Clallam County weed board reports severe tansy ragwort year, adds staff and expands roadside treatments
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Summary
Clallam County staff reported a sharp increase in tansy ragwort this year and described expanded roadside treatments, two new hires and several grants that supported knotweed and forest-service work.
Clallam County staff told the Noxious Weed Board that this year’s warm winter and a heavier-than-usual outbreak of tansy ragwort prompted expanded roadside work, additional hires and increased outreach.
Staff reported that the program hired two full-time employees — Rachel, a weed technician, and John, a weed specialist — who will focus on contracted and county-road treatments. "We hired 2 new full time employees, Rachel and John," staff said during the quarterly report (first staff report at 00:07:03). The report said the program sent 287 landowner notifications, spoke to over 1,500 people through outreach events and demonstrations, and stepped up mix-and-spray training so landowners could treat regulated weeds safely.
Board members and staff said tansy ragwort (commonly called tansy) was present on more than half of the roads that crews visited this season and that warmer winters appear to be changing the plant’s usual biennial pattern. "The last 2 years have just been really bad for Tansy," staff said, connecting the spike to milder winters that can allow biennial plants to germinate in fall and bloom the following year (00:02:22–00:03:27). Staff added that tansy appeared on 93 of the roads treated this year and that crews pulled about 14,800 plants from county roads.
The staff report summarized work across program areas: county roads (171 roads treated this year, roughly 33% of listed roads), pits (20 pits treated this year), and special public sites (18 sites treated, with manual removal of over 5,400 plants). Knotweed work covered 1.7 miles on Ennis Creek and treatments or surveys on 35 parcels across three watersheds; staff said funding timing limited activity this season but that funding was secured through June 2027.
Staff also described partnerships and grants that supported the work: a $2,500 Washington State Noxious Weed Control Board grant to assist private landowners treating shining geranium and a $43,000 award to support forest-service priority treatments (contract funds available until 2029). The board heard that crews assisted the U.S. Forest Service with priority timber-sale areas where the Forest Service had limited staff.
The program said it would publish an end-of-year county-roads report with detailed maps and statistics on the department website. Staff also encouraged public attendance at the upcoming Olympic Invasive Species Group meeting, which will include pesticide recertification credits and presentations on unusual or newly listed species.
Votes at a glance: The board adopted the July minutes, accepted the staff and financial reports, and approved the draft 2026 meeting schedule by voice vote during the meeting (motions made, seconded and approved; meeting times and procedural votes recorded at 00:01:25, 00:34:26, 00:36:14).
