For Immediate Release: February 12, 2004
 
Contact: Steven Hall, 970-244-3052

“Sparky” Taber named Colorado Weed Manager of the Year

Bureau of Land Management Natural Resource Specialist Mark “Sparky” Taber earned the 2003 Weed Manager of the Year award from the Colorado Weed Management Assoc. The award recognizes Sparky’s work on more than one million acres of BLM land managed in the Grand Junction Field Office.

Sparky will be recognized for the award by BLM Colorado State Director Ron Wenker at an employee meeting at 1 p.m. Friday, Feb. 13, at the Grand Junction Field Office.

“Sparky has taken the lead on taming weeds in the vast outback of the Bookcliffs, in the remote wilderness of BLM land around Gateway, and on the slopes of Grand Mesa. With his never-ending energy and his diligent and energetic ‘Type A’ weed crew, almost every inch of the thousands of acres of land he is responsible for has been scouted and hundreds of acres of weeds have been subdued under his direction. If only human cloning was possible,” Mesa County Weed and Pest Inspector Judith Sirota wrote in her nomination.

“For the BLM, recognition like this from the Colorado Weed Management Assoc. is especially important,” said Grand Junction Field Manager Catherine Robertson. “It demonstrates that Sparky has been recognized for his work by other professionals in the field, including local, state and federal government, as well as non profit organizations, private landowners and businesses.”

Sparky, who earned his nickname working on wildland fire crews, uses some of the same tactics used to fight wildfire to tackle noxious weeds. Establishing a perimeter, reducing the rate of spread, and eventually containing the infestation are keys to controlling noxious weeds. Without these steps, weed infestations can grow exponentially, just like wildfire. Weeds can have the same sort of landscape altering effects as well, according to Sparky, driving out native species and negatively impacting public lands for years to come.

“Without suppression and intervention, noxious weeds become permanent,” Sparky said. “We focus our efforts on containing weed infestations when they’re still small and manageable. For larger infestations, like tamarisk, we have to look at more long-term solutions. With the broad partnerships groups like the Colorado Weed Management Assoc., we can combine efforts to tackle some of the really problematic weeds like tamarisk.”

Sparky’s weed crew treats approximately 1,100 sites per year, and inventories about 180,000 acres per year to determine the type and distribution of noxious weeds on public lands. With a $100,000 per year budget, Sparky manages a 3-5 person weed crew that focuses weed suppression efforts from mid March through October.

Sparky began his career at Colorado State University’s College of Forest and Natural Resources, where he graduated in 1983.  Since then he’s worked as a forester, logging supervisor, fire management officer, range technician and most recently as the Grand Junction Field Office weed management specialist.

 -BLM-