Shoreline Herbicide Application Results in Significant Native Plant Death

Fri, 04 Feb 2022 17:56:25 +0000

For 18 years, ecologist Robert Johnson has filed reports on Chautauqua Lake in dry, analytical language, logging the number and density of plant species in the shallow lake bed. Lakes are political, Johnson knew, and he didn’t want to squabble with local officials or residents over how they managed the plants.

But late last summer, Johnson boated out to conduct his usual survey. And in sections of the lake, he dredged up little more than sediment.

Johnson now finds himself tangling with lake politics in a way he’d long hoped to avoid, together with a coalition of environmental and conservation groups. In early January, his firm, Racine-Johnson Aquatic Ecologists, published a blistering report linking spring 2019 herbicide applications along the lake’s shoreline to significant plant death in the south basin.

Johnson, who has conducted annual plant surveys for the Chautauqua Lake Association since 2002, had major concerns about the health of the lake ecosystem after the application. Not only did he see fewer native plants, which serve as habitats for fish and other organisms, but he feared the lake would potentially become turbid over time if plants weren’t there to compete with algae and bacteria.

Since Johnson published his report, however, the facts – as well as Johnson himself – have come under attack. Lake ecologists and other observers say these sorts of battles are common, both in New York State and across the country. At a time of growing polarization and sinking trust in traditional authorities, neither science nor scientists have escaped the politicization of their work, which is generally meant to be unbiased.

USACE Uses GPS Tracking to Improve Transparency of Aquatic Herbicide Applications

Mon, 01 Nov 2021 18:01:13 +0000

In order to stop the destruction of infrastructure by aquatic invasive species, USACE and its partners are using three methods of management: biological, mechanical, and chemical. Each process varies in its effectiveness depending on the species of aquatic plant being treated – leaving the team to rely heavily on data to determine the best method in invasive aquatic plant reduction.

For years, our public has called for more transparency on the process and efficacy of invasive plant management. Public feedback on management practices yielded many responses such as “no one is overseeing the contractors, and they are out there spraying everything.”

The urgent appeal has increased with the awareness of how precious our water resources are and the fragility of the ecosystems that depends on them. A new device will provide more transparency on where and how much herbicide chemical contractors are applying by using a GPS tracker that will not only show the path of the boat, but the spray path as well.

herbicide application – Aquarius-Systems

Shoreline Herbicide Application Results in Significant Native Plant Death

USACE Uses GPS Tracking to Improve Transparency of Aquatic Herbicide Applications