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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (June 13, 2019)
Local Vocal and VIEWPOINT BY LAURIE BERNSTEIN AND LISA ARKIN Oregon’s State Forests Under Fire OREGON’S DEPARTMENT OF FORESTRY SPRAYS HERBICIDES IN PROTECTED DRINKING WATERSHED M Beyond Toxics worked with Sen. Michael Dembrow (D- ost Oregonians think of our state Portland) to introduce SB 926, a ban on aerial herbicide forests as places to camp, fish, sprays in Oregon state forests, in the 2019 Legislature. hike and picnic with family and Our call to action was based on documents we ob- friends. We go to state forests tained through an Oregon public records request. in search of old growth trees State records revealed that ODF uses public dollars to and hiking trails along pristine pay for a program of corporate-style logging accompa- streams. nied by aerial herbicide applications in state forests. The reality is that state forests are primarily used Here are the results from our case study of Oregon’s for industrial timber production. The Oregon Depart- largest state forest, “Tillamook State Forest and Her- ment of Forestry (ODF) actively manages 745,000 bicide Spray Use 2015-2018.” acres of state forestlands. Timber harvests are carried The Tillamook State Forest is publicly owned land out using the Forest Practices Act, the same rules as located 40 miles west of Portland in the northern Or- private timber corporations like Weyerhaeuser. egon Coast Range. With dozens of trails and 89 desig- Timber on state lands is logged to generate “eco- nated campsites, this state forest provides a myriad nomic, environmental and social benefits” in the form of activities — hunting, camping, angling, hiking and of revenue that goes back to counties. However, the sight-seeing, swimming, mushroom picking, etc. requirement that state forests make profits from tim- State documents show that over a four-year period, ber sales has stoked controversy. The fight to save the more than 14,800 acres of Elliot State Forest — its old growth trees and endan- Protecting drinking water through resilient the Tillamook State For- gered species — from tim- forestry practices is one of Beyond Toxics’ est were sprayed with her- bicides. The vast majority, ber sales and destructive most important programs. approximately 70 percent logging is a recent example. Come join a summer Resilient Forestry Tour to experience With the exception of the bio-diverse timberland managed for a future of clean water, of these acres, were aeri- ally sprayed with herbicides. Elliot, the public is generally wildlife and carbon sequestration. The other 30 percent of unaware that ODF treats 10 am, Saturday, June 22, Willow-Witt Forest Tour, the acres received ground state forests like corporate Cascade-Siskiyou Range, Jackson County sprays. holdings, particularly when ODF awards contracts to it comes to aerial herbicide 10 am, Saturday, July 20, Shady Creek Forest Tour, private helicopter compa- sprays. Management of Ore- Coastal Range, Lane County nies to carry out the aerial gon’s state forests deserves Register at beyondtoxics.org/events sprays. The contracts often greater public scrutiny, not require contractors to use tank mixes of 3-5 chemicals only for trees and wildlife, but to protect drinking wa- including glyphosate, metsulfuron methyl, aminopy- ter systems fed by streams originating within Oregon’s ralid, imazapyr, sulfometuron methyl plus multiple state forests. chemical additives. Beyond Toxics’ research on ODF’s state forest man- Glyphosate, the active ingredient in the product agement exposed a pervasive use of aerial herbicide Roundup, was used in 100 percent of the aerial tank sprays. The frequency of herbicide sprays and the sprays. The World Health Organization has recently lack of policies to protect public safety and drinking announced glyphosate is “probably carcinogenic to water quality led us to recommend legislative action. humans” and federal courts have concluded glypho- sate causes cancer. A 2016 publication in the Canadian Journal of Pest Management determined that glypho- sate is persistent in the environment, can contaminate ground water and deposit on surface water after being carried through the atmosphere via rain, wind and fog. Herbicide vapors can continue to re-volatilize miles from their intended target long after the chemicals were sprayed, posing a potential risk to anyone enjoy- ing a day in the forest. Under ODF’s outdated laws, streams in public forests designated for domestic drinking water and fish habitat get a meager 20 yard no-spray buffer — imagine a helicopter spraying herbi- cides 20 yards from players on a football field. We found that ODF authorizes aerial herbicide sprays in domestic drinking watersheds serving resi- dential users and municipal drinking water systems. Two other state agencies, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) are charged with drinking water pro- tection under the federal Clean Water Act. These agen- cies spend public funds to study and identify domestic drinking watersheds that are vulnerable to contamina- tion. Seemingly at cross-purposes with the work of its sister agencies, ODF conducted aerial herbicide sprays on clearcuts overlapping within State Protected Drink- ing Watersheds. In the case of the Tillamook State Forest, the water coming from these protected areas provides drinking water for thousands of Oregonians living in Timber, Hillsboro and Cherry Grove. On April 2, the bill to ban aerial herbicide sprays in Oregon state forests (SB 926), died in committee following a truncated hearing without any discussion about the risks of spraying tank mixes of herbicides in state-designated “protected” drinking watersheds. Oregonians, take heed. If we share the value of clean and abundant water from healthy forests, then keeping pesticides out of drinking water should be one of our State’s public health priorities. Aerial spraying is not necessary, as proven by Corvallis, Portland and Forest Grove, cities that get some or all of their domestic wa- ter from streams in forest holdings. These cities don’t clearcut or spray herbicides in their drinking water- sheds. Instead, they prioritize public health benefits first and foremost. Our state forests have many beneficial uses, from recreation to drinking water to forestry. Our State Lands Board and Board of Forestry can end industrial- style aerial herbicide sprays on state land without sacri- ficing revenues to counties. Inaction to change the cur- rent status quo fails the test of balancing beneficial uses. Laurie Bernstein and Lisa Arkin are with Beyond Toxics June 10 - 20 university grads get 20% off entire purchase (must verify legit graduation) June 16 Eugene | 645 River Rd | 541.653.8965 Portland | 1463 SE Powell | 503.477.8380 Do not operate a vehicle or machinery under the influence of this drug. For use only by adults 21 years of age and older. Keep out of reach of children. E U G E N E W E E K LY . C O M dads get 20% off entire purchase discounts cannot be combined. J U N E 1 3 , 2 0 1 9 7
