^ That's one of the reasons I've repeatedly posted that.
Several years ago (just prior to the Bayer acquisition of Montsano), I was engaged with the botanist at Olympic National Park, the botanist at Mt. Rainier National Park, the lady at the Clallam County Weed Control Board, and a lady who ran the maintenance division of the Clallam County Parks Department - all at the same time.
The discussion started because of
a complaint posted by an indidual about Clallam County Parks using "RoundUp" with backpack sprayers in the public areas of the parks.
You will recall that this was right at the time when the news headlines were filled with hysterical claims and lawsuits were being filed against Montsano.
I was a bit concerned, so I first called Clallam County Parks, who directed me to the maintenance lady, who suggested I contact the botanist at ONP, who suggested I contact the botanist at MRNP (as I had mentioned I witnessed NPS employees spraying weed killer on plants up at Cayuse Pass (elevation 4675 ft.) and was a bit puzzled about it.
All four of these women were
more than willing to provide me with more information than I ever could have possibly needed.
I got *.pdf files in my email - peer-reviewed papers like you've posted just above. MSDS sheets for all the chemicals they were using. Photo images of labels from products they were using.
Spent hours and hours on the phone with Janet, the botanist at Olympic NP, which developed into my sending her photos on a regular basis of non-native invasive plants and pinpointing their locations so the weed crews knew where they needed to be.
The amount of MISinformation on the internet about weed killers, and in particular "RoundUp" and glyphosate, is mind-boggling. That misinformation is perpetuated by individuals who are unwilling to invest the time and effort to read the fine print - they're all about "Git-er-done" and damn the consequences.
The Weed Control Board people do this for a living. I believe it's in all of our best interests - over the long term - to listen to their recommendations.
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As an aside - although this may or may not be an option in your particular situation - botanists are experimenting with more "natural" methods for dealing with invasive plants.
It was discovered that a rust fungus,
Puccinia punctiformis could be employed to deal with the non-native Canada Thistle
Cirsium arvense.)
Interesting stuff. It might be the case that the solution to your problem does not require chemicals derived from petroleum. (paper below)
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Looking through all this material again brings to mind the herculean efforts being made to contain non-native invasive species.
And every now and then one is able to find some humor in all of it - like the tomato plant that sprung out of a pile of bear poop up near Bob Creek. 