Submitted by A Chaney.
Weed’em out is the slogan for the Noxious Weed Control Board (NWCB), and it is great to see growing awareness and actions to slow the spread of invasive weeds like shiny geranium and herb-robert. The hard truth is that much of the invasive plant removal work will only delay the invasion. The necessary step that doesn’t get enough attention is on page four of the NWCB field guide for Western Washington, “Developing and managing healthy plant communities that contain a diversity of native and non-invasive plants will help your landscape resist weed invasions, while meeting other land-use goals.”
Recently the Town of Steilacoom sprayed various patches of herb-robert and/or shiny geranium with an herbicide. While many of us would not use herbicide in our own yards, the labor required to manually remove all the herb-robert and shiny geranium on Town property and rights-of-way is rather high. A reasonable compromise would be to post signs whenever herbicide is applied along a sidewalk or trail, or in a park, so that citizens can avoid the area if desired. Regardless of the removal method, the result is often a barren patch of earth. A common practice is to hope for native plants to move in, but a neglected place will be invaded, almost surely by an invasive plant–it is their nature. What makes them invasive is their greater propensity to propagate than what we have in the native plant community. We may think that we succeeded in removing an invasive, but there is surely some seed left in the ground to germinate next year, or sooner.
To break the cycle of invading invasive plants we have to plant something else that will resist the invasive species. For sun loving invasive plants like Himalayan blackberry, Scots broom, and reed canary grass, a good option is to shade out the site by planting fast growing trees and sun tolerant shrubs. For shade tolerant invasive plants like English ivy, herb-robert, and shiny geranium, they are likely in or near the forest, and replanting with some native plants is still necessary. The replanting just needs to be shade tolerant native species, and more densely planted than we might expect. In either case, follow up hand weeding is necessary to catch those missed invasive seeds that germinate later on.
By the time we can see the invasion from our car, it is likely on the scale that some type of herbicide is necessary as a counter-attack, but the defense lies in “managing healthy plant communities” which we all have to take part in.
The only way to remove scotch broom and blackberry sticker bushes
is to burn them out.
The ivy is horrible and overruns everything.
Salal or Oregon grape would be my choice
the others, but what will win will probably be a combo
of them all, or dandelions, dependencies on
wind velocity on dandelion parachute day.
Then there’s always maple, holly and fir.
Doesn’t seem like you will ever be content, does it?
The long-term human effects of exposure to herbicides are usually not known until it’s too late. There is an extensive list of herbicides once approved that are now considered carcinogenic and were recalled. Citizens from the town of Steilacoom are concerned. about the spraying of glufosinate-ammonium. Much of Europe, with limited corporate influence, is beginning to examine the effects of this product when dispersed into areas with a fragile ecosystems. Initial laboratory reports show it damages invitro and neurological development in tadpoles and mice. They are the “canary in the coal mine”.
Glufosinate Ammonium kills everything it touches and remains active for about three months. It is a very effective herbicide. What the town of Steilacoom has done is no less than negligent. For those who are not familiar with our town’s topography, we sit at the outflow of a massive aquifer and are surrounded by protected wetlands and the Puget Sound. Water accumulates in our streams and wetlands and eventually finds its way into our bay, streams, and the Salish Sea.
The eelgrass of Puget Sound provides a number of important ecosystem functions, including foraging areas and shelter to young fish and invertebrates, food for migratory waterfowl and sea turtles, and spawning surfaces for species such as the Pacific herring. Most importantly it traps sediment, including herbicides.
The Town has approved the use of this but has failed horrifically to follow the guidelines established by both the manufacturer and the Environmental Protection Agency. Most of the Western side of Steilacoom and some of the older parts of town use an outdated culvert system draining directly into our streams. In their infinite ignorance, they have sprayed this toxin directly into the culverts, around these stream outflows, and into our fragile wetland. There are no hazmat signs posted after the spraying, so unsuspecting residents, their children, and pets are exposed to the toxic vapors. If you believe this is an exaggeration I invite you to walk behind the vehicle, with workers in hazmat protective gear, spraying it. On the 6th of June 2022, children walking to school were exposed to the toxic fumes along View Street.
Here’s a challenge. For a period of three months, (the half-life of the chemical), take two-gallon milk jugs, and put one drop of Glufosinate Ammonium into only one. Place the milk into your refrigerator and don’t tell anyone. Do you feel lucky?