Residents Respond to Roadside Spraying
Momentum is building behind a campaign to stop spraying herbicides along roads in Jefferson County, WA.
On September 24, a petition with roughly 5,000 signatures will be delivered to the Jefferson County Board of Commissioners in Port Townsend, Washington. The petition, requesting a ban on pesticide use in county road rights of way, comes in response to what local residents say is a sudden and secretive increase in roadside spraying in their county.
Ellen O'Shea is with Jefferson County Ecological Roadsides, a group helping to circulate the petition both online and directly with local residents. O'Shea explains, "Our county had a thirty year moratorium on the use of herbicides along the county roadsides. Two years ago the Noxious Weed board in cahoots with the Washington State University extension service started using herbicides (Garlon and Glyphosate) on our roadsides without letting anyone know."
In addition to petitioning the Board of Commissioners, Jefferson County Ecological Roadsides is seeking to collaborate with neighboring communities to address the increased used of herbicides in the Puget Sound, the area of the Salish Sea and the Neah Bay/Forks area.
You can sign their petition here, or contact them through their facebook group.
