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Noxious Weed Office outlines lake surveys, spray equipment lease and cross-border coordination
Summary
Okanogan County's Noxious Weed Office reported plans for lake surveys and community meetings, a spray-equipment lease program for residents, and coordination with neighboring jurisdictions and the tribe; staff also pushed the state to require Douglas County to reestablish a weed board.
Larry Hudson, manager of the Noxious Weed Office, told commissioners the office is planning a June 27 survey of Osoyoos Lake with a community meeting in Oroville the same night and expects treatments in late July if monitoring warrants action.
Hudson said the office will hold a public meeting in Oroville and will publish a newsletter to area landowners. He said the Osoyoos Lake Management District wants a June survey and that last year's meeting attendance was low; the office intends to try a Friday evening meeting this year to boost turnout.
On equipment and program changes, Hudson said the office is launching a spray-equipment lease program for residents, including backpack sprayers and two HEV sprayers; the county is adding an online reservation link and an anonymous reporting form so people can flag weed infestations. The county expects to place the 200-gallon trailer sprayer in service in May once an axle supplier fulfills a delayed order.
Hudson also described coordination with Canadian partners and the Okanagan Basin Water Board, noting that last year the Canadian side wanted only notification prior to treatments and that the Canadian harvester program remains active across the border. He said the Canadian district donated a harvester and that equipment operators have attended Okanogan meetings.
The manager detailed other planned work: a Patterson Lake meeting to discuss donated ProcellaCOR herbicide and a May 9 effort to control flowering rush in Lake Roosevelt in coordination with Ferry County and the tribes. He added that the county received about $18,000 worth of donated herbicide from the Department of Natural Resources and that department involvement should reduce program costs.
Hudson said he is drafting a letter for the state weed board urging that Douglas County establish a weed board; Douglas County does not currently have an assessment-funded weed board, and Hudson told commissioners that weeds from Douglas can cross into Okanogan County. He said other counties, including Chelan, have supported outreach to the state weed board on this issue.
Why it matters: Hudson's updates point to active, multi-jurisdictional aquatic weed management this season and to new public-facing services intended to help landowners treat infestations without hiring contractors. The proposed Douglas County request to the state weed board reflects concern that adjacent jurisdictions' weed-control policies affect Okanogan County.
Ending: The Noxious Weed Office will hold the scheduled meetings in late May and June, roll out the equipment-reservation webpage and report back to commissioners on survey findings and treatment plans.
