Noxious weed report for King County highlights collaboration and team work

Do you know how many giant hogweed sites there are in King County? Or how many miles of river knotweed was controlled on last year? The 2016 Annual Report of the King County Noxious Weed Control Program has answers to these questions, and many more.

King County Noxious Weed Control Program 2016 Annual Report Cover
King County Noxious Weed Control Program 2016 Annual Report

Read the report to learn how King County has been working collaboratively with residents, landowners, community groups, public agencies and others to reduce the impacts of invasive plants and noxious weeds on our quality of life, economy and the environment.

chart showing the area of noxious weeds controlled and eradicated in King County, Washington from 2000 to 2016
King County’s Noxious Weed Control Program has eradicated 100’s of acres of noxious weeds over the past 15 years.

With a small, primarily seasonal staff, the Noxious Weed Control Program has been able to turn the tide on the spread of high priority toxic noxious weeds such as giant hogweed and reduce the rapid growth of invasive plants such as garlic mustard, orange hawkweed and purple loosestrife.

Some of the program’s activities highlighted in the report include:

  • Worked with 4,082 landowners and public agencies with state-regulated noxious weeds on their properties and achieved voluntary control of 96 percent of the infestations overall, including 99 percent of the infested county lands and roadsides.
  • Surveyed 15 percent more area for Class A noxious weed garlic mustard than in 2015, protecting over 800 acres of forests and riversides from infestation.
  • Surveyed 128 river miles for riparian weeds, assisted 1,700 property owners on rivers and controlled 175 acres of invasive knotweed.
  • Reached over 10,000 residents through educational events.

The program’s success depends in large part on its ability to achieve strong cooperation and support of all stakeholders, including private citizens, governments, landowners, community groups and industry. Residents of King County have come to rely on the program as an important resource for assistance in their own efforts to combat noxious weeds.

If you have any questions about the report, please contact Steven Burke, Manager of the King County Noxious Weed Control Program in the Water and Land Resources Division of the Department of Natural Resources and Parks.

2017-Noxious-Weed-Program-Team-Photo
The Noxious Weed Control Program staff work hard as a team and individually to combat noxious weeds in King County.

2 comments

  1. This report is very impressive! Thank you for helping landowners and protecting our natural resources, stream, rivers, parks, agricultural lands and forests from invasive noxious weeds. Keep up the good work. The pictures and graphs are great!

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