It is important to work with your neighbors, when controlling invasive weeds. Invasive weeds ignore property boundaries and routinely jump from one property to the next. Many landowners don’t discuss this issue with there neighbors to avoid conflict. As a result in many cases, property lines are under-managed because of concerns about encroachment on neighboring properties. In these cases we can help! The WeedWise program is non-regulatory and we have staff available to help landowners develop a plan for controlling their invasive weeds. We recommend that landowners start by initiating a conversations with their neighbors by telling them about the resources available to them through the WeedWise program.
If discussions with neighboring landowners fail to yield results, it is important for landowners to know what additional actions are available. There is no county-level regulatory authority empowered to enforce noxious weed rules and regulations. While there are Oregon noxious weeds laws, enforcement of these laws by the Oregon Department of Agriculture Noxious Weed Program is limited to high priority class A noxious weeds.
Many of our local municipalities have nuisance ordinances that require weeds and other noxious vegetation to be removed or kept below a certain height to prevent seeding. The specific ordinances differ widely from city to city. For questions about local nuisance ordinances and enforcement, contact your local code enforcement for specific information.
Outside of municipalities, there is no enforcement and it is recommended that neighbors work together to control invasive weeds across property boundaries. If neighborly relations sour, landowners are encouraged to contact Dispute Resolution Services for assistance.
Comments are closed.