WELD COUNTY, Colo. — Technology is proving to be a beneficial tool in Weld County, as a drone is being used to spray noxious weeds and target the invasive plants in hard-to-reach areas. The county's department of public works was recognized for the success of the spray drone by the 2025 National Association of Counties Achievement Awards.
"So that’s the one thing that Weld County Public Works is proud of, that we're always trying to do the best for the citizens of Weld County, bring technology in to do a better job, to do a faster job, to do it more efficiently," Curtis Hall, director of Weld County Public Works, said.
Tina Booton started working for Weld County in 2000, doing landowner compliance. Now, as the County's weed division supervisor, she explained that they follow the state noxious weed plan.
"All the weeds that we are concerned with are from other countries, so they're not native to Colorado or America," said Booton. "So they displace our native vegetation, and our growing conditions are so hot and dry that our native plants do struggle, and these guys come in and they can take over and displace what we care about and want and need."
As part of the fight against weeds, Hall said Booton came to him, suggesting the idea of a drone program and adding a spray drone to the team.
"It's something that not every county has the opportunity to invest in. The commissioners of Weld County were very gracious in allowing us to move forward with this program and prove its benefits. In the two years that it's been in business, it is more than proven its benefit to the taxpayers of Weld County," Hall said.
The drone, also known as Blue, has only been used on county properties along with "a few private properties that have listed mandatory eradication species." In the two years it has been in use, Booton explained how they are starting to see positive results.
"One of the bigger sites that we've been dealing with is Coal Bank Dam, and we've always hand-treated Scotch thistle up there," said Booton. "In 2024, we treated it with Blue, and this year we had substantially less. So we actually made progress and it's like, 'Yay, there is light at the end of the tunnel.'"
Heading into the winter months, Blue will not be in use and will come out when the weeds start to grow next spring. Looking to the future, Booton is optimistic about treating more acres in the county thanks to the tech tool.
"Hopefully, we can do more every year. We can increase the number of acres we can treat and clean up a lot of the the gravel pits and some of those outlying further away areas from noxious weeds," Booton said.