[APWG] Herbicide Application Techniques Prohibit Re: NEWS: Studyfinds one-time herbicide use decreased native plants, may have increased invasive plants
Wayne Tyson
landrest at cox.net
Fri Sep 25 14:16:24 CDT 2009
I hope Tasker will not tax us with generalities, thus tasking us with trying to figure out what he specifically means.
I am dubious about acronyms, and the catchy labels from which they spring, as they tend to become buzzwords that either lose their original meaning or debase the terms of which they are composed. "Process flow charts" and other impressive devices, when broken down into what they really say, don't amount to much. The "integrated" aspects of IVM say little or nothing about ecosystem function and lack specificity with respect to post-treatment performance.
This is not to say that ecosystems should not be "managed," but herbicides of any kind tend to be used under the rather simplistic logic, "Weeds bad, kill weeds, keep killing weeds." That's simply not demonstrably good enough; virtually all of the cases I have seen rely upon a time-limited set of general observations (mostly impressive photos) or "surveys" that do not reveal the long-term implications of ecosystem function. For example, if one sprays herbicides on weeds, impressive results will follow and be photographed. Such "data" don't prove anything with respect to ecosystem function and "health." "Vegetation management" has too long been a euphemism for killing plants indiscriminately. I would like to see the details of an IVM program that truly integrates all relevant science.
To truly advance this important discussion, it will be necessary to establish a tradition of being directly responsive to points made in a sequence that moves quickly from generalization to theoretical foundations to evidence, all with lines of relevance clearly evident and assessment, action, and consequences feedback loops that fully describe the phenomena, not sell them short. Specific examples which have been sufficiently researched by independent entities and replicated by other disinterested (out of the money loop) parties in accordance with the basic principles of good science. Too much is at stake for the foxes to be in charge of the henhouses--which should be transparent and open to all for inspection.
WT
PS: I will soon be off the internet for at least a month.
----- Original Message -----
From: <Alan.V.Tasker at aphis.usda.gov>
To: <APWG at lists.plantconservation.org>
Sent: Thursday, September 24, 2009 12:18 PM
Subject: Re: [APWG] Herbicide Application Techniques Prohibit Re: NEWS: Studyfinds one-time herbicide use decreased native plants, may have increased invasive plants
> Tremendous progress has been made in IVM and in more eco friendly
> herbicides in the last 16 years.
>
> Alan V. Tasker, Ph.D.
> National Noxious Weed Program Manager
>
> USDA Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service
> Plant Protection & Quarantine
> Emergency and Domestic Programs
> Plant Pathogen & Weed Programs
>
> (301) 734-5708
> Fax (301) 734-8584
>
>
>
> Bill Stringer
> <bstrngr at clemson.
> edu> To
> Sent by: "Karen Adair" <kadair at TNC.ORG>,
> apwg-bounces at list "Wayne Tyson" <landrest at cox.net>,
> s.plantconservati <apwg at lists.plantconservation.org>,
> on.org <native-plants at lists.plantconservat
> ion.org>
> cc
> 09/24/2009 01:28
> PM Subject
> Re: [APWG] Herbicide Application
> Techniques Prohibit Re: NEWS:
> Studyfinds one-time herbicide use
> decreased native plants, may have
> increased invasive plants
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> I'm with you, Karen!!
>
> Bill Stringer
>
> At 12:53 PM 9/24/2009, Karen Adair wrote:
> A one-time application of such a virulent herbicide as Tordon without
> follow-up is irresponsible. Given that the application was made 16
> years
> ago, I suspect that Tordon's effects were not as commonly known at
> that
> point. I'd also add that the practice of herbicide application as a
> management technique was not as common 16 years ago as it is today
> and
> the necessity for follow-up was often equally misunderstood.
>
> All this study shows is that man is prone to making mistakes and that
> those mistakes can have grave consequences. It doesn't show that
> avoiding general spraying is right, it shows that the misuse of an
> herbicide is wrong. The problems associated with "the use of general
> spraying as a weed-control technique" are human-derived. This study
> supports why land management activities need to be carried out by
> professionals who understand the need for a thorough, intelligent,
> and
> committed approach.
>
> Science can never prove something to be right, only highlight when
> something has failed. "No amount of experimentation can ever prove me
> right; a single experiment can prove me wrong." Albert Einstein
>
> I will gladly repeat and repeat: "I hereby eternally swear that I
> shall
> eschew irresponsible methodology and application in weed-control
> techniques."
>
> Karen
>
>
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: apwg-bounces at lists.plantconservation.org
> [ mailto:apwg-bounces at lists.plantconservation.org] On Behalf Of Wayne
> Tyson
> Sent: Thursday, September 24, 2009 11:05 AM
> To: apwg at lists.plantconservation.org;
> native-plants at lists.plantconservation.org
> Subject: [APWG] Herbicide Application Techniques Prohibit Re: NEWS:
> Studyfinds one-time herbicide use decreased native plants,may have
> increased invasive plants
>
> AT LAST! But SIXTEEN YEARS to declare the obvious that can be
> demonstrated by one simple experiment?
>
> Actually, I'm not surprised. But let us all repeat and repeat: "I
> hereby
> eternally swear that I shall eschew the use of general spraying as a
> weed-control technique."
>
> This is not to say that direct application of the minimal lethal dose
> by
> wick, by brush, by injection, by highly directed, low-pressure
> pneumatically-driven application to target plants only should be
> abandoned.
>
> WT
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Olivia Kwong" <plant at plantconservation.org>
> To: <apwg at lists.plantconservation.org>;
> <native-plants at lists.plantconservation.org>
> Sent: Thursday, September 24, 2009 6:39 AM
> Subject: [APWG] NEWS: Study finds one-time herbicide use decreased
> native plants, may have increased invasive plants
>
>
> > http://www.montana.edu/cpa/news/nwview.php?article=7522
> >
> > Study finds one-time herbicide use decreased native plants, may
> have
> > increased invasive plants September 22, 2009 -- Melynda Harrison,
> MSU
> > News Service
> >
> > Matt Rinella, faculty in Animal and Range Science at Montana State
> > University and an ecologist at the Fort Keogh Agricultural
> Experiment
> > Station in Miles City, recently published the results of a 16-year
> > study in the journal Ecological Applications.
> >
> > See the link above for the full press release text.
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > PCA's Alien Plant Working Group mailing list
> > APWG at lists.plantconservation.org
> >
> http://lists.plantconservation.org/mailman/listinfo/apwg_lists.plantco
>
> > nservation.org
> >
> > Disclaimer
> > Any requests, advice or opinions posted to this list reflect ONLY
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>
> William C. Stringer
> President
> South Carolina Native Plant Society
> www.scnps.org
>
> PO Box 491
> Norris, SC 29667
>
> Clemson University
> Entomology, Soils and Plant Science
> 864 656 3527
> bstrngr at clemson.edu
>
>
> “Go my Sons, burn your books. Buy yourself stout shoes. Get away to the
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>
> Peter Severinus, 16th. century Dane educator
>
>
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