[Billthedrill]

It isn't mentioned why knapweed is so nasty - it produces a toxin that causes fatal liver damage in grazing animals, not just cattle and horses but wild ones as well, elk being notably susceptible. It's a foreign, invasive species that can be treated chemically but it looked for a time like biological control was fairly innocuous.

As the Times points out there are unintended consequences. Ecology is a science of complex systems. But they didn't go quite far enough in analysis - a burgeoning mouse population is met by an increase in natural predators - coyotes, wolves, bobcats, hawks, etc. If they're allowed. Some of these find the livestock that was the original motivation for eradicating knapweed right tasty. Welcome to the real wild world. We can affect it but I don't think we can really manage it, not this way, at least.

[neverdem]

Thanks for the follow-up!