Source: www.TurfMagazine.com
ASHLAND, Ore. – The parks and recreation department of this city of about 20,000 people in southwest Oregon is asking for a loosening of a virtual ban on herbicide use, saying they can’t keep up with weed growth on city properties. The city has 17 parks that it maintains without using traditional turf care weed control products.
We are losing a battle,” said Parks Director Don Robertson, reports the Ashland Mail Tribune newspaper May 2.
Workers have asked the Ashland Parks and Recreation Commission to let them spray herbicides on city properties they maintain, including street medians, parking lot landscaping and the Ashland Municipal Airport.
Commissioners are seeking public comment on the issue in various venues, including during a May 19 commission meeting that starts at 7 p.m. in the Ashland Civic Center Council Chambers, 1175 E. Main St.
The Parks Department is in its fourth year of a policy that bans the use of most chemical herbicides. Workers and volunteers have been pulling weeds by hand and parks employees also use organic herbicides.
To read the entire article in the Ashland Mail Tribune, click here.