Hollister
Tom Manning is no stranger to thistles.
Manning, who raises purebred bulls in San Juan Bautista, said his ranch was inundated with Purple Starthistle about 15 years ago.
As the spiny pest began taking over his pastures, Manning decided to take care of the problem himself. Such thistles choke out range grass, restrict cattle movement and can even kill horses.
It took almost seven years for Manning to get the thistles under control with spraying.
“Now I’ve got it down to the point where I can go around with a small sprayer,” Manning said.
A new state grant may help San Benito County keep thistles off public lands and away from the pastures that feed Manning’s cattle, among the 44,000 countywide.
San Benito County accepted just over $18,000 on Tuesday from the California Department of Food and Agriculture to fund a countywide eradication of Purple Starthistle, Yellow Starthistle, Scotch Thistle and Artichoke Thistle. San Benito County was the only county to have its request funded 100 percent.
Steve Schoenig, a senior environmental research scientist for the integrated pest control branch of the CDFA, said ranchers aren’t the only people threatened by such invasive species. If the thistles make inroads into Pinnacles National Monument, it could affect recreation, Schoenig said.
Cattle, horses and vehicles help spread thistles.
“It would not be fun to go hiking with all those spiny things everywhere,” Schoenig said.
The San Benito County Agricultural Commissioner’s Office will oversee the weed abatement program, a partnership consisting of transportation, agricultural and park service agencies.
Agricultural Commissioner Paul Matulich said his office will use trucks, all-terrain vehicles and hand sprayers to kill the thistles with chemicals.
In the past, the county has attempted to control the pests with biological means, introducing insects and fungi that feed on the thistles.
Matulich said the spraying is more effective than insects and fungi.
“One of the problems is, it’s not warm enough here,” Matulich said.
In 1998, former state Sen. Peter Frusetta began California’s weed abatement program, which provided the tax dollars for the recent grant. The program starts January 1 and will be funded though 2009.
