Monday, March 17, 2025
OKANOGAN – Not all new residents to Washington State, in general, and Okanogan County, in particular, are welcome. A case in point are noxious weeds that pose a continuous threat to and compete with native and beneficial vegetation. This year two new candidates have been added to the list by the state Noxious Weed Control Board.
Larry Hudson, manager of the county’s Noxious Weed Control Board, delivered his quarterly report to the Board of Okanogan County Commissioners (BOCC) on Jan. 28 and, among other news, named the two varieties to the state list: Round Leaf Bittersweet – known to be in the county – and Marsh Thistle – not yet known to be in the county.
The state noxious weed website, nwcb.wa.gov describes Round Leaf Bittersweet as a “deciduous, woody vine, which can grow to over 100 feet up vegetation and the landscape.” Its flower is “small, inconspicuous white to pale green or yellow, with five petals.”
Marsh Thistle features “clusters of pink to pink-purple thistle heads at the top and tips of flowering stems,” according to NWCB. “Until it blooms, it lives as a rosette of spiny leaves before bolting into a flowering stalk.”
“They were added as Class A weeds,” Hudson told The Quad. “Those require landowners to eradicate them throughout the entire state.”
Hudson said among the Class A status are those weeds with very few or no known sites in the state.
“They want to jump on any infestation before they become a problem,” Hudson said.
Hudson added three from the county board’s list that are problematic in rights-of-way and parking lots in Okanogan County. Those are:
“Okanogan County is the only known county in the state that has it,” said Hudson of Spurge Flax. “We have so much of it here that the state has not required control here, but we want to keep it from spreading to other counties.”
Hudson noted that the three weeds mentioned have been the same that the county board has added for about the past eight years.
Hudson estimates there are 60-70 noxious weed varieties in the county. Of those that require control, Hudson said Scotch Thistle and Musk Thistle are the most difficult.
“They are the ones most widespread of the ones that are required to be controlled in the county,” Hudson said.
The state board puts out a yearly list of noxious weeds and considers suggestions from the public for additions to that list.
Among the projects the weed board is pursuing are:
Hudson added that his office is now fully staffed with a new field tech and a new office tech.
The public can propose additions to the noxious weed list through April 10. For more information, visit nwcb.wa.gov/get involved. To learn more about weed identification or consultation, visit the office at 1234 Second Ave. S, Suite B, Okanogan, email noxiousweed@co.okanogan.wa.us, or call (509) 422-7165.
Mike Maltais: 360-333-8483 or michael@ward.media
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