Yellow Starthistle Cost Share

Yellow starthistle (Centaurea solstitialis) arrived in the U.S. after 1849 in contaminated Chilean clover seed.  It has since invaded 41 states in the U.S.  In Washington starthistle was introduced as a contaminant in alfalfa seed in Columbia and Walla Walla counties in the early 1900's. We believe it was first reported in Stevens County in the Kettle Falls area in 1928.

  Starthistle is a fast spreading annual, sometimes biennial plant, that reproduces only by seed.  We have seen it growing in varying habitats but it particularly likes hot, dry, south facing slopes with well drained soils.  It is palatable to livestock in the early stages before it develops spines, but is toxic to horses. Once horses eat the plants they can become addicted because starthistle contains the same substance that causes cocaine addiction.  Horses then may develop an irreversible neurological disease known as "chewing disease".  

The Stevens County Noxious Weed Control Board of Directors has authorized a limited cost share program to be available to property owners in certain portions of Stevens County who own land infested to one degree or another with this noxious weed.   Starthistle is listed as a Class B-designate weed in most of our county which means that landowners are required to keep the weed from setting seed. The one area of the county where control of starthistle is not required by law, due to the large number of acres infested, is in the area known as Gold Hill, just north of Hwy 395 at Kettle Falls. We are aware of several "pockets" of the weed in other areas of the county, some that landowners have been working to control for decades. These pockets constitute the greatest danger for expansion and the greatest opportunity for cost effective control or eradication.

Yellow starthistle is not a lost cause in our county as it is in some other areas you may be aware of-the Snake River breaks near Lewiston/Clarkston, the dry hillsides in Asotin and Whitman Counties or several regions in California and Oregon. If, however, this weed is ignored or intermittently controlled the potential is very high for hundreds to thousands of acres to be overrun by this very nasty noxious weed. The weed board feels the time is right for us to step in and help those property owners who have been working at control off and on for years as well as giving the needed boost to those that may be overwhelmed by the extent of the starthistle problem on their land.

If you have or think you know of a patch of yellow starthistle that is not near Kettle Falls, call or contact us to find out if cost share is available in your area.  We are adding different areas of the county every year.