Weed Control Alert from County

OK--we have a situation in Sanpete county about our weed control. It is the state law that property owners must control their noxious weeds (even though the county control theirs! but that's another blog). There are numerous ways to control--from the county website:

cutting, tillage, cropping, pasturing or treating with chemicals or other effective methods or combination thereof, approved by the County Weed Control Supervisor,

The county suggests several chemicals to use of which they use Milestone most often (or at least in Hideaway). Milestone is much more dangerous than the county road crew would have you believe!

Read this:

MSU Extension - Urban IPM: " An herbicide that tainted Green Mountain Compost (GMC) last summer can no longer legally be used on Vermont pastures. But compost companies still worry the chemical will find its way into their products. The GMC compost, made at the Chittenden Solid Waste District facility in Williston, damaged or killed some broadleaf garden plants, such as tomatoes, costing the district at least $800,000. The cause of the contamination was found to be aminopyralid. That agent is found in Dow weed-control products Milestone and Forefront and it apparently entered Green Mountain Compost in manure from horses that consumed feed treated with aminopyralid products. Milestone is used to kill up to 85 plant varieties. The discovery was the result of many months of forensic work by CSWD, the state Agency of Agriculture, the Environmental Protection Agency and pesticide giant Dow Agrosciences. The identification of aminopyralid as the cause of the compost contamination led to Dow voluntarily changing its labeling of the chemical, ruling out its use on pastures in New England or for any purpose in New York. Any violation, or off-label use, is a federal offense. The new restrictions are aimed at keeping aminopyralid out of horse feed, specifically hay. Horse manure is often a key ingredient in local compost."

Off label use is a federal crime and Milestone cannot be used in a residential and urban setting. IT IS AGAINST FEDERAL LAW. So if anyone has received a certified letter saying that you must use aminopyralid, that is incorrect for Hideaway as we are a residential subdivision. Read about it on the Hideaway website.

I am using the 2-4D spray on my properties as are my neighbors and they say it works great if you tackle it about now--or graze your land or cut--but don't use the poison herbicide from Milestone. Here is what you can do if you want to take action (any of these will help, especially telling the EPA that the county isn't following the labels when forcing people to use this toxic chemical. The more EPA reports the faster we can stop this abuse.

WHAT CAN YOU DO to stop the
spraying?

If these are unacceptable risks, there are things you can do.

1.Read all the links and facts following this and watch the film made by a resident.
2.Request another meeting of the county commissioners and when booked, send us a notice and we can post it so that other members get the word and show up
3.Write a letter (email) of concern to Randy Hill, presadent@hideawayvalley.org
4.File a complaint with the EPA since the use of this herbicide is against federal law in an urban setting (only rated for NON inhabited lands)if they get enough complaints, they will take action

Facts on  aminopyralid (milestone)

Becky's Presentation
John Fisher's Youtube in Hideaway
Milestone Facts
Milestone Label (with EPA Regulations)

Read these articles

Herbicide Contamination
Challenge of Milestone Continues
Another article on killing home gardens
Milestone banned in Northeast and other states
Chemical Watch Sheet


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