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The Estes Valley, Colorado: A Case Study of a Weed Management Area

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Sharlyn Gunderson-Izurieta ,
Deborah Paulson  and
Stephen F. Enloe
Sharlyn Gunderson-Izurieta
Affiliation:
Department of Geography, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY 82071
Deborah Paulson
Affiliation:
Department of Geography, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY 82071
Stephen F. Enloe*
Affiliation:
Department of Plant Sciences, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY 82071
*
Corresponding author's E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

Weed Management Areas (WMAs) are an important approach for managing invasive plants. However, most WMAs are relatively recent, and little is known about how these active partnerships can be maintained over the long term. This case study of the Estes Valley WMA examined the early community support that led to the establishment of a WMA and reasons why the Estes Valley WMA did not continue as a collaborative process. The analysis uncovered four factors that were critical to the early success of the Estes Valley WMA group: community education/awareness, key participants, a community sense of responsibility, and economic/aesthetic values. The analysis also uncovered four factors explaining why the Estes Valley WMA did not continue: a lack of group structure, unclear boundary definitions, availability of funding, and decline in motivation. Residents of the Estes Valley now rely more on the county and private contractors to provide weed management services. While this approach is meeting basic weed management needs, some interviewees feel that community involvement has declined. Recommendations are given for the reestablishment of a collaborative weed management group in the Estes Valley.

Keywords

Collaborationcommunity support
Type
Case Study
Information
Invasive Plant Science and Management , Volume 1 , Issue 1 , January 2008 , pp. 91 - 97
Copyright
Copyright © Weed Science Society of America 

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