Weeds in Hwy 179 Medians – North view – Exclusive SedonaEye.com Photo c2010

Sedona AZ (December 4, 2010) – In a SedonaEye.com Letter to the Editor, a reader writes:

I would like to reply to the comments of Mr. Kusner in his letter to the editor of November 23, 2010 “Response to Use of Herbicides on Red Rock Scenic Byway.”

First, pesticide is a general term referring to any substance that kills or otherwise controls living organisms, including weeds, that are considered pests. Pesticides include rodenticides, insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, and many others. Rather than being distinct from pesticides, herbicides are a sub-class of pesticides. The hundreds of studies I referred to linking pesticides to various diseases include many herbicides.

Contrary to Mr. Kusner’s statement that only herbicides are used on the All-American Road, the landscape maintenance bid also specifies that various insecticides will be used. I have just begun to study the specific pesticides used on the All-American Road, and so far have found the “QuikPRO” herbicide they are using causes lung and nerve damage, breathing problems, increased miscarriages, stunted growth and birth defects in animals. Human studies conducted to date link exposure to its main ingredient, glyphosate (the same as in Roundup), to increased risk of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. I believe using the term “toxic” to refer to such a substance is not pejorative, but descriptive.

Second, the Environmental Protection Agency does not “approve” herbicides, it “registers” them. EPA registration is not a consumer product safety program. Federal law prohibits manufacturers from making claims that EPA registration means their products are safe. The belief that EPA registration implies product safety is completely unfounded. The reason “alternative” herbicides are not registered with the EPA is because they consist only of ingredients that are demonstrably safe and thus do not require registration. Previously referred to as “EPA-exempt,” and now called “minimal risk” ingredients, they are typically things we can eat such as salt, vitamin C, corn gluten, etc. It is misleading to suggest that they are not “approved” by the EPA. In fact, the EPA has officially given them an exemption from registration because they are safe.

Overgrown weeds along Red Rock Scenic Highway in Village of Oak Creek – Exclusive SedonaEye.com Photo c2010

Third, I cannot comment on the “failure” of the Sedona “alternative” trial, because I do not know the details of their program. I can say that the All-American Road is a much different situation. Five alternative bids were submitted to Yavapai County for Highway 179 landscape maintenance, and the lowest bid was chosen in spite of the fact that the line trimmer (weed-whacking) method was inappropriate, and no performance criteria were specified. Since many cities, universities and colleges have successful non-toxic landscape maintenance programs, and many landscaping companies are skilled in those methods, I am confident that one of the other alternative bids would have provided a beautiful appearance at an affordable price.

The most expensive “alternative” bid was $20,940 per year more than the “traditional” bid. According to the figures used to propose the special improvement district, this would translate to an additional 91 cents tax per $100,000 property value. Even if the highest alternative bid had been chosen, wouldn’t it have been worth that small amount to know the health of you, your spouse, your children and your pets would not be jeopardized by weed control on the All-American Road?

Fourth, I did approach the Big Park Council in 2009 (not 2008) to ask them to request that alternative bids be considered for landscape maintenance. The reason it was withdrawn is because a draft request circulated amongst the Council was accidentally sent to Yavapai County. The County agreed to include alternative bids based on the draft request, so no further action was necessary.

Overgrown planters in Village of Oak Creek – Exclusive SedonaEye.com Photo c2010

Fifth, regarding my qualifications, I am not a faculty member at NAU, and never claimed to be.I stated I was a member of a Faculty Senate committee to eliminate herbicides. The committee was formed by the Faculty Senate and included faculty, staff and students.

Although I do not teach, I have a master’s degree in experimental psychology, giving me a good understanding of scientific methods, statistics and conventions of scientific writing. The general methods and statistics used in the field of experimental psychology are very similar to those used in pesticide research. I have spent hundreds of hours researching the literature and interviewing supervisors from cities, colleges and universities across the nation who have successful non-toxic landscape maintenance programs.

Finally, if you do not want weeds to grow, you should prevent them from taking root. I tried for months to convince ADOT to install an effective dual layer weed barrier under the rock mulch, which would pay for itself in maintenance savings, but to no avail.

Fortunately, the City of Sedona listened to me and installed it under their portion of the medians where there are no plantings. The pristine appearance of the medians in those areas has been achieved without herbicides and little, if any, manual weeding. NAU has now made this dual layer barrier a standard for rock mulch areas on their campus.

We all want a beautiful highway. Rather than continue to argue about the current herbicide situation, which has been sealed in place by a three year contract, I would prefer to work with Mr. Kusner and the Big Park Council to convince the special improvement district to place the dual layer barrier under our portion of the All-American Road, and remove the need for herbicides altogether.

Sincerely,

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