In compliance with the Alberta Weed Control Act, all landowners in the province have an obligation to control noxious weeds on their property, and Leduc County has a similar obligation.

To protect adjacent property from noxious weeds which may be present along our road right-of-ways, Leduc County Agricultural Services has developed a Roadside Vegetation Management program, which includes roadside spraying. Agricultural Services operates two trucks which spray herbicides on all range roads and township roads on a rotational basis. In addition to controlling weeds, the application of herbicide is intended to prevent brush from encroaching on roadways and to remove tall, undesirable broadleaf plantswhich impair sightlines and may present safety hazards to motorists. Removal of tall vegetation from road shoulders also reduces snow trap in winter and helps to prevent icing of roadways for safer winter driving.

Herbicide application provides a more efficient and cost-effective weed/brush control than mechanical removal, which is prohibitively expensive and very labour intensive. For the protection of our workers, the environment and our residents (their livestock and pets), we choose the safest herbicides available to achieve our objective. Leduc County Agricultural Services Roadside Spraying program follows all directives of the Alberta Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act and the guidelines established by the Industrial Vegetation Management Association of Alberta.

The herbicides used in Leduc County's Roadside Spray program have undergone extensive laboratory testing by the manufacturer and results of clinical and laboratory trials have been accepted (and registration approved) by the Pesticide Regulatory Management Agency, which is a division of Health Canada. Under the Pest Control Products Act, every registered herbicide for sale in Canada has a registration number to identify the product. In addition, user label information and material safety data sheets are available to the users and the public.

We do not spray for beautification or aesthetics and we apply selective herbicides that target unwanted plant species, while preserving grasses. All spray applications are GPS-tracked to monitor progress, to avoid sensitive areas and to minimize the potential for misapplication.