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Ore. crews try to weed out invasive plant

The Columbian
Published: May 21, 2010, 12:00am

GRANTS PASS, Ore. (AP) — A decade ago, alyssum was planted around southwest Oregon’s Illinois River Valley to see if enough nickel could be extracted from the soil to sell commercially. The plant takes up metals from the soil and stores them in its leaves.

Mark Wiest ran the operation for Viridian Resources of Texas. He says that venture is over because the soil was not as high in nickel as expected.

But the alyssum is now considered an invasive weed that could crowd out rare flowers in the area for years. About 160 acres were planted, mostly around the Illinois Valley Airport south of Cave Junction.

A full-blown eradication program began last year and continues this year. In many areas, that means hand pulling when the bright yellow plants are in bloom, starting about now.

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Information from: Daily Courier, http://www.thedailycourier.com

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