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Message from Cathy Alper About Weed Mitigation

 

Hello Everyone,

 

At the August 13th HOA meeting several neighbors expressed interest in knowing more about noxious weeds.  

 

There is a list of weeds that both the town and state consider noxious.  By town ordinance, we as homeowners are required to eliminate these weeds from our property.  Below I included a list of the weeds most prevalent in our neighborhood. 

 

I called the Estes Park Code Officer, Zeron Lawson, and he said that if weeds on the noxious list are present in our yards, we are in violation.  He also said that noxious weeds, because they are not native to the area, tend to dry out more quickly and may present increased fire risk. 

 

Marie Gordon (mariekgordon@outlook.com) and I (Cathy Alper cja9876@gmail.com) both work with RMNP on their weed program.  We would be happy to stop over and help you identify weeds if that would be helpful.

 

Links to Documents (click here) 

  •  ELSA Noxious Weed Booklet - this book (available at ACE and the library) contains information about CO noxious weeds. It includes pictures, methods for eradication, and where and how to properly dispose of the weeds.  

  • Muni Code - this is the town of Estes Park code that relates to noxious weeds.

  • Weed Management - this document contains information about the plants and about how to eradicate them.

 

Website

The town of Estes Park website has many useful resources. https://estespark.colorado.gov/weeds 

 

Weeds most prevalent in our neighborhood

  • Knapweed (diffuse and spotted)

  • Musk thistle 

  • Canada thistle

  • Toadflax (dalmation and yellow)

  • Hoary asylum

  • Mullein

  • Cheatgrass

 

Right now, we are late in the season and most weeds have flowered and need to be bagged and disposed of properly.  ELSA has a weed drop off the third Saturday of September.  Information about this can be found on the town website. 

 

Note: if you mowed earlier in the season, you may now have flowering weeds in your yard.

 

Thank you for your efforts at maintaining a healthy yard.

 

Cathy Alper 

970.420.3144

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