Crossposted from the Noxious Weeds blog

2025 has been a bittersweet year for the Noxious Weed Control Program. After long careers with the Program, both the Program Manager, Steve Burke, and County Lands and Regional Supervisor, Roy Brunskill, made the choice to retire. To reflect on their time with the program, and to celebrate their incredible achievements, this post will reflect back on how the Program has grown since its inception in 1997.

The jump from six part-time staff with paper maps and an inkling of where weeds might be, to 22 full time staff with GIS maps on their phone and a database of information was no fast feat. This change took time, and was largely thanks to community support, funding increases, specialized staff, and technological advancements. Read more.