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By Mel Rothenburger

ARMCHAIR MAYOR

ROTHENBURGER: Tournament Capital needs to take a fresh look at herbicides

Mar 20, 2021 | 7:39 AM

THERE ARE TWO THINGS I think of whenever I see a picture or news story originating in St. John’s, Newfoundland.

One is the bright multi-color paint jobs on the City’s old buildings and the other is the dandelions. They are massive plants with luxuriant foliage and big, healthy petals, so unlike the comparatively anemic variety we get around here.

When I first saw them on a visit to that beautiful place many years ago, I thought, “This town really has to clean up its act.” It seemed there was not a patch of grass, boulevard or City-maintained flower bed that didn’t have dandelions.

But I judged St. John’s too harshly. The City hasn’t used cosmetic pesticides on playgrounds or sports facilities since 1998. The City’s website proudly declares that “due to public concern about pesticides being used in the urban environment, the City of St. John’s pest management program is targeted to promote plant health.”

Well, those were some very healthy dandelions right there.

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The apparent serenity with which St. John’s co-exists with dandelions is symbolic of the divide over the use of pesticides — more specifically, herbicides — to keep gardens and green areas looking pretty.

Dandelions are not pretty, but they serve a purpose. Even I know that when spring takes root and masses of dandelions infest what passes for a lawn at our house, the bees will be happy.

Bees, unfortunately, don’t have a lot of clout. Kamloops has a long history of struggling with dandelions and other plants it would rather not have to put up with. The City banned the use of herbicides on residential property years ago but still uses them to maintain our well-groomed Tournament Capital image.

This came up again this week when Bronwen Scott of the Thompson Watershed Coalition sent out a flurry of press material exhorting the City to change its ways.

The Coalition claims the City uses herbicides that have been linked to cancer. Among them are Grazon XC, Roundup WeatherMax and 2,4-D. It says the City applied herbicides last year at a tot lot, the entrance to McDonald Park water park, the McArthur Park gardens and other areas.

“Glyphosate (Roundup) has been shown to cause cancer, 2,4-D contains dioxins linked to birth defects, and picloram (found in Grazon XC), which stays active in soils for five years, is contaminated with hexachlorobenzene,” says the group’s media release.

Scott, who has spent years studying the effects of pesticides, says there have been incidents in which the City has over-applied them or mis-applied them and that a provincial Integrated Pest Management official said last year the City would get a warning letter for being out of compliance with its licence.

Kamloops naturalist Jesse Ritcey says the City needs to rethink its landscaping approach and consider “natural alternatives” or mechanical cultivation.

“The overuse is a big issue,” he said, questioning whether the City’s program is even effective, since the same areas are targeted year after year.

The City takes a different view of its own record. Facilities manager Jeff Putnam says the City only uses herbicides as a last resort to maintain control, though there have been occasional mistakes.

And while the issue revolves around the science of pesticides and herbicides, there’s much room for differences of opinion. Some would question, for example, just how dangerous spraying hard surfaces such as sidewalks and walking trails is to humans and their dogs.

And the toxicity of these agents is cumulative. As Scott acknowledges, one exposure isn’t going to give you a disease, but it can build up over time.

She also points out the group is not taking issue with efforts to control noxious, invasive weeds. It’s about cosmetic use on recreational spaces.

The Coalition wants the City to open up the file on pesticides and develop a proper Integrated Pest Management program, improve the posting of warning signs when they’re applied, better yet put a moratorium on them in the meantime, and engage in public consultation.

Thus far, she says, the City hasn’t been enthusiastic. The Coalition has sent letters to each member of City council and Scott says she’s had one, timed, 15-minute conversation with City staff.

Any reluctance to get into it might be due to the beating council took over its contentious decision to ban commercial use of pesticides on residential properties in 2015, which passed with a 5-4 vote.

But let’s hope City Hall won’t play defence on this one. The Coalition’s concerns deserve some sunshine, and council should make sure it gets it. Though there’s little likelihood the City will stop using herbicides entirely, the subject is expected to come up soon for discussion at the committee level.

There should at least be an open mind on alternatives and the safest way to use them.

Mel Rothenburger is a former mayor of Kamloops and a retired newspaper editor. He is a regular contributor to CFJC, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a director on the Thompson-Nicola Regional District board. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.