After 3 months laboring through the difficult and wet task of hand-pulling plants from Field Pond, the fate of the pond’s invasive plants lies in the hands of the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation.
In late May Conservation Commission members voted unanimously to approve the DCR’s proposed use of the herbicides Sonar and Diquat to eradicate plants plaguing Field Pond. While several neighbors of Field Pond were pleased with the Commission’s decision, some neighbors and the 12 members of the Friends of Harold Parker State Forest board of directors were opposed to the herbicide treatment.
The head of the Friend’s group, said that while the group’s initial opposition was a general reaction to the use of pesticides in pond, when they were asked to back up their opinions with facts they found a great deal of scientific evidence for why it wasn’t a good idea. Most notably, “we discovered that these chemicals could affect private wells. In fact, the label one of the herbicides said it should not be used within a quarter-mile of any potable water intake.”