June 2026 Sunriver Scene - Flipbook - Page 19
Prepare now to successfully control noxious weeds this season and beyond
By SROA Natural Resources
Department
SROA NEWS – Noxious
weed season is just around the
corner. As temperatures increase
and sunny days persist, nonnative invasive plants will begin
to emerge in Sunriver. Now is
an excellent time to make a plan
for controlling noxious weeds
on your property this summer.
With their lack of natural
predators, rapid lifecycles and
well-developed reproductive
strategies, noxious weeds compete with our native vegetation
for resources such as water,
nutrients, and space. They
also reduce food and habitat
sources for wildlife, and some
can be toxic if ingested by
wildlife and humans. While
eliminating noxious weeds
can be challenging, controlling them every season as they
emerge will lessen their effect
on our landscapes. Pinpointing an exact time in Sunriver
when noxious weeds appear is
difficult (as it greatly depends
on weather, soil conditions and
other factors), but they typically
emerge mid-May to early June
and mature throughout the
summer months. With warmer
winter and spring temperatures
in Central Oregon this year,
noxious weeds are emerging
much earlier than normal in
some areas. Taking early action to control noxious weeds
is ideal before they go to seed
(usually in mid- to late-August)
after which they become a bigger problem. Here are three
steps all owners should take
now to best prepare to control
noxious weeds:
1. Familiarize yourself with
and learn to identify the most
common noxious weeds in
Sunriver. The control of knapweed species; toadflax species; bull, Canada and Russian
thistles; and Scotch broom is
mandatory in Sunriver. To learn
what the various noxious weeds
look like during different phases
of growth, visit www.sunriverowners.org/noxiousweeds for
photos and identification tips.
2. If you haven’t already, start
walking your property to look
for noxious weeds and continue
this practice throughout the
summer a few times. Be sure
to revisit areas where weeds
have been present in the past.
Seeds can remain viable in the
soil for years and the extensive,
lateral root systems of some
noxious weeds can take time
to fully eliminate. Remember
that noxious weeds can blend
in with native vegetation, and
growth is staggered throughout
the season.
It is not unusual to inspect
a property in the morning
and locate no noxious weeds,
only to re-inspect in the afternoon to discover several have
become visible.
3. Learn the best methods
for controlling each type of
noxious weed at www.sunriverowners.org/noxiousweeds.
Arm yourself with gloves and a
small spade or a large shovel to
pull or dig noxious weeds with a
taproot (like knapweed species,
bull and Russian thistle, and
Scotch broom), or locate the
appropriate herbicide (or work
with a licensed applicator) to
spray toadflax species, Canada
thistle or Scotch broom (whose
root system gets more expansive as the plant matures). All
noxious weeds must be bagged
and disposed of in the trash to
prevent spread.
Some owners choose to hire
the work out to a contractor
or another third party. If you
choose to go this route ensure
that whoever is doing the work
knows your property boundaries, which weeds are mandatory
to prevent from going to seed,
and the best control methods
for each weed type.
SROA’s Natural Resources
Department staff assist owners
Annual War on Weeds is scheduled for Aug. 1-14. Volunteer to help pull knapweed on commons.
with meeting their obligation to
control weeds by performing inspections on private properties
where noxious weeds are known
to have been present in the past.
The inspections are usually
done throughout the month of
June, and typically owners are
notified if weeds were observed
on their properties in July.
If you see noxious weeds on
your property before that time
do not wait to hear from SROA
to start controlling them. Please
don’t assume that no notice
from SROA means there are
no noxious weeds as they can
emerge after we complete our
initial inspection. SROA also
inspects for noxious weeds
on commons and undertakes
both targeted spraying and
pulling activities throughout
the summer.
If you want to get even more
involved with noxious weed
control in Sunriver sign up at
www.sunriverowners.org/noxiousweeds to be a volunteer in
SROA’s annual “War on Weeds”
(Aug. 1-14, as your schedule
allows) to help pull spotted
knapweed on commons.
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JUNE 2026 SUNRIVER SCENE
Page 19
