Mountain View County has put a bounty on orange hawkweed, and is asking residents who encounter it to contact the municipality's agricultural services department as soon as possible.The plant is classified as a prohibited noxious weed under the Alberta Weed Control Act, meaning that it must be destroyed. The municipality is asking, however, that residents leave the work up to staff, who will identify the culprit and then take the appropriate steps to rid the plant from the area.ìWe ask that any suspected orange hawkweed plants be left in the ground and to contact MVC Agricultural Services as soon as possible. This is done to ensure we can properly identify the plant. It is easier to identify a live plant than a wilted or dried out one,î said Jane Fulton, the county's manager of agricultural services.Fulton also said that by leaving the plant in the ground, staff can more easily see the conditions under which the plant was growing.ìBy inspecting the weed where it was found we can assist in isolating the entire area of infestation and possibly determine how it was introduced,î she said.Orange hawkweed was discovered earlier this year in isolated areas of the county. It's a perennial weed that, once established, is difficult to control.Fulton said by issuing the bounty ó in which people will receive $50 ó it's hoped that awareness of the noxious weed will be raised and that more sightings will be reported.ìEarly detection and rapid response is the best course of action to try and contain and destroy a new weed invader,î Fulton said.The weed has not yet been found by the four weed inspectors in Red Deer County, according to Art Preachuk, the county's agricultural services manager.
