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glysophate, invasive exotics

I found it easy to use only organic methods when I was managing a garden and 
yard.   But trying to manage prairie remnants and reconstructions presents 
different problems.   For me, the latter has been much more challenging.  

The people I know who use herbicides to control invasive exotics on 
conservation land, myself included, are aware that herbicides are not totally 
benign.   We use them because in some situations, the careful use of 
herbicide is the only practical and effective alternative to letting the 
exotics take over.  

Several years ago, I read about a successful organized effort to ban any use 
of herbicide on a certain piece of western public land.  Limited spraying had 
been proposed to control small initial infestations of an invasive exotic 
thistle.    As time passed, the land became completely covered by the 
thistle, to the great detriment of native plants and wildlife.    That 
outcome was apparently acceptable to those who halted the spraying, but it 
would not be acceptable to many conservationists.

Good land managers in my area are having a very hard time fighting exotics, 
even with herbicide use as one option.   I feel nervous when I hear, as I 
occasionally do, about people opposing any use of herbicide anywhere for any 
reason, especially when I don't hear that any alternatives are being offered 
except allowing exotic invasions to expand.    

I also think that careful herbicide use is often justified when battling 
invading trees and shrubs in prairies.   Cutting without treating can mean, 
in many cases, having to cut over and over again.    If we had huge numbers 
of volunteers and paid staff to do all the woody removal needed on prairie 
remnants, it might be different.   But in most cases, we don't.  

I do see herbicides misused and overused in my area.   But so far, it hasn't 
been on land that is being ecologically restored, or on land managed by 
conservation organizations.   It's been on conventional farm fields and 
adjacent areas.   For example, I sometimes see mature ragweed being doused 
with herbicide as it grows in road ditches on soil that has eroded from the 
adjacent farm field.   Apparently the connection between soil erosion and 
ragweed is not known by the landowner.   That kind of spraying pollutes the 
environment, wastes money, and does nothing to solve the perceived weed 
problem.    If we want to reduce overall herbicide use, that kind of 
irrational spraying would be a good place to start.        

Finally, for those interested in invasive exotics, I recommend the February 
2001 issue of BIOSCIENCE, which is a special issue on "Global Movement of 
Invasive Plants and Fungi."  (As a bonus, there's an interesting article on 
cattle grazing and conservation).   The article on "Horticulture as a Pathway 
of Invasive Plant Introductions in the United States" may be of special 
interest to those involved with garden clubs, nurseries, arboreta, botanical 
gardens, etc.  

Among other things, that article suggests voluntary efforts by the 
above-listed organizations that could help reduce the risk of new invasive 
exotic introductions, and reduce the further spread of invasive exotics that 
are already here.   It also presents some initial evidence that gardeners may 
be more willing to cooperate in halting the spread of invasives than 
previously thought, if the gardeners are informed about what's at stake. 

Thanks for wading all the way through this extremely long email, and I hope 
everyone is enjoying Spring.



Cindy Hildebrand
grantridge@aol.com
Ames, Iowa

"...on the warmer southern slopes a few of the splendid bird's-foot violets 
of the prairie were showing the azure color which would soon make some of the 
hillsides as blue as the sky..."   (Herbert Quick) 


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