MINERAL COUNTY – This week, Mineral County Noxious Weed Manager, Andrew Marino, was awarded the Noxious Weed Manager of the Year by the Colorado Weed Management Association (CWMA.)
This award goes to an individual working in any facet of weed management, who has done an outstanding job to further weed management in Colorado. This individual may work for any city, country, state or federal agency, or commercial company. This award goes to the individual who has best achieves success without regard to budget, agency and citizen support, or other obstacles. This award may be presented to a CWMA member or someone outside of CWMA.
Marino stated, “The noxious weeds we have the most issues within Mineral County and Creede are Yellow toadflax, Canada thistle, Oxeye daisy. Of course, there are many more we control, but those are the worst at the Upper Head Water of the Rio Grande River.  We strive to limit the seed/plant dispersal to our downstream neighbors in the San Luis Valley.  Even with COVID-19 affecting normal life, we were able to monitor and mitigate 4,000 acres and 400 plus miles of Right of Way with roadside spraying.” Marino currently sits on multiple boards including President of the SLVWMA (San Luis Valley Weed Management Association), State Noxious Weed Advisory Board, and CWMA(Colorado Weed Management Association).