{"id":326,"date":"2026-05-27T05:34:16","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T05:34:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bouldermovingguide.com\/?p=326"},"modified":"2026-05-27T05:34:16","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T05:34:16","slug":"boulder-county-commissioners-revive-disputed-herbicide-project-at-red-hill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bouldermovingguide.com\/?p=326","title":{"rendered":"Boulder County commissioners revive disputed herbicide project at Red Hill"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Boulder County commissioners voted last week to move forward with a controversial herbicide project at Red Hill, reviving a plan that had been paused for months after strong public opposition and ongoing concerns from residents about past herbicide applications by county staff.<\/p>\n

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The project calls for drones to spray the herbicide indaziflam across roughly 800 acres of county open space west of U.S. 36 near St. Vrain and Hygiene roads, including portions of Heil Valley Ranch. County officials say the treatment is necessary to control invasive cheatgrass, which can crowd out native species and increase wildfire risk.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Opponents, however, have raised concerns about the herbicide\u2019s potential health and environmental effects, the scale of the project and what they describe as a lack of transparency from the county.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The decision came during a May 21 public meeting, where commissioners voted 2-1 to unpause the project after months of delays and public scrutiny. Commissioners Claire Levy and Marta Loachamin supported moving forward. Commissioner Ashley Stolzmann opposed the decision.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Much of the debate centered on the county\u2019s broader Integrated Weed Management Plan, adopted in 2024, which allows aerial drone spraying as one tool for controlling invasive species on county open space lands. The plan is scheduled to come back before commissioners for reconsideration in 2027.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere will always be new information, new studies, new evidence,\u201d Levy said, \u201cand in my opinion, the time to consider that is when we do a review of the plan in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

The county now plans to conduct the spraying in late fall or winter, when native plants are dormant but cheatgrass is easiest to target.<\/p>\n

County staff presented commissioners with a modified version of the project that included additional mitigation measures. Those changes include expanding buffers near homes from 50 feet to 100 feet and adding drift-retardant chemicals. The county also plans additional monitoring at project boundaries and soil sampling before and after spraying.<\/p>\n

Officials also adjusted portions of the treatment area to avoid habitat tied to an endangered jumping mouse species. Additional drone flyovers could further shrink the area slated for spraying as staff identify drainage areas to avoid and patches with less cheatgrass, according to Stefan Reinold, the county\u2019s deputy director of land management.<\/p>\n

Indaziflam has increasingly been used by Colorado land managers to combat cheatgrass, an invasive species that spreads rapidly, dries out early and can increase wildfire risk.<\/p>\n

Still, the project has become a flashpoint in Boulder County\u2019s broader debate over pesticide use, wildfire mitigation and trust in county land management.<\/p>\n

Stolzmann, before her opposing vote,\u00a0 argued the county had not adequately explored alternatives to chemical spraying, including volunteer weed-removal programs or expanded goat-grazing efforts.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a community that would love to be part of a forestry corps, a weed corps that would be happy to participate,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s this huge opportunity with the resources we have to address invasive species in a different way, where we\u2019re not spraying known carcinogens from the sky over our community in a broad way,\u201d she added. She also cited complaints from residents who allege county staff previously applied herbicides improperly and outside product guidelines.<\/p>\n

Stolzmann said she had received hundreds of emails from residents citing concerns about past applications, including allegations of off-label spraying. During the meeting, she asked county staff for assurances that similar issues would not occur at Red Hill.<\/p>\n

Read more Rex Madden: Boulder County\u2019s trail-use pilot unfairly targets mountain bikers<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not using chemicals off-label,\u201d Reinold said.<\/p>\n

Jason Seuc, the county\u2019s new Parks and Open Space director, defended the project and said public feedback had led to a more cautious approach.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe recognize and appreciate the community feedback that has shaped what will be a thoughtful and enhanced approach to cheatgrass treatment,\u201d Seuc said in a statement to Boulder Reporting Lab. He described the county\u2019s weed management work as rooted in \u201cenvironmental stewardship and biodiversity conservation.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Loachamin, meanwhile, said the county had already spent years developing its weed management plan and should not continue delaying the project while awaiting outside studies or guidance.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, I feel like we have put a hold on a management plan that we have put a lot of work into,\u201d Loachamin said during the meeting. She said she did not think Boulder County staff should have to wait on studies or decisions from other organizations before moving forward with the project.<\/p>\n

Among those opposing the project is Erin Meschke, a member of Detox Boulder County, a group that advocates against synthetic pesticides and chemical spraying.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything [Commissioner Stolzmann] said is true,\u201d Meschke said after the meeting. \u201cIt\u2019s disappointing there is only one commissioner willing to fight for people.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Detox Boulder County and another advocacy group, the Dandy Lyons Brigade, have filed legal complaints against the county in the Boulder County District Court.<\/p>\n

The complaint centers partly on a 2022 herbicide application in Lyons involving the product Rejuvra. The plaintiffs allege the county violated wind restrictions, caused harm to residents and water sources, and conducted aerial spraying outside what they argue was allowed under the county\u2019s previous weed management plan.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Many plaintiffs have cited concerns about potential chemical exposure among children, older adults and immunocompromised residents. A court ruling related to the complaint is expected this summer.<\/p>\n

Commissioners made clear Thursday that they did not want the Red Hill decision to become a broader adjudication of past county actions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAt some point we have to call the question and get [Red Hill] resolved,\u201d Levy said. \u201cThe purpose of this meeting is to not do a look-back examination of whether things may have occurred in the past.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stolzmann said after the vote that she planned to provide the county\u2019s new open space director with documents she believes show evidence of off-label herbicide use.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cSo I hope that there\u2019s management action taken since the board [of county commissioners] has been misled at this hearing this morning,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Read more KGNU opens new downtown Boulder media center as community radio station marks 48 years on air<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The county plans to use drones to spray herbicide across roughly 800 acres to combat invasive cheatgrass, despite concerns about past chemical use and county oversight.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":325,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[52],"class_list":["post-326","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-government","tag-red-hill"],"yoast_head":"\nBoulder County commissioners revive disputed herbicide project at Red Hill - Boulder Moving Guide<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bouldermovingguide.com\/?p=326\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Boulder County commissioners revive disputed herbicide project at Red Hill - 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