Mike Baldwin is new weed and pest head

Custer County’s newest department head is no stranger to Custer County and has a last name familiar to county residents.
Mike Baldwin (yes, he is related to some of the well-known Baldwins here) became head of the Custer County Weed and Pest Department the day before Halloween, replacing former head Caley Buckert, who left to pursue other interests. He has a bachelor’s of science degree in wildlife biology management from the University of Wyoming, a master’s of science degree in wildlife from Louisiana State University and over 20 years of experience as an ecologist for the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).
Baldwin’s parents are from Custer and he attended elementary school here before the family moved to Belle Fourche, from where he graduated high school. His 22 years with the USGS were in Louisiana where he married and had three children. However, each time they would come back to the Black Hills to visit, his wife fell more in love with the area and the two decided to move back.
Baldwin’s wife, Heather, was the first to find a job in the Hills and he eventually took a job last year as an ag teacher at Rapid City Central High School. He decided that line of work wasn’t for him and decided to look elsewhere for work. A friend of his from high school, as well as his wife, saw the advertisement Custer County placed for a weed and pest supervisor.
“I guess it’s kind of a mix and match of what I went to school for and did (for work),” he said. “I thought it sounded interesting and I’m from the area, so I thought it would be a good opportunity.”
Baldwin wears two hats in his new role, as he is not only the weed and pest department head, but also is an administrator for the county conservation district. Three-quarters of his time is spent working at weed and pest, with the other quarter the conservation district.
Baldwin said it’s been so far, so good in his new position and he has spent much of his first few weeks on the job learning, updating inventory and getting up to speed on projects.
Baldwin said the parts of his new job that overlap with his old job include applying for and administering grants, tracking budgets and public outreach. He already had his applicator license to spray weeds and has experience with spraying in the Hills area. In addition, some of the work he did with the USGS involved invasive species, although it was more research-oriented than  control and management. For example, his thesis was on the Chinese Tallow, a non-native species considered invasive in many parts of the country.
As head of the weed and pest department, Baldwin’s job is to control and attempt to eradicate noxious weeds in the county, with his primary responsibility being spraying for weeds in county roads’ rights of way, while working with landowners on issues they may have with weeds. If necessary, he said, the county has the authority to take action on land where weeds are not being controlled.
“You want to avoid that process, but by state law we have to (control the weeds),” he said.
Baldwin realizes noxious weeds encroaching onto private land from Forest Service land is a big issue in Custer County and he recently applied for a grant to help attack such problem areas adjacent to private land. Ranchers and farmers suffer when their land is overtaken by noxious weeds, he said.
“They see a direct impact. It decreases forage available and causes them to spend more for feed and that type of stuff,” he said.
Baldwin said his three children keep him and his wife pretty busy, but in his free time he enjoys the outdoors, including camping and mountain biking.
Baldwin said any county resident with questions or concerns can always call his office or stop by to discuss the issues. He said it is his goal to develop a good rapport with county taxpayers. Making a dent on the Forest Service/private land issues is a good place to start, he said.
“Hopefully we can make a dent in that,” he said. “(We want to) tackle weed issues before they become a big problem. You always want to do that.”