Integrated Vegetation Management
Lacombe County recognizes a responsibility to control weeds and brush on road right-of-ways, as well as on County owned property. Our Integrated Vegetation Management Plan follows industry best practice and the Lacombe County Weed and Brush Control Policy.
We use the Integrated Management Plan to:
- Control weeds from spreading.
- Control brush species to keep our roads safe to travel, improve sightlines, and keep them easy to maintain.
- Control brush and weeds with as little environmental impact as possible.
- Reduce the use of herbicides (where possible).
To achieve this Plan, roadside herbicide application units and roadside mowers, all equipped with GPS tracking and recording capabilities, work throughout the County. The County is then divided into two areas:
- Full Cut areas, which are designated to minimize herbicide use to protect sensitive agricultural operations; and
- Spray areas, which take advantage of the cost-effective herbicides for vegetation management.
Both herbicides and mowing are used within each area, while full-cut mowing is timed to achieve the greatest impact on Canada Thistle. The schedule is adjusted based on weather conditions to allow for sufficient time to complete the entire program.
Roadside Haying Program
Lacombe County recognizes the value of legumes and grass growing in municipal road allowances during times of drought. As such, Policy AG(16) was developed and Lacombe County will work cooperatively with agricultural producers who wish to hay Lacombe County road allowances.
Important Dates:
- MAY 15: Residents must submit written requests to Lacombe County in order to hay the road allowance adjacent to their lands.
- JULY 15: Once the request is approved, the resident has until July 15 to cut and bail the road allowance.
- JULY 16 – end of season: After July 15, uncut areas of the road allowance will be mowed by Lacombe County.
PLEASE NOTE: Roadside Haying Agreements must be renewed annually.
Brushing Program
The corner brushing program is designed to keep clear sightlines for municipal road intersections. Landowners can sign a brushing agreement, our brushing crew will go out and brush the initial full-grown trees, and then poplar regrowth will be mowed and sprayed when needed to keep the sightline clear as long as the agreement is current.
No Spray Areas
We understand that some landowners/tenants don't want herbicides used in the ditches near their properties.
Landowners can designate their lands 'No Spray' areas by completing the No Spray Form and submitting it to Community Services prior to April 1 of the current year. These landowners/tenants will be responsible for controlling the vegetation on County right-of-ways next to their property, subject to the conditions found in the No Spray Areas Policy.
Lacombe County's No Spray Areas Policy sets out the terms for these agreements.
Please read this form carefully before submitting it to the Community Services Department
