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State proposes 2,4-D reprise Posted: Wednesday, Oct 24, 2007 - 10:13:44 am PDT By KEITH KINNAIRD News editor
SANDPOINT -- The Idaho State Department of Agriculture is recommending Bonner County resume its use of 2,4-D when the county treats Eurasian milfoil infestations with herbicides in the Pend Oreille next year. The recommendation was part of a treatment plan proposal developed by the state and taken up by the county's Aquatic Invasive Species Task Force on Tuesday."It's by no means something we are obligated to follow," Bonner County Public Works co-director Leslie Marshall said as task force members thumbed through 17-page proposal, which mostly contained maps of potential treatment sites for 2008. The basis for the 2,4-D recommendation, however, was not explained in the document, although it's widely believed cost and effectiveness are the prime reasons. Tom Woolf, aquatic plants manager for ISDA's noxious weed program, was absent from the meeting.
Bonner County removed 2,4-D from its chemical arsenal after using in its 2006 treatment campaign, largely because of public outcry. The county opted to use herbicides with fluridone and triclopyr, which are more expensive than 2,4-D but have less baggage. Conspicuously absent from ISDA's treatment proposal is Sonar, the fluridone product the county relied this summer, especially around water intakes in Lake Pend Oreille and the Pend Oreille River. The product has no water use restrictions. The state is also recommending the use of other herbicides such as diquat bromide. Weed superintendent Brad Bluemer said the county has used that product before but found that its effectiveness amounted to "chemical mowing." He said some weed experts believe diquat bromide can weaken exotic milfoil enough to usher its death. "There's a lot of difference of opinion whether or not that's a good way to do things," he said. Also not on the proposed treatment list were the use of bottom barriers and suction dredging. "I'm hoping that's not off the table," task force Chairman Phil Hough said of the two herbicide alternatives. The state's milfoil grant funding guidelines for 2008 have not been released to the public yet, although Marshall said the only treatment alternative ISDA has said it won't fund this year are bio-controls, such as weevils. Marshall said the state's treatment proposal calls for 1,738 acres in the Pend Oreille. Approximately 60 percent of the proposed treatment sites were not treated in 2007, she said. POST YOUR OPINION
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Bonner County Daily Bee
P.O. Box 159 / Sandpoint, Idaho 83864 / 208-263-9534
Bonner County Daily Bee Online is updated daily at 10am PST.
Think Alternatives wrote on Oct 24, 2007 9:04 PM: