Grand opening new Emery County weed and mosquito building

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This open house was held in recognition of the 34 years James Nielsen has been directing the county weed and mosquito programs. Cory Worwood the son of County Extension Agent Dennis Worwood is replacing retiring James Nielsen.
James Nielsen said, this new building has been a long time coming. When the Weed and Mosquito Department started in 1980 we brought in an old trailer house from the Missile Site at Green River for an office. Now we have a new building that is 50 feet wide and 150 feet long located on county property. The building includes the shop area, the laboratory room, conference room, mechanical room and the office. All restrooms have emergency showers because of the dangerous chemicals the employees work with.
In the laboratory room we test mosquitoes for the various viruses and diseases carried by mosquitoes like West Nile Virus and Western Equine Encephalitis.
We now have a carport type roof all along the South side of the building. That is really important to us because rainwater can wash chemicals off of our vehicles into the soil. Now those vehicles are under cover and protected. This is a great improvement.
Our chemicals are stored under a pyramid shaped mound in underground bunkers where they do not need any heating or cooling to keep them at the ideal temperature. One of the chemical bunkers is for housing the insecticide and the other is to house the herbicides the chemical bunkers and the pad in front of the bunkers are all connected to a sump that will collect any chemical spills. Any spilled chemicals will not go into the city sewer system. This is a closed system similar to the one used at the former Weed and Mosquito buildings on the hill above Castle Dale City.
We also have a wash pad for washing vehicles from trucks to four wheelers and other equipment. That water does go into the sewer system.
The workshop is a class A shop and we are in the process of getting a truck lift installed. The floor slopes to a drain for containing spills. In the shop we have a new welder and a new air compressor.
The large office and conference room are very nice as compared to our old cramped quarters. Over the office and conference room is a large storage area housing two kayaks, miscellaneous items along with the heating and cooling ductwork.
Natalie Humphrey is our secretary. She comes in on Thursday and Friday. Natalie started in January 2014 and is the first secretary we have had in 34 years.
James said he appreciated County Commissioner Jeff Horrocks and the other commissioners for making this new facility possible. They were the ones that found the funding for this project.
Commissioner Horrocks said that this building was long overdue. James Nielsen was the original department head of the Weed and Mosquito department. He worked the department with two full time employees and some summer time help. They built the old buildings out of scrap and any other useful thing. It was time for a better facility.
Noxious weeds and mosquitoes are a major issue. If we do not control the noxious weeds they will take over and crowd out the native plants.
The Emery County Weed and Mosquito Department recently received a 100,000 dollar grant from the State of Utah Agriculture Department for invasive species mitigation and the control of Russian Olive plants on rivers and creeks in Emery County. This was the highest dollar per acre grant awarded. The State Agriculture Department looked at what Emery County had been doing. They were impressed with what we had accomplished. The Department of Agriculture brought in a film crew and made a video of what Emery County was doing to remove Russian Olive trees along with some of our previous projects.
Cory Worwood said, The NRCS is also making available 100,000 dollars for the eradication of Russian Olives and noxious weeds by local farmers. Landowners can apply for these funds through the NRCS.
James Nielsen reported that the three Army surplus cargo carriers were extremely useful in our controlling the noxious weed Purple Luce Stripe infestation. We have gone from 1800 acres of Purple Luce Stripe to a few spots here and there. This flowering large leaf plant is believed to have been planted by a beekeeper. The Purple Luce Stripe plant invaded our wet lands and became a matt of vegetation that could be walked on.
We have two boats that allow us to cover about 120 miles of the Green River to remove invasive plants.
James said, now that he was retired he will do things that are fun he will look for weeds and mosquitoes. He has a farm with his brother and will help his brother more. He has 24 grandchildren and is looking forward to spending more time with them and his wife. James has about 34 years worth of projects that need to be worked on. He started building his own house and never completed it. He looks forward to finishing this carpentry work.
The Emery County Weed and Mosquito Department was established in 1980 in compliance with the State Noxious Weed Law and the Mosquito control laws. Nielsen was the first Director of this new Department, and has served diligently in this capacity for 34 years.
With the increase in population of Emery and Carbon County, people from around the country brought with them seeds, some of which have established and started populations of troublesome noxious weeds. James and his Department have been diligent in implementing the strategy “Early Detection Rapid Response” to detect these early invaders and quickly eradicating them to prevent their establishing and becoming a problem. Of these early invaders, the weed department had done an outstanding job in suppressing Purple Loosestrife along Huntington and Cottonwood Creeks, and Oxeye Daisy in Joes Valley. Small populations of Leafy Spurge, Spotted Knapweed and Yellow Toadflax exist, but are monitored and sprayed each year.
The Weed Department has fought diligently against the large established populations of the more troublesome noxious weeds that have invaded the county. Hoary Cress or White Top is wide spread, particularly in the northern end of Emery County. However, the Department has reduced its infestation by about 70 percent. Musk Thistle is continuing to increase because its wind-blown seeds spread so readily. Diligent control efforts of the Department, together with the introduction of a weevil that destroys its seeds, provides hope for suppressing Musk in the valley. Russian Knapweed is spread throughout the county, but James and his department have reduced its patch sizes by 90 percent in the western part of the county and 40 percent in Green River.
James established an early affinity for the San Rafael River. James and his brother Craig were some of the first to float the inaccessible stretches of the San Rafael. As Weed Supervisor, he made major efforts to control the invasive species along its channel. James was instrumental in introducing the Tamarisk beetle to control Salt Cedar along the river channel. He was one of the leaders that organized the National Boy Scout Jamboree in 2008 that brought 550 boys and their leaders to cut and treat Salt Cedar and Russian Olive along the Buckhorn Wash, and on the forest in Ferron Canyon, Straight Canyon and the Muddy river. Through his leadership, and in cooperation with BLM, hand crews, pack crews and floaters have controlled both Tamarisk and Russian Olive along 120 river miles of the San Rafael from its confluence with the Green River to the convergence of the three creeks that make up the San Rafael in Hambrick Bottom. James and his crew are renown for their innovation in creating floating devices and effective treatment methods to control invasive species along the inaccessible reaches of both the San Rafael and Green River. Recently, James was instrumental in obtaining grants to control Russian Olive on private agriculture lands along the creek channels on the Huntington, Cottonwood, Ferron and Muddy creeks. This year, the Department will partner with NRCS and the San Rafael Conservation District to expand control efforts onto farm lands.
James has been a leader in weed control efforts throughout the area. He was instrumental in organizing and leading the Skyline Weed Management Area. He has been a leader in the State Association of County Weed Supervisors, and has been recognized for his excellent weed control program in Emery County.
James is also a specialist in mosquito biology and control. He can readily identify the different species in the county and the various diseases they carry. The West Nile virus is carried by mosquitoes, and was first detected in Carbon and Emery County. Because of the significant threat to public health, James and his crew have been diligent in seeking out the mosquito habitat and breeding areas, and applying treatments to control their larvae, and pesticides to kill the adults.
Because of their efforts, there has been no confirmed human cases of West Nile disease in Emery County. The new weed and mosquito department director is Cory Worwood. He was raised in Ferron as the oldest of six sons of Dennis and Sherry Worwood. He graduated from Emery High School and has an Associate’s degree from the College of Eastern Utah and a Bachelor’s degree in Food Science from Utah State University.
While in High School, Cory was a summer temporary worker for the Emery County Weed Department.
He worked several summers as a commercial pesticide applicator for Target Pest Control, and most recently was employed by Terminix, where he treated commercial properties along the Wasatch Front.
Cory is married to Tiffany Platt. They have a son, Winn Worwood.