Results of the
Wisconsin Noxious Weed Survey, 1991
Jerry
Doll
The
Wisconsin noxious weed law establishes a means whereby local
governmental units can take action to control Canada thistle,
leafy spurge and field bindweed. Additional species can be
declared noxious and this is usually done at the town or
township level. (See previous article "Noxious
Weeds in Wisconsin, 1990, FC 33.0" for background
information on the noxious weed law and other legislation that
regulates weeds and weed seeds in Wisconsin.)
In 1991, I
surveyed our county agricultural agents to assess the degree to
which the noxious weed law is being used/enforced at the local
level and to gain their impressions of the effectiveness of the
law. Nearly all counties responded, but several indicated they
did not have time to poll each town chair for information.
Nevertheless, the survey is a valid overview of the noxious weed
law in the state, reflects the current status of implementation,
and will help those who may wish to consider changing the law at
the local or state level.
In
response to the question, "Have other weeds been declared
noxious in your county?", 34% said yes. Table 1 lists the
additional weeds declared noxious in specific townships or town.
Only five species of annual grasses been classified as
noxious weeds at the local level. Surprisingly, a widely
distributed annual like giant foxtail is declared noxious more
often (four counties) than wild proso millet (three or more
townships in two counties). The usefulness of the noxious weed
law at the local level is most appropriate for new weed problems
like wild proso millet, but few townships or counties have taken
this approach. Fortunately, wild proso millet has been declared
a prohibited weed in most seed crops by the State Seed
Certification Standards. Green county's declaration of
shattercane as a noxious weed is appropriate because (1) most
farms do not yet have this weed and (2) we have effective
cultural and chemical options to control this weed in most
circumstances.
The perennial
grasses (wirestem muhly and quackgrass) are noxious in some
townships of a few counties. In Price Co., the city of Park
Falls has declared many perennial grasses as noxious weeds. They
are basically pasture grasses and are viewed as a problem if
they produce pollen and their designation as noxious weeds is
basically to give local authorities the power to force land
owners to mow uncontrolled vegetation. Section 8-1-5(c)
(Destruction of Noxious Weeds) of Title 8 (Health and
Sanitation) of the city code reads as follows: "...the city
shall require that all noxious weeds shall be destroyed prior to
the time in which such plants would mature to the bloom or
flower state. The growth of Noxious weeds in excess of eight (8)
inches in height from the ground surface shall be prohibited
within the City corporate limits. Noxious weeds shall include
any weed, grass or similar plant growth which, if allowed to
pollinate, would cause or produce hay fever in human beings or
would cause a skin rash through contact with the skin." A
total of 24 species are on their current noxious weed list. This
illustrates that the present noxious weed law can be used to
protect human health as well as agricultural productivity.
Several
very common annual broadleaves are noxious in a few
counties. Examples include smartweed, pigweed, common
lambsquarters, common and giant ragweed, velvetleaf and
cocklebur. The largest group of annuals is the mustard family
(five species). Dodder, a parasitic weed, can be a problem to
crops grown in muck fields and is noxious in some areas of
Walworth and Oconto counties. The annual weed most frequently
declared noxious is hemp (eight counties). Given today's drug
enforcement programs, this is probably a mute point - hemp is
illegal in all counties.
Among the biennial
plants introduced into the state long ago and now widely
distributed and declared noxious, we find bull thistle (nine
counties), burdock (two counties), wild carrot and wild parsnip
(one county each). The more recently introduced species of
biennial thistles (musk and plumeless) are noxious in four and
two counties, respectively. Of the two, plumeless thistle is
more invasive, especially in southwestern and southcentral
Wisconsin, but only Vernon and Green counties have declared it
noxious in these regions of the state.
Among the perennial
broadleaves, five are woody species (barberry, buckthorn,
poison ivy, poison oak and sumac). Three are common in
established forages (hoary alyssum, white cockle and yellow
rocket), two are common in pastures (chicory and goldenrod) four
are only noxious weeds in Park Falls, and one is a curious
member of this list (oxeye daisy). Six counties have townships
where perennial sowthistle is a noxious weed. This seems very
appropriate as this species is being reported more frequently as
a weed of economic concern in Wisconsin. Similarly, the
classification of purple loosestrife as noxious in Washburn
county is timely due to its rapid encroachment into wetlands
where it displaces more desirable vegetation. However,
enforcement will be difficult because there are few effective
controls and it is also very difficult to reclaim marshes
infested with this weed.
Additions
to the noxious weed law not only vary greatly from county to
county but among townships within counties as well. For example,
one township in Jefferson county has added 10 species, another
has added five species, but the other 14 have added none. Four
towns/villages have added one to six species. In Rock county,
seven townships and two towns/villages have declared 10 species
as noxious weeds. Eight more townships have added three to nine
species to their lists. Thus the noxious weed list has been
amended on a very helter-skelter basis at both the micro and
macro levels.
The weeds
added to noxious weed lists were tabulated by plant type (grass
versus broadleaf) and life cycle (Table 2). Grass species were
added 20 times and broadleaves 108 times. Annual species were
added 50 times, biennials 26 times, and perennials 52 times.
Considering that there are many fewer biennials than annuals and
perennials in the plant kingdom, this group is (1) considered
more threatening than the other two, or (2) is frequently found
in non-disturbed sites (roadsides and waste areas) which are
adjacent to agricultural land. Interestingly, the current state
law only has perennial broadleaf species; it is obvious that at
the local level, many other types and life cycles of weeds are
classified as noxious.
We asked
if weed commissioners were appointed at the local level.
Sixty-nine percent of the counties do not appoint weed
commissioners and 31% do. The average number appointed per
county in the later group is 13, with a range of 1 to 45. Most
counties appoint one weed commissioner per township (16 for the
county is typical). Most commissioners report to the town board
or town chair. Some report to the Ag and Extension Committee of
the county or to the City Council (Price county).
Of those
who estimated the number of citations given for violating the
noxious weed law in their county, the average was 15 citations
per commissioner. Several indicated very few citations were
written. The big exceptions to these comments were Racine and
Kenosha counties. The 18 weed commissioners in Racine county
averaged 45 citations each, with a range of 0 to 400. Kenosha
county has 11 weed commissioners who averaged 55 citations,
ranging from 0 to 250 each.
Among the
general comments regarding the noxious weed law offered by the
agricultural agents were the following:
 Weed commissioners
have been only so-so effective in handling their occurrence
[noxious weeds] due to federal regulation, absentee ownership
and lack of experience of enforcing their powers.
Most weed
commissioners don't know what they are doing.
Only if there is
serious objection by an adjacent landowners is any action taken.
This problem [noxious
weeds] is going to increase because of CRP and non-CRP land.
ASCS office has been over run by weed complaints.
The
ASCS is very watchful and tough on the need to control noxious
weeds on CRP land. It continues to cause some confrontations on
CRP land versus adjacent landowners.
The
town chairman acts as weed commissioner but since they are
elected officials and do not want to make any voters mad, the
weeds keep growing and growing and growing.
Enforcement varies
greatly from township to township, depending on the individual
selected to enforce the law.
I
[county agent] get two to three calls a year regarding noxious
weed problems. Most callers indicate they have contacted the
local official responsible but get no response.
May
be time to provide and promote an "improved list" of
noxious weeds to these counties for a new ordnance.
Summary
The
Wisconsin noxious weed law has been helpful to some local
governments, a few have used it to excess, but most seem to have
ignored it. The species added to the state-wide list are very
diverse and sometimes do not appear to be logical choices (i.e.
widely distributed weeds versus newly introduced, localized
infestations). There is no coordination between counties nor
within counties regarding the species added to the noxious weed
list. Nor is there any consistency in appointing weed
commissioners between counties nor any systematic method to
train them to do their job.
Increased
concern by SCS and ASCS regarding vegetation on set-aside acres
(both the annual and long-term programs) has spawned renewed
interest in the noxious weed law. The same is true of efforts to
reestablish or protect native plants in the state. These are
often threatened by introduced species, which represent most of
our weeds. Thus this may be an opportune moment to consider
changing the noxious weed law to be more in tune with today's
environment and to make it a more functional tool.
Summary of
Weeds Declared Noxious at the Township
or Town Level in
Wisconsin
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