By Marcy Stamper
Property owners who want to control weeds on county roads along their property — instead of having the county spray them — will have one more chance this summer, following a decision by county commissioners last week.
Okanogan County commissioners and Public Works staff received a barrage of comment and criticism from property owners who were angered when their no-spray agreements were canceled in February without a warning. Kenneth Stanley, roadway manager for Okanogan County Public Works, said he had heard from 35 of the approximately 60 landowners whose contracts were terminated.
Okanogan County Commissioner Ray Campbell said he got to thinking that canceling the contracts without notification or warning was “not fair.” Although the fine print in the agreements is very specific, it hadn’t been enforced for a long time, he said.
People are creatures of habit and have been allowed to follow a certain approach to maintaining the roadside for years, said Campbell. They believed they were doing it right, since no one ever told them otherwise, he said.
The county had canceled about half of the 120 no-spray agreements. While the agreements are countywide, the majority are in the Methow Valley.
The county will send out a new round of letters offering to renew the agreements. To ensure that the terms of the agreements are understood, there will be a meeting with property owners and Public Works staff to explain the landowners’ responsibility, said Campbell. The date has not been set yet.
Other property owners will also be eligible to join the program, said Stanley.
The county may charge property owners an administrative fee to participate in the program. The amount is currently under review by the commissioners and will have a public hearing before being finalized, said Stanley.
Getting a handle on it
This year, the county has increased its overall commitment — and its investment — to get a handle on weeds, said Campbell, who noted that the county has not done an adequate job maintaining its right-of-way along the roads.
“I looked at some pictures, and the no-spray areas looked better than the weeds across the road,” he said.
The county has hired a private contractor to handle roadside-vegetation control. Commissioners signed the one-year, $217,000 agreement with Ellensburg-based Woodland Resources Services on Tuesday (March 31).
The agreement covers an initial spraying in May and a second spray in the summer to control weeds and other vegetation already growing, said Stanley. There will also be application of a residual spray in the fall, which is intended to keep weeds and unwanted vegetation from coming back the following season.
The average annual budget for vegetation management in past years has been $170,000, said Stanley.
“The county didn’t have the equipment or the manpower,” said Campbell. “In my opinion, I don’t think the county did a good job — they just couldn’t keep up.”
It’s the law
Okanogan County, like all property owners, is required by state law to control certain weeds.
The Okanogan County Noxious Weed Control Board advises the county and private property owners about which weeds must be controlled, but the county’s roadside vegetation maintenance has always been handled by Public Works, said Janet Nelson, field supervisor for the weed control board.
The weed board directs complaints about weeds along the county’s right-of-way to Public Works, whose staff try to respond to complaints about “mandatory-control” weeds within 24 hours, said Nelson. The board typically holds Public Works to a higher standard than individual property owners because weeds can be spread so widely by vehicles along roads, she said.
The county’s weed board also follows up on complaints of serious infestations on private property. They are preparing a large mailing to property owners who are not in compliance, said Nelson.
There are several categories of noxious weeds in the state. Class A noxious weeds — mostly newcomers to Washington — must be eradicated completely, including the roots. The goal is to eliminate them before they get a foothold.
Class B weeds are non-native species that are a problem in some parts of the state and have been targeted so they don’t become widespread. Class B designates are weeds that must be controlled by certain dates to prevent them from setting seed.
For Class C weeds, which have already become widespread, the weed board provides advice about the most effective means of control.
The weed board recently mailed information to all county residents about weeds that must be controlled. This year, because of early warm temperatures, the plants are likely to produce seed earlier than the published dates, said Nelson.
There is considerable information online about the best ways to control weeds. The county’s weed board is at www.okanogancounty.org/nw. Under “Helpful Links,” people can go to the state weed board page, which Nelson recommends for detailed photos and descriptions of weeds.
There are also links to the Methow Conservancy’s page on weeds (www.methowconservancy.org/prevention), which has its own links and resources, including educational videos about the most common weeds in the Methow.
People can email photos of weeds to the county weed board at noxiousweeds@co.okanogan.wa.us if they need assistance with identification or control methods, said Nelson. If requested, weed board staff will make site visits to help people develop a plan.
The weed board uses integrated pest management, which includes hand-pulling and biocontrols (release of insects known to control weeds) in addition to herbicides. They plan a large release of insects to combat diffuse knapweed and Dalmation toadflax in areas burned in the Carlton Complex Fire, said Nelson. These plants often do particularly well after a fire and weed staff have determined that the control insects did not survive the fire.
