire Wise Landscapes

Chris Gee, fire ecologist for Conservation Seeding and Restoration Inc, talks about ways to protect your home from a wildland fire with Southern ID news source, KMVT.  (click here to view video)

“Fire Wise” homes create an area of defensible space around them, that is both resistant to fire and defendable for fire fighters in the event of a wildfire. These homes can be easily defended through the proper placement and selection of plants surrounding the structure. Contact CSR for more information 208-423-4835

Sagebrush Identification Presentation

The Idaho Native Plant Society, (LOASA Chapter of Twin Falls, ID) brings you “Sagebrush Identification and Ecology” this Thursday evening (2/17/11) at the College of Southern Idaho, Taylor Bldg. Room 258. 7-9.00 pm. Botanist, Roger Rosentreter, will be speaking.