State-required weed-control board not ready to form By Angela D. Smith Sun Staff

5/18/01 - Mason County, WA - After its second public hearing, Mason County Commissioners have decided to gather more information before forming a state-required weed-control board.

Mason County is one of only two counties, including Douglas, in the state that does not have the five-member weed board required by state law.

A weed board, made up of volunteers and one state ex officio member, helps county residents identify and get rid of noxious weeds — non-native plants that invade native habitats.

In the mid '80s, Mason County commissioners dismantled a weed board when it deemed the board was not cost-effective.

"Re-establishing that board doesn't fund it, though," County Commissioner Herb Baze said.

Although the state does not enforce the noxious weed law, if the state finds them in the county, the state will do the cleanup and charge more than it would cost the county to do the cleanup on its own, said state extension agent for Mason County Joe Kropf from Washington State University Cooperative Extension.

"I'd like to see an advisory board rather than a weed board, though I don't object to some form of control," Mason County resident Irene Goldsby said.

Mason County does not have a large noxious weed problem, Kopf said, but weeds from aquariums or wildflower mixes that people just don't know are noxious weeds could be a problem.

"It's not weed cops," Knopf said. "Now the weed board is more of an educational device."

A weed board formed two years ago in Kitsap County, but it hasn't done anything, said Kitsap weed board member Ron Ross.

"The function we serve is satisfying state law," he said.

About one percent of people who are informed of noxious weed problems on their property refuse to solve it, said state extension agent for Kitsap County Arno Bergstrom.

Weeds such as scotchbroom and Himalayan blackberries came with people who settled in the area and now are so commonplace and invasive, that they seem a natural part ot the terrain.

But not all noxious weeds are so benign. Milfoil, which now is the object of concern in area lakes because of its tendency to choke fish and hinder swimming or boating, was introduced to the area probably after people dumped out aquariums without knowing it would cause a problem, Bergstrom said.

"If there's no agency to deal with (milfoil) we may have people buying chemicals and throwing them into the lake," said Mason County resident Mary Swaboda who lives near Mason Lake where a milfoil problem was resolved — at a high cost — by Mason County's health department.

"We're not looking for more bureaucracy or another tax," County Commissioner Mary Jo Cady said. "But I do believe we have a weed problem. We want to do what's best."

Published in The Sun: 05/18/2001
http://www.thesunlink.com/news/2001/may/0518weedboard.htm

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