Contracts

Each year Klamath County enters into agreements with outside agencies and private land owners to treat noxious weeds on their properties and/or right-of-ways. Klamath County informs each agency and/or private landowner that there are commercial applicators available to perform weed control services. Klamath County provides noxious weed control in areas where no one else is willing or able to provide this service. Klamath County Weed Control does not compete with commercial applicators and enters into these agreements with outside agencies and private land owners at their request to perform this service at the County’s cost.

Klamath County Weed Control Fee Schedule (Resolution 2021-010)

Klamath County Weed Control contracts primarily with other County Departments, State & Federal Agencies and Utility Companies.

Below is a list of some of the contracts on which Klamath County Weed Control performs noxious weeds control services:

Klamath County Road Department

The Klamath County Road Department is responsible for maintaining approximately 850 miles of County Roads. There are two laws governing vegetation management within these right-of-ways. ORS 365.265 requires that the vegetation within the right-of-ways be kept from obstructing, hanging over or otherwise encroaching or threatening to encroach our roads in any manner. Klamath County Road Department partially meets this requirement by spraying road shoulders in an effort to maintain a vegetation free strip 8 feet wide along our roadsides. Approximately 1,230 lane miles of road shoulders are sprayed once a year, usually in the Spring, as weather permits. We also spot spray small trees and brush to prevent them from encroaching into the roads. ORS 569.395 requires all noxious weeds to be destroyed or prevented from producing seed within our right-of-ways. The Road Department utilizes the Weed Control Department to meet this requirement. Not all of our right-of-ways require noxious weed treatments. We do however spot spray approximately 1,400 lane miles of County Roads for noxious weeds. All of these miles need to be covered at least once a year and because there are multiple types of weeds that mature at varying times a lot of the roadsides need to be sprayed two or sometimes even three times. This is a substantial task that requires many crew hours and takes the entire growing season to complete (April through September).