"Dogbane is considered a noxious, invasive weed.

Dogbane also is considered part of Native American tradition, used in basketweaving, fish netting, elk snares and medicines.

And that's how state archaeologist Kurt Rodel found himself working with two other guys to dig about 150 invasive plants out of the right-of-way of Highway 99W north of Corvallis — not to get rid of them, but to move them to a better location.

The story is the focus of a 17-minute video that the Oregon Department of Transportation recently uploaded to YouTube, titled "Soft as Silk — Strong as Steel."

Back in early 2008, the cultural resources director of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians brought a rather unusual problem to Rodel, who works with the Oregon Department of Transportation."

Get the Story:
Dennis Thompson: Project earns national honors for cooperation between tribe and ODOT (The Salem Statesman Journal 10/3)