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Commission rejects cancelling District 3 fall tour, schedules Sept. 15 meeting with AIS demo option
Summary
The state Weed and Pest Commission voted against a motion to cancel the District 3 fall tour and agreed instead to hold a commission meeting on Sept. 15 with potential afternoon aquatic invasive-species demonstrations, citing travel logistics and sparse local supervisor coverage.
The state Weed and Pest Commission debated whether to cancel its planned District 3 fall tour and ultimately voted to reject a motion to cancel it, leaving the tour on the calendar and scheduling a commission meeting at 10:30 a.m. on Sept. 15.
Commissioners spent an extended period discussing the practical challenges of staging a field tour in District 3, a large, sparsely populated area with few active county weed supervisors. Participants raised concerns about driving distances for supervisors, finding sufficiently large and relevant sites to inspect, and whether the tour should include a boat-inspection demonstration focused on aquatic invasive species (AIS).
Jeremiah, speaking about local coordination, said the commission would need help from local people to assemble useful sites: "I think that if the commission wants us to do that, that we'll have to work with try to find some local people because I just don't know of anything in district three," he said, recommending local contacts to identify sites and prepare demonstrations.
A motion was made "not to have a fall tour in district three." The commission held a roll-call vote and the chair recorded the motion as failed; commissioners then agreed to retain a meeting date of Sept. 15 with the option of adding an AIS/boat-inspection demonstration in the afternoon if local partners can be assembled.
Members debated alternatives including staying in Chamberlain for a shorter, more centralized meeting with an AIS sidebar, and a one-hour boat-inspection demonstration for supervisors and attendees. Several commissioners emphasized planning flexibility so staff could confirm sites and demonstrations nearer the date.
What happens next: the commission left Sept. 15 as the tentative date for a commission meeting beginning at 10:30 a.m.; staff (Ryan and others) were asked to line up AIS and boat-inspection materials and to leave the meeting location flexible while they firm up local arrangements.
Context: the fall tour is an annual outreach and training opportunity that commission members and local supervisors use to inspect sites and share best practices. In this meeting, members weighed that educational value against the logistical strain of covering a wide, rural district.
