Cowlitz County weed board reports 2024 gains, warns of holly listing and funding limits

Jennifer Mendoza, coordinator for the Cowlitz County Noxious Weed Control Program, told county commissioners on Monday that the program completed its 50th year in 2024 and recorded increased inspection and outreach activity while relying on special-assessment funding and state grants.

Mendoza said inspectors logged more mapping points in 2024 than in prior years, and the program reached about 1,500 people through presentations, fairs and outreach events. She described a mix of grant-funded field work — notably projects on false brome eradication, knotweed control and work inside Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument — and routine inspection and landowner-education work funded by the county special assessment.

Mendoza said the county tracks noxious weeds by legal classification. Class A species are targeted for eradication, Class B species must be controlled to prevent spread, and Class C species are widespread and typically only controlled in special situations, such as when adjacent to agricultural land. She told commissioners the county currently has about 90 species present across those lists and described specific program outcomes in 2024.

“Aside from grants, we helped 76 landowners through our assistance programs, spending just over $3,000,” Mendoza said. She described partnership work that treated roughly 100 acres on Mount St. Helens and about 50 acres of knotweed on waterways, and said the program documented roughly 1,000 new infestation points in the past six years of county records she reviewed.

Mendoza also identified specific grant reimbursements and balances: about $65,000 was reimbursed for 2024 grant work — roughly $46,000 for Mount St. Helens work, $11,000 for knotweed projects, about $3,000 for a Columbia Land Trust collaboration and $4,500 for Class A projects — and the program currently has roughly $92,000 in committed grant funds not yet spent and about $85,000 available for continued monument treatments in coming years.

The coordinator highlighted operational steps the program uses before enforcement: inspectors typically send an educational request-to-control letter with a 14-day window, then follow up with a certified “notice of violation” when control is not completed. Mendoza said adding a second inspector reduced the number of violation letters sent and improved customer service and follow-up.

Mendoza described assistance programs available to landowners including cost-share reimbursements for herbicide purchases, disposal vouchers and a program that treats properties for low-income or disabled residents who qualify for the county exemption. She said the board is expanding the cost-share maximum from previously $210/$350 to a new cap of $400 to offset rising costs.

Mendoza answered commissioners’ questions about how a species becomes listed under state law. She described the citizen-driven petition process to the state weed-listing committee, the state weed board’s public hearing, and a pending legislative effort she named as House Bill 1707, which the local weed board opposes because it would change the listing process after a recent controversial listing of holly as a Class C noxious weed.

Mendoza said holly’s Class C designation allows it to remain sold as an agricultural commodity but makes it subject to containment requirements when it spreads outside cultivated settings. She noted that holly can invade forest understory, reduce tree growth and create dense thickets that are difficult to eradicate.

On funding the program, Mendoza said the county uses a special assessment on parcels: the current non-forest assessment is $8 per parcel plus $0.30 per acre and the forest rate is $0.80 per parcel plus $0.03 per acre. She said special-assessment receipts and grants are the program’s principal revenue sources and that the weed board reviews financials monthly.

Mendoza closed by pointing commissioners to the program’s GIS story map for the false brome eradication project and offering to share grant reports when completed. She also told the board how to contact the program for questions or to discuss House Bill 1707.

Mendoza and commissioners exchanged brief operational questions about access to Johnson Ridge in the monument, possible use of drones or pack animals for remote treatments, and partnership coordination with the institute and the Mount St. Helens monument staff.

The presentation included statistics and program details that county staff and commissioners said they will review as part of ongoing budget and operational planning.