By Children’s Health Defense

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An investigation by Mother Jones found the U.S. Forest Service is spraying record amounts of glyphosate on fire-damaged public lands to clear native vegetation for commercial conifer replanting. Health experts, environmental advocates, and local residents warn that the controversial herbicide — linked to cancer and other health risks — threatens forest workers, watersheds, wildlife, and nearby communities, especially children.

by Brenda Baletti, Ph.D.

The U.S. Forest Service is spraying large quantities of glyphosate on public lands burned out by forest fires in California and other states, according to an investigation by Mother Jones.

The agency is spraying the herbicide on vast tracts of burnt land to kill native shrubs and other plants so they don’t compete with the conifer species used to reforest the areas, according to Mother Jones reporter Nate Halverson.

Unlike broadleaf plants, pine and Douglas fir trees — which also have commercial potential — can withstand the toxic chemical because they have needles instead of leaves.

Halverson and his colleague Melissa Lewis analyzed California spraying records from the last 35 years. They found that herbicide spraying in forests is happening today at “record levels.”

Read the remainder HERE.

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