Funding available for weed management

The Northern Larimer County Habitat Partnership Program has a 50/50 cost-share program for purchase of herbicides for noxious weed management in northern Larimer County.

The NLCHPP partners with private landowners, public land managers and the Colorado Division of Wildlife to reduce wildlife/agriculture conflicts and improve wildlife/livestock habitat. Division of Wildlife funding is made available through NLCHPP to support various habitat improvement projects, and invasive weeds are considered a major threat to wildlife habitat. These funds are generated by a 5 percent contribution of big game license fees sold within the NLCHPP boundaries.

Landowners wishing to participate in this weed management program must own property of 35 acres or more within the NLCHPP boundary (bounded on the north by the Wyoming border, on the east by Interstate 25, on the west by the Jackson and Larimer County line, and on the south by Harmony Road, Larimer County Roads 19, 38E, 27 and 44H, and Rocky Mountain National Park).

Landowners must fill out an application provided by the NLCHPP and must be approved by the committee prior to picking up the herbicide and paying their cost share at the Larimer County Weed District office, 2649 E. Mulberry St. in Fort Collins. The NLCHPP pays for 50 percent of the cost of the approved herbicide up to a cap of $50 to $200 per qualified applicant. The amount of cost-share funding is dependant on number of acres a landowner owns. Total project funding is limited to $5,000.

The Larimer County Weed District is partnering in this project and will be available for site visits to help landowners with weed species identification and management recommendations. The district has field sprayers available through a loan program. The weed district can be contacted at 498-5768, and it has information online at www.larimer.org/weeds.

The cost-share program is being offered from January through mid-June. For further information, contact Virginia Johnson, NLCHPP administrative assistant, at nlchppadmin1@msn.com or call 493-3535. Visit the NLCHPP web site at http://www.nlchpp.org.