Noxious weeds? Say no to herbicides

To The Eagle:

Twenty-five years ago the number one noxious weed was Canadian Thistle. Hundreds of gallons of herbicide were dumped out on fields in Wahkiakum County. Shortly after, we started to find dead goldfinches; their food is the thistle seed. Our honey bees took a big hit as the thistle blossoms are a source of nectar for them. Did the herbicide get rid of the thistle? Look around you, it’s everywhere. All that was done was to poison our environment.

It’s not about weeds, it’s about money, large amounts of money available through government agencies. The bulk of the money gets spent on studying the weed, surveying where the weed is, articles in the paper, letters to land owners and drawing lines and pictures on maps. Whatever is left will go to applying herbicide to our land. The new noxious weed is knotweed.

Knotweed is primarily on the banks along Skamokawa Creek and if treated the herbicide will end up in our creek. If you are a Middle Valley resident, you will know we had a fair run of spawning salmon in Skamokawa Creek this year. So do you want to have the creek poisoned? I also noticed the knotweed flowers are covered in honey bees this time of the year. Do you want to poison the honey bee population?

It’s up to you land owners to decide if you want to allow your land and your environment to be poisoned. I, for one, will not allow herbicides on the property I own and manage.

Jerry Ledtke, Skamokawa