Washington State efforts to eradicate the invasive weed Spartina will continue starting soon.
In an announcement from the Washington State Department of Agriculture it states that work will proceed June 1 and continue through November.
Survey and eradication efforts will take place in multiple areas, including Grays Harbor, Willapa Bay, Hood Canal, Puget Sound, the north and west sides of the Olympic Peninsula and at the mouth of the Columbia River.
According to the announcement, in 2019 Spartina was eradicated at additional sites, bringing the total number of eradicated sites to 65.
This year, project partners will survey more than 60,000 acres of saltwater estuaries and 750 miles of shoreline in 12 counties. WSDA and its partners dig out small infestations by hand and treat larger sites with herbicides.
Since 1995, WSDA has served as the lead state agency for Spartina eradication, facilitating the cooperation of local, state, federal and tribal governments; universities; interested groups; and private landowners. Together they located and treated over 11,000 individual Spartina plants last year.
Visit agr.wa.gov/plantsinsects/weeds/Spartina to see progress reports on Spartina control efforts.