Laserfiche WebLink
3.03 Inventory, Mapping, and Monitoring <br /> Each year, with Board of County Commissioner approved funding, El Paso <br /> County conducts a systematic inventory of noxious weeds. Utilizing Global <br /> Positioning System technology (GPS), noxious weed infestations are noted and <br /> recorded. This inventory provides a database for enforcement and education <br /> efforts. <br /> Mapping is employed to determine the location and extent of existing infestations. <br /> This information can be used to develop weed management strategies. Mapping is <br /> also useful to predict where new noxious weeds infestations are most likely to <br /> occur. <br /> Monitoring of weed populations is used to establish baseline data and to record <br /> vegetation trends over time. The effectiveness of weed control efforts is <br /> determined by recording vegetation quantities prior to and following weed <br /> management strategies. <br /> 3.04 Control <br /> The most effective way to control established noxious weeds is through Integrated <br /> Weed Management (IWM). IWM incorporates weed biology, environmental <br /> information, and available management techniques, to create a management plan <br /> that prevents unacceptable damage from weeds and poses the least risk to people <br /> and the environment. IWM is a combination of treatment options that, when used <br /> together, provide optimum control for noxious weeds; however, IWM does not <br /> necessarily imply that multiple control techniques have to be used or that <br /> chemical control options should be avoided. According to the Act, "it is the duty <br /> of all persons to use integrated methods to manage noxious weeds if the same are <br /> likely to be materially damaging to the land of neighboring landowners." IWM <br /> methods include: <br /> • Cultural: Establishing healthy native or other desirable vegetation. <br /> Methods include proper grazing management (prevention of overgrazing), <br /> re-vegetating or re-seeding, fertilizing, and irrigation. <br /> • Biological: The use of an organism such as insects, diseases, and grazing <br /> animals to control noxious weeds; useful for large, heavily infested areas. <br /> Not an effective method when eradication is the objective, but can be used <br /> to reduce the impact and dominance of noxious weeds. <br /> • Mechanical: Manual or mechanical means to remove, kill, injure, or alter <br /> growing conditions of unwanted plants. Methods include mowing, hand- <br /> pulling,tilling, mulching, cutting, and clipping seed heads. <br /> • Chemical: The use of herbicides to suppress or kill noxious weeds by <br /> disrupting biochemical processes unique to plants. <br /> 6 <br />