Noxious Vegetation Management Plan

 The vitality of the native ecosystem is and has long been a major concern for the citizens of Aspen and the entire Roaring Fork Valley. This native ecosystem is being threatened daily by the invasion of non-native noxious vegetation. The implementation and maintenance of an Integrated Pest Management Plan is critical.

The prolific rate of expansion of these noxious plants creates the greatest challenge for all land stewards. When left unchecked, these plants degrade the overall health of a parcel of land by displacing the beneficial native plants, significantly degrading wildlife habitat, reducing the economic vitality of land, and the voracious sequestering of nutrients and water. Some infestations can permanently damage plant communities or eliminate their associations all together. Generally plants that are recognized as noxious weeds have adaptations which allow the plant to spread and establish communities very rapidly or the ability for seeds to remain viable for years to decades, when unchecked the rate of spread can easily achieve acres per year.

It has been and will continue to be the intent of the City of Aspen to maintain a Noxious Vegetation Management Plan to curb the spread of noxious vegetation within our community. This daunting task must be met with the same vigor that the pest themselves are using to occupy our beautiful environment. If left unchecked the eventual spread of these plants will be such that their control or eradication would become economically unrealistic.