What's New
Proposed Changes to the Washington Noxious Weed List 2025 (Continued)
The Washington State Noxious Weed Control Board (WSNWCB) will hold a public hearing on March 11th, Webinar, at 1:00 p.m., and in person at Chelan County Fire Hall, 232 E Wapato Ave, Chelan, WA 98816, to take comments on proposed rule-making changes to the 2025 state noxious weed list and WAC 16.750. The changes proposed consist of one Class C addition.
This is a continuation of the process which worked with stakeholders last year, for the 2025 list. The 2026 list changes will have a hearing in November 2025.
To comment on the proposed changes, written testimony can be mailed to WSNWCB; P.O. Box 42560; Olympia, WA 98504-2560, or emailed to noxiousweeds@agr.wa.gov by 5:00 p.m. Monday March 10th, or given via webex during the public testimony section of the hearing. Verbal testimony will be limited to 3 minutes per person. To attend the hearing, contact Mary Fee at MFee@agr.wa.gov or 360-561-4428
To join the hearing virtually, click here.
To call into the virtual hearing, Call 877-312-2531 and use meeting number: 2530 144 4766, password: YMnjck86pd (96652586 when dialing from a video system)
WAC 16-750-015 Class C addition
- The addition of English holly, Ilex aquifolium.
WSR 24-20-110 (CR 102) and full Small Business Economic Impact Statement
OTS-5884.2 for the proposed WAC 16.750 changes
Holly information, testimonies, and past meetings:
Washington Noxious Weed List 2025 additions and changes
The Washington State Noxious Weed Control Board voted on the 2025 Noxious Weed List following a public hearing in November. County noxious weed control boards have 90 days from the adoption of the state weed list to adopt their own county noxious weed list. The county noxious weed list must include all class A noxious weeds and any class B noxious weeds designated by the state in their county. You can find the whole lists in WAC 16.750. There is some discrepancy about when that 90 days starts. It could be argued that the 90 days starts when the law goes into effect on January 1st, or when the WSNWCB voted on the additions at their meeting November 6th, or when the official document was filed on November 19th. I am not an attorney and do not want to give miss-information. The date of adoption on the form filed was November 6th.
The 2025 updates are as follows:
WAC 16-750-005 Class A Noxious Weed Changes and Additions:
The addition of round leaf bittersweet, Celastrus orbiculatus
The addition of marsh thistle, Cirsium palustre
WAC 16-750-011 Class B Noxious Weed Changes and Additions
Un-designating shiny geranium, Geranium lucidum, in Pierce County east of the Narrows Bridge.
WAC 16-750-120 (8)(11), WAC 16-750-130 (2b), WAC 16-750-135 (11)(15c), WAC 16-750-137 (5).
Updating Pronouns Throughout from he/she, him/her to they/them.
As far as, Holly…. The WSNWCB voted to postponed the proposed listing of holly until late February/ early March. There will be another hearing specifically for holly and vote at the WSNWCB March meeting. The WSNWCB wanted to make sure that wording issues were resolved before a final determination was made on holly.
Holly information, testimonies, and past meetings:
Proposed Changes to the Washington Noxious Weed List 2025
The Washington State Noxious Weed Control Board (WSNWCB) will hold a public hearing on November 5th, via WebEx Webinar, at 1:00 p.m., and in person at Confluence Technology Center, 285 Technology Way, Wenatchee, WA 98801, to take comments on proposed rule-making changes to the 2025 state noxious weed list and WAC 16.750. The changes proposed consist of two Class A additions, one Class B designation change, one Class C addition, and grammatical pronoun updates.
To comment on the proposed changes, written testimony can be mailed to WSNWCB; P.O. Box 42560; Olympia, WA 98504-2560, or emailed to noxiousweeds@agr.wa.gov by 5:00 p.m. Monday November 4th, or given via webex during the public testimony section of the hearing. Verbal testimony will be limited to 3 minutes per person. To attend the hearing, contact Mary Fee at MFee@agr.wa.gov or 360-561-4428
WAC 16-750-005 Class A additions
- The addition of round leaf bittersweet, Celastrus orbiculatus.
- The addition of marsh thistle, Cirsium palustre.
WAC 16-750-011 Class B additions and classification changes
- Un-designating shiny geranium, Geranium lucidum in Pierce County.
WAC 16-750-015 Class C addition
- The addition of wild holly species, Ilex species, not including plants found in managed landscapes or where commercially or agriculturally grown.
Grammatical pronoun updates to WAC 16-750
WSR 24-20-110 (CR 102) and full Small Business Economic Impact Statement
OTS-5884.2 for the proposed WAC 16.750 changes
News Release for the hearing and public testimony
Hearing agenda for November 5th at 1pm via webinar and in person
Holly information, testimonies, and past meetings:
Join the hearing via Webex or call in: 1-877-312-2531 Meeting Number/access code: 2538 353 9546 (46232377 at the address 25383539546@agr.webex.com from a video system) Password: g6cDBFSSk43 (46232377 when dialing from a video system)
