Though several types of noxious weeds were discovered in Cottonwood Park this spring, crews won’t spray herbicide to get rid of them — at least not this year, Mancos Administrator Andrea Phillips said.
At a Board of Trustees meeting June 8, Trustee Michele Black said foxtail, cheatgrass and pennycress weeds were out of control in the park. Those weeds can be harmful for dogs, and since Cottonwood Park is designated as an off-leash dog area, they needed to be taken care of, Black said.
Trustees agreed at that meeting that breaking the town’s organic parks management plan to spray chemical herbicides to mitigate the weeds was necessary. But Phillips said Town Parks Manager Terry Jennings spoke with a weed care company and was told that it was too late in the season to spray for weeds, and keeping the park mowed was the best course of action.
Phillips said staffers are keeping the park mowed and it is now safe for dogs. But park users should still keep an eye out for weeds, she said.
“People should be aware that the park is a natural area and there will be some weeds,” she said.
The park will benefit from a $60,000 uplift this summer. About $42,000 of that comes from a Great Outdoors Colorado grant, with the rest of the sum coming from the town’s conservation trust fund.
Mulch trails at the park will be replaced with a harder, more accessible surface. A trail that bisects the existing loop will be added, as well as one that leads to the picnic area at the park. More picnic tables, trash cans, dog waste bag dispensers and fencing will be added.
Workers from the Southwest Conservation Corps will help with the changes, Phillips said. The crew could be working as early as this week and will continue renovating the park for several weeks, she said. The Mancos Trails Group also is collaborating with the town on the park project.
The park is the site of the Mancos Brewfest, which will occupy the space once again on Aug. 13.
