Jessica Oldakowski, a 2014 Biology graduate from the University of Minnesota, Morris was recently hired as the Cooperative Weed Management (CWMA) Intern for the Pope Soil and Water Conservation District. She grew up on a dairy farm north of St. Cloud Minnesota and has remained interested in agriculture and the outdoors. Over the last couple of years Jessica was employed with the USDA Soil Lab in Morris working on a Pollination Project. At Ag Reliant Genetics, she was a harvest intern and assisted in corn production line work. She enjoys working with plants, animals, and oilseed crops. A few of her hobbies include being outdoors, hunting, fishing, crafts, and playing tennis.
Jessica will continue the work under the Cooperative Weed Management program including education, documentation of infested sites, treatments, and re-seeding with local native seed. Our main goal with this program is to reduce the environmental and economic threats posed by invasive plant species in the grasslands of Pope and Swift Counties. Education and raising awareness of the significance of these threats is key to achieving our goal.
The CWMA partners are: MnDot, Pope County Highway Department, Pope County Land and Resource Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, The Nature Conservancy, Department of Natural Resources, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Farm Service Agency, University of Minnesota Extension Service, and the Pope and Swift Soil and water Conservation Districts. These partners have established a steering committee and are working together to make this program a success. For more information or to report an infestation contact the CWMA intern Jessica Oldakowski at Jessica.oldakowski@co.pope.mn.us or call 320-634-7793.