The Boise Parks and Recreation Department manages more than 1,600 acres of park land, and more than 5,000 acres of open space across the City of Boise. To promote sustainable practices and stay on the cutting edge of public land management, the department embarked on a three-year pilot program in 2020 to study alternative land management techniques to reduce the use of pesticides on city-owned property. The program has now expanded to most city parks and is in the final year of the pilot phase.
Reducing the use of pesticides throughout the city’s park system is part of our larger sustainability goal, and we continue to move forward with innovative ways to improve park maintenance strategies.
Information on the first two years of the pilot program is published in the annual Pesticide Application Reports below:
2022 Pilot Program Update
The Pesticide Reduction Program has been implemented at most parks in our system as part of the pilot program. Nine parks and six special use locations were identified as the original pilot sites in 2020, and the program has since expanded to all parks without sports fields or large events. The program has been successful in reducing herbicide applications on broadleaf plants, increasing mowing height, and protecting native pollinator species.