“I'm looking forward to using EKO for the county noxious weed program and demonstrating our data management success at the state level. EKO will improve our ability to document data and, more importantly, retrieve the data quickly in meaningful ways,” commented Dana Coggon, Kitsap County's noxious weed control coordinator.

With EKO-System in place, the Kitsap County Noxious Weed Control Program will be able to more efficiently track and store monitoring data linked to noxious weed infestations, including individual weed species by common name, botanical name, and size of infestation; specific and general herbicides applied; effects of applied herbicides; reported sightings, and so on. The system will also streamline day-to-day project management tasks, including coordinating volunteer schedules and efforts, tracking treatment costs, scheduling landowner notifications, and so on. EKO-Systems' reporting functions will ease the process of keeping the state noxious weed board apprised of progress and results.

EKO-System was designed and developed for the natural resource management industry by experienced database professionals and experts in natural resource management, environmental data collection, and government policy, making it the only software application of its kind. The system combines project management and data storage functions, allowing organizations to use one tool to store and manage information relevant to projects and research findings, simplifying management, accountability, and information sharing with partners, policymakers, and funders. EKO-System is used by organizations such as the Nisqually Indian Tribe, Hood Canal Salmon Enhancement Group, the Asotin County Conservation District, and the Snake River Salmon Recovery Board.

The county expects to implement EKO-System and get its staff and volunteers trained on the system this month.