Lanark County follows an Integrated Vegetation Management (IVM) Plan to use cultural, mechanical and chemical methods to control weed or brush concerns. The IVM Plan integrates two or more control methods to best target the weed while minimizing herbicide use and its impacts. Within the IVM Plan there are four major topics:

  • Roadside vegetation
  • Weed control
  • Roadside restoration
  • Education and awareness

Roadside vegetation

It is important that we control roadside vegetation to:

  • keep drivers safe on the road by keeping good sightlines into the ditch;
  • to preserve the road surface by allowing water to drain; and
  • to prevent the spread of invasive plants and toxic weeds.

The IVM Plan sets acceptable height limits for vegetation growing in different zones of the roadside cross-section for mowing and roadside restoration.

  • Turf & Clear Zone
  • Wildlife Zone
  • Remaining Zone

We restrict mowing to the turf and clear zone, curves, and intersections for motorist visibility. We time our mowing to reduce the spread of noxious weeds and to avoid peak bloom times in mid-July. The remaining zones have taller height limits and are not mowed regularly. These zones may naturalize with native wildflowers for pollinators or may be actively restored.

Weed control

Our weed control is applied as needed using the most targeted and selective methods. We use mechanical and chemical controls tailored to the biology of the weed and the number of plants. Our integrated approach aims to limit herbicide use and promote mechanical control where possible. Our roadside weed control focuses on controlling wild parsnip, a noxious and invasive plant.

Roadside restoration

We seed and plant to restore roadsides after disturbances such as weed control or construction. Our roadside restoration goal is to establish diverse pollinator habitat to prevent invasive plants from establishing themselves in the roadside.

Education and awareness

We provide information about target weeds in Lanark County to improve public awareness and to stop the spread. It is important to be able to identify and avoid poisonous weeds like poison ivy and wild parsnip that cause rashes and burns. Also, knowing what invasive weeds look like help stop their spread.

Noxious and invasive weeds can be tracked and reported to the Early Detection and Distribution Mapping System (EDDMapS).

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