Town of Steilacoom announcement.
An initial application of herbicides to combat weeds along road shoulders has started and will continue through August. Targeted noxious weeds and brush control applications will occur through the end of November as needed. Only federal and state-approved herbicides are used.
The Town uses Cheetah Pro along rights-of-way adjacent to roads and Mirimichi primarily on sidewalks. (The Town has discontinued the use of Round-up.) Both are applied only by certified pesticide applicators using manufacturer’s recommendations and under the guidance and inspection of the USDA.
Town of Steilacoom road crews will also mow, cut brush and trim trees along roads during the spring and summer, however, the extent of this work this year may be reduced due to COVID-19 impacts. The work, which will be carried out weather permitting, is part of the Town’s integrated roadside vegetation management program.
Safety Data Sheet for Mirimichi: Mirimichi SDS
Safety Data Sheet for Cheetah Pro: Cheetah Pro SDS
Safety Data Sheet for Scythe Herbicide: Scythe Herbicide SDS
I’m pretty sure I’m not alone in my concern about all this chemical spraying in town.
Just reading the SDS on what will be sprayed on sidewalks is hair-raising. It references at length protecting skin from Mirimichi. So where are we to walk our dogs? On the street? Every year when the town applies theses chemicals, my dog suffers from these irritants. He comes home from our daily walks and chews on his paws because of the reaction to these chemicals, ingesting even more of the chemical agent. I have spent so much time concerned, so much money at the vet, and increasingly struggled watching his discomfort year after year. He’s not a water dog. I can’t just hose him off.
We don sandals, kids run barefoot. And we all suffer the effects, seen and unseen, every year these caustic agents are lavished about our town.
Surely the runoff into the Sound should also be a consideration. Or is it just washing our cars that the town sees as a concern there? Mitigating roadside vegetation and noxious weeds is understandable. But the first aggressive line of defense should be manual removal. Please, a lighter hand with applying chemicals. The scorched earth approach of prior years, where even the drainage pond by the Public Safety Building that runs right into the Puget Sound has been lavishly treated well beyond the fence as evidenced by dead foliage nearly to the water line speaks volumes about the lack of consideration in maintaining a clean and natural environment.
Walk the talk. Keep our town clean and free from chemical overuse; for our pets’ and citizens’ sake.