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Weber County votes to ask state to exempt Bermuda grass from Utah noxious-weed list
Summary
The Weber County Commission voted March 24 to recommend that the state remove Bermuda grass from the Utah noxious-weed list within county boundaries, citing the grass’s drought tolerance, erosion-control benefits, and local weed-board research. The recommendation must still be acted on by the state.
The Weber County Commission voted March 24 to recommend that the state exempt Bermuda grass from Utah’s noxious-weed list within Weber County.
The recommendation follows a public hearing and a presentation from Bren Edwards, chair of the Weber County Weed Board, who summarized local research and interagency consultations that informed the board’s recommendation. "Bermuda is an extreme drought tolerant grass," Edwards told commissioners, and the weed board said the grass can help choke out other noxious weeds and reduce erosion in sandy soils.
The nut graf: The county action is a recommendation, not a regulatory change. If the commission’s recommendation moves forward it will be passed to the state Commissioner of Agriculture, who would present it to the State Weed Board; only the state can change the administrative code and exempt Bermuda grass for Weber County. Washington County is currently the only Utah county with such an exemption; Weber County would be the second if the state adopts the change.
Weed board members told the commission that the state recently removed part of Bermuda from the statewide list and that multiple counties are evaluating similar exemptions. Edwards said the board worked with Utah State Extension, the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food, UDOT and the soil conservation district to weigh trade-offs between water use and benefits such as reduced erosion and weed suppression. The board also cited outreach tools — including drone treatments for phragmites and an interactive website — as part of broader weed-management work.
Commission discussion noted the county’s drought conditions and water-supply forecasts; one commissioner said the county’s low mid-elevation snowpack and the need to conserve water made the local exemption reasonable as a water-wise landscaping choice. "My feeling is that based upon the drought conditions we see coming up that it will probably be approved, but this would be a recommendation," the commissioner said during the vote.
The commission approved the recommendation by voice vote. Next steps are administrative: the county will forward a recommendation to the state agricultural commissioner for State Weed Board consideration. If the state acts, the administrative code would be updated to reflect an exemption for Weber County.
No members of the public spoke at the hearing on Bermuda grass during the meeting. The commission’s action is advisory to the state; it does not itself change state noxious-weed law.
