Weed sniffin’ dogs root out noxious plants along Snake River

By MIKE KOSHMRL
Jackson Hole News&Guide

JACKSON, Wyo. (AP) — Officials and volunteers are using trained dogs to sniff out noxious, invasive plants that have been trying to invade river and wetland areas around Jackson Hole for two decades. The dogs are seeking saltcedar and perennial pepperweed plants along the Snake River. Waist-high pepperweed plants are capable of choking out native species and compromising habitat that native wildlife depends on. The idea of using trained dogs came about after a presentation about using dogs to find invasive zebra mussels. The collaboration with Working Dogs for Conservation, a Montana-based nonprofit, is possible because volunteers chauffeur the canine and human crews down the river.