Rural Weeds

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Why Eliminate Weeds?

We control weeds to increase the ecological health of our natural habitats, allowing native plants and animals the resources and space they need to thrive on their own.

Invasive plants are an extremely serious problem in our region. An estimated 4,600 acres of public natural areas are lost to invasive plant species every day.

Weed species displace desirable vegetation in our yards, on our farms and in our forests, causing multiple problems:

Increased erosion
Decreased property values
Stream bank instability
Increased maintenance costs for farmers, gardeners and land managers
Fewer wildflowers for pollinators
Diminished ecosystem services and natural resource value in natural areas
Less food for fish and wildlife, which leads to a loss of biodiversity
Degraded aesthetics and recreation
Degraded water quality – erosion and runoff caused by invasive weeds can harm fish and other aquatic life

How We Can Help:

Help us eliminate high-priority weeds:

All our work is FREE and provided to willing landowners on a voluntary and cooperative basis.

Because there are too many weeds out there for us to treat, the degree to which we can help depends on the level of threat posed by the weed itself.

For weeds listed as Early Detection Rapid Response (EDRR) weeds, we are ready to provide treatment or removal services at any property located within Multnomah County, east of the urban growth boundary. For these high-priority weeds, we offer free assistance with control, and replacement with native plants.

For weeds that are not classified as a high priority, especially in more residential areas, we can provide weed identification, removal advice, and help in creating a customized management plan for your property.

We’ve worked with more than 1,000 residents in East Multnomah County since our weed control program started in 2007. Creating healthy habitats is our passion, and we are excited to talk with you about what’s happening on your property!

Early Detection and Rapid Response (EDRR)

We are actively seeking help locating Early Detection and Rapid Response (EDRR) weeds.

For these high-priority weeds, we offer free assistance with control and replacement with native plants on properties within our district, outside the urban growth boundary. Once weeds are established and become widespread – like ivy and blackberry – they can be too abundant and costly for our staff to wage a meaningful control effort. By identifying EDRR weeds as they appear on your land while their populations are still localized and small, you can help us make sure EDRR weeds never become established in our region.

EDRR Weeds to Report

With permission from the landowner, we can rapidly deploy a control team to the reported location to treat the following high-priority weeds:

High-Priority Species Based on Location

We are only actively controlling these species in strategic areas.

Please contact us to find out if your property is in a target location.

Help us eliminate high-priority weeds:

Request a site visit from our weed control team!

Contact Chris Aldassy, Senior Rural Conservationist:

Contact Isa Rojas, Rural Conservation Technician:

Please note: We are a mighty team of two. If it is a busy time of year for treating weeds, it may take a few days to return your call. We want to hear from you and will get back to you, but please allow five business days for a response.

You can also report these weeds to the Oregon Invasive Species Council.

Local Weed Control Projects

For us to begin a control project, weeds must be a threat to streams, natural areas or human health.

In some cases, we will draw a priority area boundary and only attempt to stop the spread of a particular weed within or beyond this line. If the weed is spread by water, we focus our control efforts on the areas near streams.