OAR 603-052-1205: Weed-Free Tree Seedling Nurseries

(1) Nursery-grown tree seedlings for commercial forest production can spread noxious weeds if they become contaminated with weed seeds. In order to prevent the spread of noxious weeds, it is necessary to keep them out of the seedling production fields at nurseries that grow conifer and hardwood seedlings for commercial forest plantings. Noxious weeds found in seedling nurseries include, but are not limited to, yellow nutsedge, thistles, St. Johnswort, creeping yellow cress, and quackgrass. OAR 603-052-1200 has a complete list of noxious weeds quarantined in Oregon. (2) To prevent the establishment and spread of noxious weeds via tree seedlings used for commercial forest plantings, seedling production fields must be kept noxious weed-free. (3) Currently the preferred method of treatment of seedling production fields, though not the only acceptable treatment, is fumigation with methyl bromide prior to seeding or transplanting of seedlings. This rule is intended as a bridge to ensure effective noxious weed control until technically viable and economically feasible alternative controls and methods can be developed and tested. Active testing of alternatives is underway but has not yet proven operationally successful. This section (3) of this rule may be repealed on December 31, 2018 unless a thorough review as to its importance results in a finding that it is still necessary.