PORT HADLOCK — In Jefferson County, the invasive-plant control program tends to get the short end of the stalk, but Eve Dixon, coordinator of noxious weed control, still attacks the weeds with enthusiasm.
“We’ve seen our budget cut from $20,000 for last year to $13,000 for this year,” she said. “I don’t see us getting much more, with all the cutbacks in other departments.”
Noxious weeds are non-native plants introduced into the state that cause both ecological and, through affecting agriculture, economical damage, the Washington State Noxious Weed Control Board says on its website, www.nwcb.wa.gov.
Dixon, who lives in Port Hadlock, drives around the county looking for especially noxious weeds, often stopping to pull them out on the spot.
On Wednesday, Dixon and part-time employee Katie Gibbons spent a few hours on the hill at the corner of Sims Way and Washington Street pulling out piles of hemlock.
“This stuff is really bad,” she said. “It’s the same plant that killed Socrates.”
The state mandates that each county fund a noxious-weed control program.
Part time
Dixon, a Jefferson County employee, works about two days a week. The $13,000 annual budget covers her salary, Gibbons’ pay and all other expenses. She saves some money by operating out of the Washington State University Extension office, which doesn’t charge for the space.
“We are very grateful that WSU is supporting us, since they don’t have to do this,” she said.
Jefferson County Commissioner John Austin said Dixon “does a great job with what she has to get it done” and lauds her ability to manage resources and recruit volunteers.
Dixon feels complete eradication won’t happen without additional funding and support.
The state gives counties two options for funding a noxious-weed board: out of its general fund or through a property assessment. Jefferson County funds the program through its general fund.
Austin said Dixon was right in saying there would be “no more money from the general fund to fight noxious weeds.
“Our real estate excise tax is decreasing in amount, with what we are collecting going to pay off our debt service and support capital projects like a new roof on the courthouse,” Austin said.
Clallam County commissioners approved the collection of a property tax assessment for weed control beginning in 2000.
‘We are a poor county’
This won’t happen in Jefferson County “because we are a poor county, and the commissioners aren’t likely to vote in an assessment,” Dixon said.
Commissioner David Sullivan agrees with Dixon in this respect, calling an assessment “a regressive tax, since property taxes are high enough.
“We would rather fund the noxious-weed program through the general fund,” he said.
Sullivan said the weed program can be most effective through educational programs.
“We have a lot of people moving here every year who are unaware of noxious weeds,” he said.
“The best thing we can do is to let them know what they can do with their own property.”
One of these tools is the “Noxious Weeds That Harm Washington State: Western Washington Field Guide,” distributed by the Washington State Noxious Weed Control Board.
While it seems weeds will never go away and the task of their removal is overwhelming, Dixon feels the effort is worth it: By removing one plant today, its ability to spread thousands of seeds is nipped in the bud.
Sullivan wishes the county could provide more support for the program and has a personal reason to feel enmity for the nasty plants.
Dangerous encounter
“A noxious weed almost killed me,” he said. “Six years ago after I had first taken office, I was trying to pull a Scotch broom plant from the bluff near my house when the ground collapsed.
“I fell 40 feet and broke my back.”
To contact the Jefferson County Noxious Weed Control Board, visit www.co.jefferson.wa.us/WeedBoard; phone 360-379-5610, ext. 205; or email noxiousweeds@co.jefferson.wa.us.
Dixon can be contacted at that phone number or at edixon@co.jefferson.wa.us.
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
