City of Lake Forest Park uses herbicides to clear invasive vegetation on Perkins Way
Saturday, August 29, 2020
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| Warning signs placed by the herbicide company spraying along Perkins Way. Photo courtesy Lake Forest Park Stewardship Foundation. |
The City of Lake Forest Park responded to concerns about its use of herbicides to clear invasive plants, such as ivy, along Perkins Way.
Perkins Way is a beautiful wooded street that winds downhill from Shoreline into LFP, following and crossing McAleer Creek, which in many places is just a few feet from the road.
The Lake Forest Park Stewardship Foundation said they were:
"VERY DISAPPOINTED the City has contracted spraying of toxic herbicides along a salmon-bearing stream. This is happening right now along McAleer Creek in the Perkins ravine. This stream also flows through many backyards, with high potential of children and pets entering the water."YES Ivy, blackberry and knotweed overgrowth is a concern along the stream. CALL the City and let them you know we want to see LESS TOXIC, MANUAL removal of non-natives."Use of these highly hazardous chemicals should be a last resort, and not sprayed."
The City responded that
"This work is the first part of a project to restore native vegetation between the road and McAleer Creek."The company conducting the work is Applied Ecology, LLC, which has been used by other cities, as well as Forterra, with great success for similar, but larger, restoration projects along the Cedar River and Bear Creek, the largest salmon bearing streams in our watershed."Their work has been funded by the WRIA 8 Salmon Recovery Council, the entity leading salmon recovery in our area.
"While it is unfortunate that herbicides have to be used at all, the careful, focused spraying of chemicals like glyphosate and garlon 4 is allowed by WA Dept. of Ecology to remove infestations of invasive plants so that native vegetation can be re-established. Phase 2 of the Perkins Way project, which will happen in the next growing season, will involve planting native trees and shrubs."
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6 comments:
The vegetation along the creek there are natural and common. This was a waste of money. Diversity there has not changed to any measurable degree. The signs included buttercups which grow everywhere naturally around here except in heavily forested areas such as along the creek. The used Roundup so obviously an incompetent, uninformed group allowed this and they should be fired.
Smells like they dumped 10 gallons of Round up in one area near the place where the stream goes under the road. Why did this article come out after it was over. Been seeing the crew there for the last 5 days. Too bad for the slamon in lake Washington. Too bad for nature. The only invasive species are the idiots that populate the local city hall.
Whatever. This is tree huggers going stupid. Invasive means clear it out. People are too obsessed over the wrong thing. Use roundup and be done.
Agreed, what a horrible decision they made! Fire them now!!!
What is this, 1982?
How backward, unhealthy, and destructive.
What's the point of clearing plants that will just grow back? What Perkins really needs are sidewalks. It is so dangerous when people walk along this winding road
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