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Commission moves to exempt limited noxious-weed removal in critical-area buffers
Summary
The commission agreed to allow hand removal and limited herbicide uses for noxious and invasive plants in critical-area buffers as an exempt activity and to reference the Whitman County noxious-weed list rather than embedding it in the code.
The Planning Commission accepted staff's revision to relocate noxious- and invasive-plant removal into the CAO's exemption section and expand permissible techniques to hand removal, light equipment and limited herbicide application where it avoids soil compaction. Staff cited a public comment from Carol Black that prompted the wording change. "So this is now an exempt activity," staff stated when reviewing the edits.
Commissioners asked whether the code should include the county's official noxious-weed list or simply reference the weed board publication. Mark Storey recommended referencing the current Whitman County noxious-weed list so the CAO automatically uses future updates; staff agreed to check with the county weed board and reference the adopted list rather than reprinting it in the ordinance.
