When: November 5, 1 to 3
Where: 285 Technology Center Way, Wenatchee
The State Weed Board is holding a public hearing prior to voting on proposed changes to the noxious weed list, including a proposal to reinstate 2012 language to the Japanese eelgrass, Zostera japonica, which would change its recognition from a Class C noxious weed to a Class C noxious weed on commercially managed shellfish beds only. The Board is soliciting public comment. You can attend the hearing on Tuesday, November 5 at the Confluence Technology Center (285 Technology Center Way) in Wenatchee from 1 – 3 pm, where you can provide written or oral (up to 3 minutes) testimony. Or you can submit written testimony in advance of the hearing via email (ahalpern@agr.wa.gov) or mail (WSNWCB, PO Box 42560, Olympia, WA 98504-2560) through close of business November 4.
Note: A request to remove Japanese Eelgrass from the noxious weed list was denied.
PRESS RELEASE:
September 26, 2013
Contact Alison Halpern, Executive Secretary 360 902-2053, ahalpern@agr.wa.gov for more information or photos of proposed noxious weeds
For immediate release
State Noxious Weed Control Board sets
public hearing to consider changes to the 2014 noxious weed list
OLYMPIA – The Washington State Noxious Weed Control Board (WSNWCB) will hold a public hearing on Nov. 5 in Wenatchee to take comments on proposed rule-making changes to the 2014 state noxious weed list.
When: 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 5
Where: The Confluence Technology Center, 285
Technology Center Way, Wenatchee, WA 98801.
How to comment:
·
Mail written testimony to: WSNWCB;
PO Box 42560; Olympia, WA 98504-2560.
·
Attend the public hearing to
provide written or verbal testimony in person.
Written testimony should be submitted by 5 p.m. Monday, Nov. 4, 2013. Oral
testimony at the hearing will be limited to three minutes per person, with an
additional opportunity to speak, if time allows.
The WSNWCB will vote on the proposed rule changes during its regular
meeting, at 9 a.m. , Wednesday. Nov. 6, in the same location as the hearing.
This meeting is also open to the public.
The WSNWCB has several proposed changes for 2014,
including four additions to the noxious weed list. These include:
o
Lesser celandine (Ficaria verna, also known as Ranunculus ficaria)
a small, low-growing plant of moist areas. Emerging early in the growing season,
often before native ephemerals, it can form dense patches that outcompete
native plants. Its vegetative reproduction through bulbets and tubers makes it
very difficult to control once established. Lesser celandine has been proposed
as a Class B noxious weed, which would be designated for control in Snohomish,
Skamania, Stevens, and Pend Oreille counties.
o
Giant reed (Arundo donax)
is a bamboo-like grass considered highly invasive in many southern states, where
it can rapidly colonize and form massive, monotypic stands in riparian (river
bank) habitat. However, there is a great deal of interest in this fast-growing
plant as a biofuel, and as a sustainable substitute for tree-based paper,
flooring and other construction building material, and as reeds for wind
instruments. The WSNWCB is considering listing it as a Class B noxious weed, to
be designated for control in areas susceptible to invasion such as rivers,
wetlands, and open irrigation waterways. The intent is to support the careful
and responsible cultivation of this potential crop while being prepared to
control it should it escape into these aquatic systems.
o
The WSNWCB is also considering
grouping all nonnative cattails (Typha species)
and their hybrids into one Class C listing. These nonnative wetland plants are
considered invasive because they can dominate marshes more aggressively and
tolerate deeper water and more flooding than our native cattail (Typha latifolia). Because the nonnative cattails and their
hybrids look similar to each other, and our native cattail is more easily
distinguishable, it is simpler to group the nonnatives together as one noxious
weed listing. As a Class C noxious weed, control would not be required by the
WSNWCB, though county weed boards may require landowners to control it where it
is becoming problematic.
o
Russian olive (Elaeagnus angustifolia) is common in Eastern Washington and
is regarded by many as a nasty tree with thorny branches. Sometimes sold as an
ornamental and for use as wind breaks, Russian olive is quite invasive,
particularly in riparian habitats, and literally a real pain to work around
and/or control. It has been proposed as a Class C noxious weed for 2014, which
means that control would not be required by the WSNWCB, though county weed
boards may require landowners to control it where it is becoming problematic.
o
Japanese eelgrass (Zostera japonica) has returned for a third year of
deliberation, as it still poses a complicated dilemma in Washington. The WSNWCB
had listed Japanese eelgrass as a Class C noxious weed on commercially managed
shellfish beds only in 2012 and then adopted a proposal to remove the
modification and list it as a Class C noxious weed in 2013. For 2014, the
WSNWCB is considering a proposal to reinstate the original listing language of
2012.
o
The WSNWCB will also be considering
the reclassification of velvetleaf from a Class A noxious weed to a Class B
noxious weed and buffalobur from a Class A to a Class C noxious weed, along
with several Class B designation changes.
o
Finally, the board is proposing to
simplify yellow-flowered hawkweed listings. Nonnative hawkweed (Hieracium) species can be hard to identify down to species
and tell apart, so the board is considering taking its 11 hawkweed noxious weed
listings and grouping them into two easier-to-tell-apart subgenus groups.
Visit www.nwcb.wa.gov/whatsNew.html
for more information about the listing proposals and how to testify at the
hearing.
