HomeMy WebLinkAboutWeed Board Work SummaryWork Session
Deschutes County Noxious Weed Advisory Board
January 26, 2011
Deschutes County Weed Board Mission Statement:
Work cooperatively to promote and implement noxious weed control in Deschutes
County; to contain existing weed populations and eradicate new invaders: to raise
the value of the land economically and biologically: to improve the health of the
community, promote stewardship, preserve natural resources and provide examples
and leadership for other counties and states in effective vegetation management.
Vegetation Management Program Outline
Deschutes County hired a full time vegetation manager in August 6, 2002. The majority of
his duties involve implementing the noxious weed control program for the county. This
program has many facets which range from on the ground weed tre atments to educating
the public on the issue of noxious weeds. Several subprograms included within the scope
of this program are bulleted below:
• Weed Free Forage Program: This certifies local hay growers as “Weed Free” forage
producers, this hay is required for usage on Federal Lands. The grower pays for the
inspections
• Treatment Cost Share Program: This program assists small landowners with
treatment costs associated with chemical applications. This program is funded by a
grant from the Forest Service.
• Education and outreach: This program reaches out to the public to educate about
noxious weeds , their impacts, and proper management. A strong component of this
outreach is restoration – how can the invasion be prevented.
• Gravel pit weed control. This program targets the county’s gra vel pits. Most weeds
tend to run the roads, this program attempts to stop the weeds at their source –
mostly gravel pits and quarries.
• Yellowflag iris control: This program targets the yellowflag iris, which currently
infests the Deschutes River from Bend to Lake Billy Chinook. It is a tri county effort
to control the spread of this plant, educate irrigators and other water users, and
protect the Deschutes River from being overrun with this aggressive species. The
funding for this program comes from grants
One of the most essential parts of the vegetation management program is a strong
restoration emphasis. Killing weeds is not the end goal of the program, establishing
healthy desirable vegetation where noxious weeds once occurred is the goal. A healthy,
diverse ecosystem is very resilient and resistant to these outside invaders, and requires
very little management to maintain the function. Reduced management means reduced
maintenance costs.
Historically, funding for the vegetation program comes from a variety of sources. The
Deschutes County Road Department provides the bulk of the funding for the program
through gas taxes, which is ear‐marked for right of way maintenance. The road
department also provides administrative support, office space, and vehicles. Other funding
sources includes applying for and receiving grants and contracting services to other
agencies needing weed treatments. The Vegetation Manager is responsible for applying for
the grants, and when successful reporting on the project accomp lishments. Agencies that
Deschutes County vegetation program has partnered with or contracted to include: City of
Bend, City of Redmond, City of Sisters, Bonneville Power Association, Central Oregon
Irrigation District, Bend Parks and Recreation, Oregon Department of Agriculture, U.S.
Forest Service, and the Bureau of Land Management.
The recent economic downturn has affected the county weeds prog ram in many ways. Two
funding sources in particular have almost completely dried up; Grants and contracting with
other agencies have been particularly hard hit. Deschutes County had in the past
contracted with the City of Bend for $60,000 in weed treatments and $25,000 for
weed/vegetation education and consulting – because of budget cuts, Bend completes only a
minimum amount of weed control work, this year that contract is nearly zero. As other
sources of funding have dried up, competition for grants has increased tremendously. As
these grant budgets get tighter, the competition will only increase. Writing grant
applications and the necessary follow up consume valuable time but is necessary as these
grants fund many of the county’s weed programs.
Deschutes County is a leader in the state in the fight against invasive vegetative species.
Other organizations around the state continually seek help and advice of the Vegetation
Manager because of the award winning program that has been developed here over the
past eight years. The cornerstones of the program are education and cost share. Both are
positive proactive efforts to help citizens of Deschutes County be good stewards of their
lands. The Weed Free Forage program is good for the local economy because farmers can
get more money for their hay. All these programs are in jeopardy if these grant funds dry
up.
Current Issues
The current economic situation has everybody scrabbling to keep programs afloat. The
Deschutes County Vegetation Program is no exception. Below are several key programs
that need to be funded to help achieve the goals of the mission statement.
Deschutes County now has an enforcement policy for non‐compliant land owners who
refuse to treat or remove noxious weeds. However at present, t here is no funding
specifically identified to implement an enforcement program. Any enforcement activity by
the vegetation manager will be very limited as the position is funded by gas tax to perform
certain tasks. To keep these programs funded, much of Dan’s time is spent writing grant
applications and reporting to grantors.
Recommended solutions:
• Train code enforcement officers in weed identification and add weed enforcement
to their list of violations they address incidental to their travels and inspections.
This item is also recommended in 2.9.4.a of the New Comprehensive Plan.
• Hire a seasonal worker to address enforcement requests from the public.
• Create a tax levy to fund the County Vegetation Program.
Grants
Grant funds are becoming increasingly scarce and competition for them is increasing as
well. Weed grants are typically a very low priority compared to other natural resource
issues such as fire, water or fish issues. Since weed grants are usually smaller, they are
time consuming for the amount received. Deschutes County was funded by Forest Service
Region 6 dollars for $54,000 a year, this funding is no longer available. State grants come
from lottery dollars. Lottery dollars have decreased because of the economy. It is
unknown what the State Legislators will do with lottery funding. Money for programs like
Weed Free Forage, education and the cost share programs, all ve ry successful, will most
likely have to come from other sources in order to continue.
Possible solutions:
• Add a nominal charge to county recording fees.
• Add a nominal charge to land transfer fee.
• Add a nominal charge to building permits or land use fees.
• Reallocate existing general funds.
• Create a noxious weed levy tax that would create a stable fundi ng source for key
vegetation management programs.
Other Issues
Deschutes River Conservancy
The Deschutes River Conservancy is doing a wonderful job getting water back into the
Deschutes River system. An unfortunate by‐product of that effort is farm land going fallow
and being taken over by invasive plants, many of which are on the county’s noxious weed
list.
Recommended solution:
• BOCC and the Weed Board work with the DRC, irrigation companies, and land
owners to create an enforceable instrument in the lease contrac ts to ensure proper
stewardship.
Rightsofway
Utility right‐of‐ways (ROW) are rife with noxious weeds across the county. Burlington
Northern Santa Fe Railroad ROW near Deschutes River Woods and adjacent to the Highway
97 bypass in Redmond are prime examples of poor land stewardship. Utility companies
have easements across public and private land. Due to the vegetation management of these
easement many of these areas are overrun with noxious weeds, which then spread onto
adjacent lands. Recommended solutions:
• The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently modified their easement permit to
include “activities and procedures to prevent and control the s pread of invasive
species”. Deschutes County should require similar “stewardship clause” in
agreements for such easements in Deschutes County where possible.
• If necessary, assist the county Vegetation Manager in gaining compliance regarding
noxious weeds from Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad.
• Assess a noxious weed charge for new recorded ROWs or easements.
Surface mines
The Weed Board is exploring different ways to ensure that gravel pits and surface mining
operations remain weed free. At present, the background material in the proposed
comprehensive plan states: “Additionally, surface mining plays a role in spreading noxious
weeds and impacting water quality, and should be examined for potential control measures. A
review of County regulations can insure that the Code is adequately protecting the resource
and the community, in conjunction with the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral
Industries. “
Recommended solution:
• Specifically mention control of invasive weeds among the goals of the
comprehensive plan.
• Work with adjacent counties who have programs in place, such as Klamath County,
to certify clean material sources.
Deschutes County is a leader in the state in the fight against invasive vegetative species.
Other organizations around the state continually seek help and advice the Vegetation
Manager because of the award winning program that has been developed here over the
past eight years. The cornerstones of the program are education and cost share. Both are
positive proactive efforts to help citizens of Deschutes County be good stewards of their
lands. The Weed Free Forage program is good for the local economy because farmers can
get more money for their hay. All these programs are in jeopardy if these grant funds dry
up. And it appears they are doing just that.
Respectfully submitted by Paul Stell, Weed Board Chair