Chelan County, WA Invasive Plant Rules: Prohibited Species (2026)

78 of the county code to protect land that regulated species use for breeding, feeding, roosting or migration. 060 before work proceeds; minor development is exempt unless the administrator finds the project could degrade the critical area. 060 sets fifteen numbered performance standards that any required mitigation project must meet. Item (E) requires monitoring reports to verify that planting areas carry less than 20 percent total nonnative, exotic or invasive plant cover. Item (F) goes further and prohibits introducing plants, wildlife or fish species that are not indigenous to the region into a habitat conservation area at all, unless a state or federal permit or approval authorizes it, closing off unpermitted planting or stocking of non-native species inside the overlay.

Item (G) then defines what counts as exotic and invasive for these purposes: any species on the state noxious weed list, or any plant the Natural Conservation Services Department or a local conservation district treats as a noxious or problem weed. Mitigation plantings must also hit survival rates of 90 percent in year one and 80 percent afterward, with monitoring running three to five years or longer if performance goals are not met. The chapter traces to Resolution 2021-54, Attachment A, adopted May 4, 2021.