Cameryn Cass of The Journal in Cortez has earned a first-place award in the 2025 Top of the Rockies journalism contest for her in-depth report on how Montezuma County lost its noxious weed program, which had once been the envy of local governments on the Western Slope.
The contest, sponsored by Colorado’s chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, included news organizations in Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.
Cass’ award came in the category of General Reporting, for small newspapers. Veteran journalists Mike Wiggins and Erin McIntyre of the Ouray County Plaindealer were second, with their report “Ouray police department woes,” which surrounded the allegation that a teenage girl was sexually assaulted in the police chief’s home.
Her report, which was published in one “uncut” part at the-journal.com and in three parts in The Journal newspaper and online, examined the short but successful life of the weed program. Between 2019 and 2022, the program was awarded $352,000 in grants, which were mostly matched by funds from landowners. Bonnie Anderson, the weed department director, was selected as 2022 Weed Manager of the Year.
That ended in March.
Anderson was fired in October, and the “Board of County Commissioners approved a weed management plan so unpalatable to its noxious weed advisory board – made up of six weed experts – that the entire board resigned,” the article said.
Cass filed the report after an extensive examination of public records and county budgets, and dozens of interviews with current and former public officials.
Part 1, published under the headline “Why did Montezuma County cut back its noxious weed department?” told how the program went from being a successful, self-funded program to the minimum effort that the Montezuma County Board of County Commissioners could operate by law.
Part 2, “What programs were lost, and how do weeds impact Montezuma County?” examined the impact of the lost program. Cass reported that the county stands to suffer a $5.1 million loss because nearly 50,000 of 1.24 million acres are infested by hat’s used noxious weeds.
Part 3, “One way weeds spread is county rights of way. Who’s managing that?” tracked the spread of weeds on public roadways. When Montezuma County cut back capacity of programs and personnel from its noxious weed department this year, it transferred roadside weed management to the Road and Bridge Department. That department, however, is not equipped to manage the roadside weeds.
An epilogue to the series, “Montezuma County backs out of noxious weed removal program,” reported the impact on an individual level – county contracts for weed removal were left unsigned and unfulfilled.
Cass, a 2023 graduate of Michigan State University, joined the staff of The Journal last summer.
