PORT ANGELES — Clallam County could begin to use herbicide to kill noxious weeds and invasive plants along its 500-mile road system.
Commissioners will conduct a public hearing May 19 on a proposed ordinance that would initiate a roadside weed management planning effort and create a new chapter in county code that identifies biological and chemical controls as methods for noxious weed eradication.
Presently, noxious weeds and non-native plants are pulled from the ground by chain gang inmate work crews.
“We have never been able to use herbicide as a control for noxious weeds, ever, in my history here,” County Engineer Ross Tyler said Friday.
Tyler, who has worked for the county since 1985, said hand removal works well for certain species like Scotch broom.
But weed-pulling is ineffective against species like wild carrot, which can damage valuable crops on farms in the east county, Tyler said.
Cathy Lucero, County noxious weed program coordinator, said the idea is to develop a long-term strategy for roadside weed management in Clallam County.
“The plan is the meat of it,” Lucero told commissioners Monday.
“The ordinance is the commitment on the county’s part to create a plan.”
The roadside weed management plan will be vetted by the public and reviewed annually by the Noxious Weed Control Board, Tyler said.
He added that the goal is to use herbicide sparingly and to allow natural vegetation to “crowd out” noxious weeds.
“I’m money conscious, and herbicide is expensive,” Tyler said in a Friday interview.
Tyler told commissioners earlier in the week that it would take at least a year to develop the plan.
“The ultimate goal is to beat everything back to the point where natural vegetation that’s supposed to be here is the stuff that grows, and we can taper off on some of the noxious stuff that’s coming in,” he said.
The hearing May 19 will be at 10:30 a.m. in the county commissioners’ meeting room (160) at the Clallam County Courthouse, 223 E. Fourth St., Port Angeles.
Said Commissioner Mike Chapman: “Any plan we come up with, we’ll obviously use best management practices that are used around the state and/or comply with state law.”
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5072, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
