22
Wednesday, October 3, 2018 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
DANGER TREES:
More trees will be
felled next spring
Continued from page 1
place for the season.
The remainder of the dead
and dying trees — well over a
thousand — will be felled in
spring.
A growth-regulating her-
bicide produced by Du Pont,
and sold under the brand
name Perspective®, appears
to be the cause of the signifi-
cant death of ponderosa pines
along the Highway 20 corri-
dor northwest of Sisters.
At a meeting held on
Monday, September 24,
to inform the public about
the proposed Highway
20 Corridor Public Safety
Project outside Sisters, repre-
sentatives of the U.S. Forest
Service, Oregon Department
of Transportation, and Oregon
Department of Agriculture
provided background infor-
mation and answered ques-
tions from the public.
In total, there are over
1,450 trees that have been
identified as exhibiting symp-
toms associated with herbi-
cide injury. Removal of those
trees will be undertaken in a
separate project in the spring.
In 2012/13, ODOT con-
tracted with knowledgeable
retired Jefferson County weed
specialists to apply herbicidal
treatment to the US 20 right-
of-way (ROW) to prevent
vegetation from growing on
the road shoulder, in order to
maintain the road ditch allow-
ing the road to drain properly.
In addition to providing
for drainage, the vegetation
removal reduces the risk of
fire from automobile sparks
or cigarettes, improves road-
side visibility, and reduces
the spread of invasive
weeds. There were a num-
ber of factors in play when
Perspective® was chosen.
Because ODOT sprays
thousands of miles of right-
of-way every year, they had
a directive to reduce chemical
use. The growth-regulating
herbicide Perspective, formu-
lated by DuPont, had just been
approved in January 2011. It
was touted as being more
effective while using less
chemical, therefore reducing
poundage of chemical applied
per acre. It appeared to be a
problem-solver. This was one
factor influencing the selec-
tion of this product.
However, it turns out that
conifers in nine Midwest
states had been damaged or
killed by another Du Pont
product, Imprelis, containing
the same active ingredient as
Perspective. In that part of the
country, the Norway spruce
and white pine were the most
susceptible to harm from ami-
nocyclopyrachlor. Imprelis
was ordered off the mar-
ket after the Environmental
Protection Agency received
more than 7,000 reports
of damaged or killed trees
throughout the Midwest.
According to a December
2015 Facilitated Learning
Analysis provided by Ian
Reid, Sisters District Ranger,
“The use of Perspective was
not a violation of the label
because label language was
cautionary rather than manda-
tory. The label caution says do
not spray where conifers may
be affected, unless loss can be
tolerated. Because loss toler-
ance is a judgment call, this
language is not considered a
mandatory restriction.”
The analysis went on to
say that root contact might
have been an exposure mech-
anism. “Great care was taken
to apply the products so that
they stayed in the immediate
road shoulder. However, root
contact as a mechanism of
transfer may not have been
fully appreciated.”
Other local environmental
factors and stressors may have
had an impact.
“This product may behave
differently in this area than in
other locations that are drier or
are less forested,” the analysis
states. “Many stressors were
considered in the dieback of
these trees including drought,
exhaust, and salts. Diagnostic
indicators of herbicide dam-
age such as swelling on recent
growth of shoots or callus
tissue and the curling of new
shoots (epinasty) are evident.”
Another issue discussed
at the September 24 meeting
had to do with turnover in key
personnel and resulting com-
munication failures.
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retired or moved during
the 2012-2015 period. This
decreased or eliminated coor-
dination and affected commu-
nication on the issue,” accord-
ing to the analysis.
ODOT has a memorandum
of understanding (MOU) with
the USFS for maintenance
and operation of highways
through National Forest lands.
That MOU includes applica-
tion of herbicides along high-
way ROWs. According to
Reid, the USFS “will continue
to implement the state-wide
MOU. Locally, the Deschutes
NF and ODOT can add to the
MOU by a more thorough
review of proposed herbicide
use. Local leadership from
both agencies can document
that they have reviewed and
discussed any use of an her-
bicide before its application.”
According to Dale
Mitchell, Pesticides Program
Manager for the Oregon
Department of Agriculture,
“ODA would recommend
USFS also open commu-
nication with U.S. EPA
(Environmental Protection
Agency) as an additional
resource on national pesticide
incident reporting informa-
tion associated with pesticide
active ingredients that are
being considered for use on
federal lands. As federal part-
ners, communication between
federal natural resource agen-
cies on a national level may
prevent future incidents and
refine the selection of appro-
priate tools for pest control.”
Mitchell reported that
the Oregon Department of
Custom Design
& Repairs
549-9388
Agriculture has enacted a
temporary rule prohibiting the
use of any pesticide product
containing the active ingredi-
ent aminocyclopyrachlor on
ROW sites.
Based on current
information, there are
at ceast four cocations
in Centrac Oregon where
ponderosa pine, codgepoce
pine, and possibcy other
vacuabce tree species appear
to have been negativecy
impacted by the herbicide
aminocyccopyrachcor...
— DODA
“Based on current infor-
mation, there are at least four
locations in Central Oregon
where ponderosa pine, lodge-
pole pine, and possibly other
valuable tree species appear
to have been negatively
impacted by the herbicide
aminocyclopyrachlor, which
was applied to certain ROW
sites,” DODA states. “Trees
in some previously treated
areas continue to decline, and
the USFS has identified 1,454
dead or dying trees along
Highway 20 near Sisters.
Some of these trees are old-
growth ponderosa pines that
are 150-300 years old. These
measures are being taken
in an abundance of caution
to protect Oregon’s natural
resources.”
Tr e e r e m o v a l a l o n g
Highway 20 comes with a big
price tag.
“We are still working out
the cost-sharing of the proj-
ect between ODOT and the
FS,” said Reid. “Our initial
estimates for project costs
(not including traffic con-
trol, which ODOT would be
responsible for) are $250,000
to $350,000. This includes
service contract, personnel
costs for implementation and
planning, fleet, equipment,
and supplies.”
The wide range of the cost
has to do with how the trees
in the spring are eventually
handled — whether they are
all felled or some topped.
Topping is more expensive
than felling the entire tree.
The Forest Service hopes
to be able to complete the
spring project in April before
nesting season. The pace and
timing of the project will be
dependent on the weather and
soil saturation. There can’t be
any snow or ice on the high-
way at the time of the two-to-
three-week project.
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