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HAILEY, Idaho (AP) — Blaine County is outlawing plants that are poisonous to wild and domestic animals.
Starting March 2, it will be illegal to buy, sell or own exotic yew plants, which have been blamed for the deaths of a number of elk, The Idaho Mountain Express reported (http://bit.ly/1RsLPgY).
Blaine County commissioners on Tuesday approved an ordinance that classifies Japanese, Chinese and English yew plants as noxious weeds. Any landowner with knowledge of the presence of the plants on their property could face up to six months in jail and up to $6,000 in fines.
"What this ordinance does is it establishes a noxious weed list by county," county Chief Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Tim Graves said.
The ordinance also makes it the landowner's responsibility to remove the yew, and allows the county to charge fees to landowners who do not comply, requiring county personnel to remove the weeds.
"That's not intended to serve the punishment purpose, but to give us leverage," Graves said. "The primary goal of this ordinance should be voluntary compliance."
The commissioners will discuss at a future meeting how the ordinance will be enforced and how much the fees should be if the county needs to remove plants from private property.
Sun Valley Mayor Peter Hendricks on Tuesday said he was concerned his city won't be able to check property for plants.
"We certainly don't have the manpower and I assume you don't have the manpower to have people go crawling around people's yards looking for this stuff," Hendricks said.
Earlier this winter more than 20 elk were killed after they apparently ate yew plants while their usual sources of food were buried in snow. Eleven elk died at the Hailey Cemetery in December.
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Information from: Idaho Mountain Express, http://www.mtexpress.com
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