On over 10,000 acres of the Mendocino National Forest, there are roughly 2,000 known invasive plant infestations. Species like Scotch broom, Himalayan blackberry, and cheatgrass threaten native ecosystems, increase wildfire risk, and harm water quality. In the draft Invasive Plant Treatment Project Environmental Assessment, the agency proposes three alternatives: the Proposed Action, which includes multiple herbicides; Alternative 2, no herbicides; and Alternative 3, No Action.

The public comment period ends May 24th, and we need your help telling the USFS to choose a safer route.

The Proposed Action

The Integrated Pest Management plan calls for or a combination of manual or mechanical removal, biological control, prescribed fire, grazing, and/or herbicides. It prioritizes non-toxic treatments but proposes to treat up to 1000 acres per year with aminopyralid, chlorsulfuron, fluazifop, glyphosate, imazapyr, or triclopyr. These highly toxic chemicals, even if applied carefully following the directions, always carry a risk of harm to human health, wildlife, insects, birds, bees, butterflies, all the micro-organisms in the soil and ecosystems as a whole through off-target drift, surface runoff, or leaching.

A majority of these infestations are attributed to the firefighting efforts during the 2018 Ranch Fire and the 2020 August Complex Fire. Increased vehicle, heavy machinery and human traffic across the road system and the use of bulldozers in the backcountry spread seeds throughout the forest. The extent of the problem could have been avoided if the Forest Service had prioritized equipment cleaning during the fires and immediate action afterwards, before these non-natives took root.

Alternative 2

Responding to public concern, the non-toxic Alternative 2 was included in the plan. It utilizes the same methods as the proposed action, without the use of chemical herbicides that have been linked to cancer and severe health effects. It does require more labor and time, but it avoids introducing toxins into these sensitive ecosystems on public land.

The next few years are critical for determining how bad the situation will get. All over the world, studies have shown that the use of herbicides to control invasive species has done more harm than good. Join EPIC in urging the Mendocino National Forest to:

• Select Alternative 2

• Invest in meaningful prevention, including stronger protocols around fire suppression and other activities that encourage the spread of invasive plants

• Commit to a robust monitoring and management system with transparent public reporting on treatment effectiveness

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