Stay Connected
Quick Access
About Us
History of the Campaign
In 1948 the first Montana weed law was enacted. In 1949 the Montana Weed Control Association was formed with the mission of, “Working together to strengthen and support noxious weed management efforts in Montana.” It was in 1983 that the MWCA was opened up to other organizations and an education committee was formed to provide outreach and educational efforts to teach Montanans how to stop the spread of noxious weeds.
The Montana Noxious Weed Education Campaign was organized as a as a sub-committee of the MWCA. In 1994 a statewide independent survey was conducted to gain insight into the public’s awareness and knowledge level of noxious weeds. It was concluded that without the support of the people of Montana, a statewide effort would fail. With the information from the 1994 survey, it was decided in 1995 by the Noxious Weed Trust Fund Advisory Council that there was a need for statewide educational outreach with information about the impacts of noxious weeds on the state.
Mirroring the national public awareness campaign, “Pulling Together against Noxious Weeds” became the motto for the Statewide Noxious Weed Awareness and Education Campaign Task Force in 1998. This campaign brought together stakeholders and unified the message across the state of Montana and the United States. The ‘hands shaking’ logo was indicative of the Statewide Noxious Weed Education & Awareness Campaign until September of 2012 when the campaign was renamed and a new logo was created. The spotted knapweed flower was chosen to appear on the Montana logo because it occurs in all 56 counties and has been a nuisance since it was first reported in Montana in the early 1920’s.
Along with a new logo, the campaign has been renamed, the Montana Noxious Weed Education Campaign (MNWE), and is currently administered by the Montana Department of Agriculture in Helena, Montana. The campaign continues to provide informative educational materials, programs and noxious weed outreach efforts to federal, state, county, city, and tribal weed coordinators as well as supporting educational outreach efforts of several non-governmental organizations.
Montana Noxious Weed Education Campaign Executive Committee
The Montana Noxious Weed Education Campaign Executive Committee has representatives from partner agencies and organizations who serve as the voice for weed awareness efforts throughout Montana. The executive committee usually meets once a month to discuss the direction of the campaign and educational materials they would like to see the campaign coordinator produce. The MNWEC Executive Committee operates under a memorandum of understanding or MOU that outlines the duties, mission, and organization of the executive committee.
Agency representative contact information:
Dave Burch
Montana Department of Agriculture
302 N. Roberts
PO Box 200201
Helena, MT 59620
(406) 444-3140
dburch@mt.gov
Steve Shelly
USDA Forest Service, Northern Region
Federal Building
200 East Broadway
P.O. Box 7669
Missoula, Montana 59807-7669
(406) 329-3041
sshelly@fs.fed.us
John Simons
Bureau of Land Management
5001 Southgate Drive
Billings, MT 59101
(406) 896-5043
John_simons@blm.gov
Joe Weigand
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks
P.O. Box 200701
Helena, MT 59620
(406) 444-3065
joeweigand@mt.gov
Mike Miller
Montana Department of Transportation
2701 Prospect Ave.
Helena, MT 59620
(406) 444-6991
mikmiller@mt.gov
Todd Wolfe
Montana Farm Bureau Federation
(406) 525-3533
vasinc@midrivers.com
Pete Stevenson
Bureau of Reclamation
P.O. Box 30137
Billings, MT 59707
(406 ) 247-7310
pstevenson@usbr.gov
Gary Adams
USDA, Animal, Plant & Health Inspection Service
1220 Cole Ave.
Helena, MT 59601
(406) 449-5210
Gary.d.adams@aphis.usda.gov
Richard Merenz
USDA, Animal, Plant & Health Inspection Service
1220 Cole Ave.
Helena, MT 59601
(406) 449-5210
Richard.j.merenz@aphis.usda.gov
Jane Mangold
Montana State University, Extension Service
P.O. Box 173120
Bozeman, MT 59717
(406) 994-3315
Jane.mangold@montana.edu
Tracy Sterling
Montana State University, Experiment Station
(406) 994-7060
Tracy.sterling@montana.edu
Elizabeth Galli-Noble
Center for Invasive Plant Management
235 Linfield Hall
P.O. Box 173120
Bozeman, MT 59717
(406) 994-6832
Elizabeth.gallinoble@montana.edu
Becky Kington
Montana Weed Control Association
P.O. Box 315
Twin Bridges, MT 59754
(406) 684-5590
becky.kington@mtweed.org
Pam Schwend
P.O. Box 255
30 Monahan Road
Joliet, MT 59041
(406) 962-3967
pschwend@co.carbon.mt.us
Jim Gordon
Crop Production Services
6618 South 12th St.
Huntley, MT 59037
(406) 348-2009
Jim.gordon@cpsagu.com
Larry Beneker
Bureau of Indian Affairs
316 N. 26th Street
Billings, MT 59101
(406) 247-7925
Larry.beneker@bia.gov
Dan Dobler
MT Department of Natural Resources & Conservation
P.O. Box 201601
Helena, MT 59620
(406) 444-9726
ddobler@mt.gov
Kellieann Morris
Ravalli County Weed District
MWCA Education Chair
329 Airport Road
Stevensville, MT 59870
(406) 777-5842
kmorris@rc.mt.gov
Published: December 5, 2012 8:00:00 AM MST.
Last Modified: April 1, 2013 2:19:20 PM MDT