Introducing PCEC's New Staff Member

We’re excited to announce that PCEC has helped develop an invasive and noxious weed control monitoring program in partnership with Park County Cooperative Weed Management Area (CWMA) and MSU Extension. And we have a new staff member! Please welcome Bethany Allen, as our Plant Ecologist and Monitoring Program Manager, to her new position with PCEC.

Bethany joined our staff to lead the vegetation monitoring effort, and serve in a research staff position that will help develop, facilitate, and oversee the program.

Prior to PCEC, Bethany spent the past 3 years developing the Citizen Science Monitoring Program for the Wilderness Institute with University of Montana, where she helped U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management managers with their land-use and vegetation monitoring needs, while facilitating volunteers across the state.

The new project will focus on establishing an invasive species monitoring program throughout Park County, beginning with CWMA’s local treatment efforts. It will involve implementing established protocols and data analysis that supports State and National monitoring platforms, as well as newer protocols recently developed by Montana State University.

Weed control and treatment is critical to the productivity of working lands, as well as to wildlife habitat on both private and public lands. While much effort is put into the treatment of noxious and invasive weed species, there currently exists a gap in the on-the-ground monitoring of the efficacy of treatment practices.

We are just in the beginning stages of program development. As we get up and running, there will be more opportunities for community involvement. One of our goals is to develop and fine-tune the monitoring procedure to make it accessible and easy to adopt for area landowners.

Once everything is in place, we will set up opportunities for folks to gather and learn about the importance of vegetation monitoring and how to implement a monitoring program to fit an existing or new treatment regimen. 

Stay tuned for more information around a weed education field day being planned with the Park Conservation District and NRCS at the end of June. Bethany will be on-hand to talk about the monitoring program and to show an example of a vegetation monitoring transect.

For more information, contact Bethany at bethany@pcecmt.org