Noxious Weed Program

The County Agricultural Inspector (CAI) assists in administering and enforcing the noxious weed law and rules in an effective and uniform manner, resulting in the protection of the county's citizens and the environment from the harmful effects of noxious weeds. This can be accomplished through control of noxious weeds found growing on land within the county.

The CAI inspects all lands within the county for noxious weeds annually and attains as high a level of voluntary compliance as possible. The CAI seeks cooperation from local governments in the inspection and enforcement of the noxious weed law in a manner that will maximize the voluntary compliance. In those instances where voluntary compliance fails, standardized enforcement procedures will be used to insure that the law is uniformly complied within the county.

General Notice to Control or Eradicate Noxious Weeds

Notice is hereby given this 1st day of May 2014, pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, Section 18.83, Subdivision 1 (2009), that all persons in Clay County, Minnesota, shall control or eradicate all noxious weeds on land they occupy or are required to maintain. Control or eradication may be accomplished by any lawful method, but the method(s) applied may need to be repeated in order to prevent the spread of viable noxious weed seeds and other propagating parts to other lands. Failure to comply with the general notice may mean that an individual notice, Minnesota Statutes, Section 18.83, Subdivision 2 (2009), will be issued. An individual notice may be appealed within two working days of receipt to the Appeal Committee in the county where the land is located. Failure to comply with an individual notice will mean that the inspector having jurisdiction may either hire the work done or seek a misdemeanor charge against the person(s) who failed to comply. If the work is hired done by the inspector, the cost can be placed as a tax upon the land and collected as other real estate taxes are collected. You may obtain a list of the plants that are designated as noxious weeds and the members of the Appeal Committee from your County Agricultural Inspector or County-Designated Employee. You can also obtain this information from your Local Weed Inspectors. Local Weed Inspectors include the township supervisors, city mayors or their appointed assistants. More information regarding the statewide listed noxious weeds, the MN Noxious Weed Law and a list of County Agricultural Inspectors and County Designated Employees can be obtained from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture's Web Site by visiting: Weed Control.

In addition to the statewide listed noxious weeds designated by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, Bull Thistle (Cirsium vulgare), Kochia (Bassia scoparia L.), and Musk Thistle (Carduus nutans), have been approved for listing by the county board of commissioners as County-Listed Noxious Weeds in Clay County as permitted by Minnesota Statutes §18.79, Subds. 13 and 14. Contact your county agricultural inspector for more information regarding County Noxious Weeds.

State of Minnesota Noxious Weed List

View the State of Minnesota Noxious Weed list.