WildEarth Guardians

Thursday, June 16, 2005
Pesticide Controversy in Southwest Continues as Cibola National Forest Considers Aerial Spraying Plan for Canadian River; WildEa

The Cibola National Forest is proposing to aerial spray a highly toxic herbicide to control the non-native vegetation tamarisk along the Canadian River
Contact: WildEarth Guardians

Santa Fe, NM - June 16. The Cibola National Forest is proposing to aerial spray a highly toxic herbicide to control the non-native vegetation tamarisk along the Canadian River, a move that will be contested by WildEarth Guardians, the group says. Instead, WildEarth Guardians has asked the Cibola National Forest to consider an alternative plan that does not involve any herbicide treatment, but rather relies on the physical removal of non-native vegetation.

The Forest Service proposed action calls for using the herbicide Imazapyr, in a combination of aerial spraying and mechanical spraying techniques over a five-year period, and then replanting native vegetation three years after the final herbicide application. Imazapyr, commonly called Arsenal, Assault, and Chopper, is a broad spectrum herbicide, which can be highly toxic to animals and can remain in soils for more than a year.

“Applying poisons on our public lands and waterways is not a long-term solution to the problem of improper land management,” said Jim Matison, WildEarth Guardians’ Director of Restoration. Herbicides only treat a symptom of the problem, he added. “The real problem is the degradation of streambanks, through grazing, off highway vehicle use, and other uses that weaken the functionality over our river systems,” said Matison. “If these basic problems are not addressed, we will continue to see these vital arteries of life collapse.”

The Forest Service plan would occur along approximately 16 miles of the Canadian River and its tributaries within the Kiowa national grasslands, in an area to the north and south of Mills Canyon Campground west of Roy, New Mexico.

The new proposal comes in the wake of a growing controversy about illegal or inappropriate use of pesticides on National Forest lands in the Southwest. Doug Parker, pesticide coordinator and assistant director of forestry and forest health for the agency’s Southwestern Region, recently filed a whistleblower complaint in which he claimed there is a ‘‘systemic problem’’ when it comes to proper pesticide use in the Southwestern Region. In particular Parker criticized the Cibola national forest for allowing aerial spraying without any environmental analysis.

Though WildEarth Guardians commends the agency for at least taking the time to conduct a thorough environmental analysis prior to initiating action, the group argues that non-chemical alternatives are the best long-term solution.

In asking the Forest Service to consider and develop a non-chemical alternative, WildEarth Guardians noted its success in completing a mechanical non-native removal project on over two miles of the Santa Fe River, and its current project to remove non-natives along a three mile section of the Rio Puerco south of Cuba, New Mexico.

“The key to success is just as much about restoring native habitat as it is removing the non-natives,” said Matison. “There is no doubt that we have a major problem with the non-natives degrading waterways in New Mexico and across the West. But we don’t believe approaches that rely on the intensive application of chemicals are even a temporary solution.”

Tamarisk, also known as salt cedar, was introduced to the U.S. in the 1800’s to help control erosion along stream banks, when overgrazing and watershed degradation wiped out native vegetation which held stream banks intact. Unfortunately tamarisk can out compete native vegetation, primarily when habitat is severely degraded. As a result of both poor water and land management practices Tamarisk has currently replaced nearly 1.5 million acres of native cottonwood and willow habitat, according to some estimates. This has led to diminished water quality, water quantity, and reduced wildlife habitat in many of the affected areas.