Thistle.

This is coolbert:

Consider this more of a BASH issue? Danger to aircraft landing and taking off.

Thanks to the Russian controlled [?] media outlet Russian Times [RT].

"US Army declares war on Russian… weeds"

"The US Army Corps of Engineers considers 'Russian' weeds such a problem in the Pacific Northwest, it is seeking a contractor willing to clear them from an airbase and a training range near Seattle, Washington."

"To get rid of the dastardly Russian thistle, Russian olive, Dalmatian toadflax and other 'invasive' plants, the Army is looking for a small business with $7.5 million in average annual receipts, and fully licensed by the state department of agriculture as a pesticide applicator."

BASH = Bird Aircraft Strike Hazard.

1. Invasive species a greater threat to the environment than so-called man-made global warming.

2. Invasive species such as Russian thistle producing a prodigious multitude of seeds. Seeds that attract large flocks of migrating birds. Migrating birds in flocks that in the vicinity of an airfield pose a definite BASH danger to aircraft.

3. Joint military base Lewis-McChord having a lot of aircraft take-off and landings and also in close proximity to the civilian Sea-Tac international airport. BASH mitigation surely a must!

coolbert.