Our local public works departments currently spray our roadsides at least once, every year, with the toxic herbicide Roundup, in order to keep the vegetation down. Over the past few years, the manufacturer of the Roundup has payed out over 11.8 BILLION DOLLARS in lawsuits for having caused cancer in people who were exposed to the chemical glyphosate, the active ingredient in the Roundup herbicide. Is there any possible justification for the repeated non-consensual use of a cancer-causing chemical, along all of our roads?
Do you go for walks along the roads with your kids? Do they pick flowers, try to eat the blackberries (don’t let them!!), collect rocks, fall down, and basically interact with everything that the herbicides are interacting with? Yes, they do. PATHs wishes every roadway in the county could be opted out.
Vegetation in the road is a public safety hazard as well as a fire hazard. But a wise friend once shared: you don’t fix a problem by creating a new problem. Herbicides are not a solution; they are a new problem. There is a better way.
Time to Opt Out!
Did you know that it is free, and not even very difficult to opt out of toxic herbicides along your stretch of property? You have to 1) sign up for the opt-out program, and then 2) maintain your roadside vegetation. That’s it! For zero dollars, and a little work approximately once a year, you can end your share of the Roundup!
What if everybody in the Illinois Valley did this? What if even half the people did this? Would the no-spray zone become such a dominant patchwork that the city and county could finally start talking with us seriously about alternative practices? Alternative practices include mowing, brush-wacking, hand-pulling, and steam treatment (to kill grass right along the roadway). All of them would cost more than herbicides, if the county or city decided to make the switch. And, all of them would provide meaningful employment to more citizens, while eliminating toxic herbicide use, as well.
City of CJ Opt-Out Program
The Cave Junction herbicide program begins each year in March or April, depending on weather conditions. The city will put an ad in the IV News that the annual opt-out forms are available, and then you can go in to the city office, fill out your form, and take your “No-Spray” sign home to post. You have to sign up again every year, and if you don’t watch for the advertisement in the paper, you might miss the chance. Therefore PATHs will be making sure to help with publicizing the No-Spray opportunity when it becomes available, so that more CJ residents can take advantage of it. Click here to see a sample CJ city opt-out form – it’s not one bit complicated to fill out. And again, it’s free!
Josephine County Opt-Out Program
Josephine County has about 180 properties, county-wide, that participate in the no-spray program. If you call up the County Public Works Department, (541)474-5460, they will help you with the paperwork (or you can just go in person to the office in GP if that is convenient for you), and then they will come out and install your signs. The County Public Works staff have been exceptionally friendly and helpful to work with, and you should not hesitate to call them up and sign up to opt out! Again, it’s free of charge. You just have to commit to maintaining your section of roadside vegetation. Click here to see a sample Josephine County opt-out form – it’s not that complicated to fill out, and they’ll be glad to help you with it over the phone!
What Does it Entail to Maintain the Roadside Vegetation?
Maintaining the roadside vegetation has three goals:
- No visibility hazards! Cars on the road have to be able to see around bends.
- No fire hazards! No vegetation right by the road that could be ignited by a spark from a vehicle.
- No hazard to roadbed itself, i.e., weeds that send roots under the edge of the road and degrade the road.
For most people, this isn’t too difficult of a commitment to keep. For some, whether elderly or physically challenged or already burdened with too much work, this may be too much to ask. If you want to opt-out but you can’t commit to maintaining the vegetation, please contact us! We can help! We have a crew of young and young-minded volunteers who are hoping for the opportunity to help reduce the use of toxics in our watershed!
Where Can I Learn More?
The internet has a lot of information about glyphosate and it’s hazards. One great source is at the Northwest Center for Alternatives to Pesticides; they have lots of articles about glyphosate, roadside spray alternatives, and general non-toxic lawn and vegetation management practices.
Beyond Toxics, out of Eugene, is working on a Non-Toxic Oregon project, to curb the use of toxic chemicals in public places such as school yards, sports fields, and parks. Several cities in Oregon are currently performing pilot programs to maintain public spaces without toxics.