The Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) is tasked with maintaining thousands of miles of roadways and associated rights-of-way (ROW) across diverse and often challenging terrain. Noxious weed infestations along these ROW pose significant threats, including compromising roadway integrity, competing with desirable vegetation, reducing land productivity, degrading habitat, and increasing long-term maintenance costs (Kuni, 2025). Managing these weeds effectively is crucial but is particularly difficult in areas that are hard-to-reach, steep, or hazardous, where traditional ground-based spraying methods are inefficient, unsafe, and cost-prohibitive. MDT requires innovative solutions to augment existing Integrated Weed Management (IWM) efforts, prioritizing crew safety and fiscal responsibility while effectively controlling infestations across large geographic regions. There is a specific need to accurately identify the location and species of weeds to enable targeted, rather than broadcast, treatment, thereby optimizing herbicide use and minimizing environmental impact.
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