Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
Weed department warns new state additions could raise costs, urges coordination
Loading...
Summary
Shawnee County’s weed director reported the 2025 eradication results and 2026 management plan, citing a $427,000 budget, $272,906.06 in chemical expenditures, roughly 7,200 acres recorded as infested, and warned that the state’s addition of five species (including honeysuckle and teasels) could impose major costs and operational burdens.
John Landon, director of the Shawnee County Weed Department, presented the department’s 2025 eradication report and the 2026 management plan, describing budget and operational details and warning county officials about potential costs tied to the state’s proposed additions to the noxious‑weed list.
Landon said the department’s 2025 budget stood at $427,000 and chemical expenditures totaled $272,906.06; the report lists roughly 7,200 acres of noxious weeds countywide, though Landon said survey methodology (he surveys about 6,400 acres yearly) likely produces a conservative figure. The report also documents approximately 3,500 gallons of 2,4‑D and other herbicide disbursements.
At a recent Kansas Department of Agriculture hearing, Landon said the state proposed adding five species to the noxious list — he named honeysuckle, spotted and diffuse knapweeds, and common and cut‑leaf teasel — and said teasel problems are often concentrated in KDOT right‑of‑ways because of mowing practices.
“Honeysuckle when it comes to Shawnee County is each of y’all, we probably have it worse than any county in Kansas,” Landon told the commissioners, warning the cost for control could be “astronomical” if the state declares it a noxious weed. Landon stressed the county’s staff size is small and that addressing a new state designation would require coordination with Parks and landowners and may be a significant ongoing expense.
Commissioners approved the 2025 eradication report and the 2026 management plan by unanimous vote. Landon said the plan lists equipment, management practices and treatment priorities and that the department had issued 18 warning notices in 2025; he recommended monitoring and conversations with Parks to determine who will manage control on county land.
Landon urged the commission to consider the operational implications and potential funding needs should the state formalize the new noxious‑weed listings.
