Forest Service Plans Glyphosate Spraying in Lake Tahoe Basin Amid Community Opposition

The U.S. Forest Service obtained authorization to treat 2,400-3,600 acres of Lake Tahoe basin with glyphosate and other herbicides. Spraying will use backpack sprayers, not aircraft, to limit exposure of non-target plants and water. The agency says the chemicals are needed to clear brush before re-planting and manage post-fire growth. Federal data show 938,732 lb of pesticide were applied on 1,467,944 acres of Forest Service land from 2017-2020; up to 3,600 acres in Tahoe could be treated as part of an 11,700-acre restoration.

The Guardian

The 2021 Caldor fire burned over 200,000 acres, including 75,000 slated for herbicide treatment. The Forest Service manages 156,000 acres of national forest in the basin, 75 percent of Lake Tahoe’s watershed. Snow-melt from treated slopes feeds a tributary that flows into the lake.

The Guardian

Residents organized via Facebook groups “Lake Tahoe Locals” and “Keep Tahoe Blue,” a June 11 town-hall, and Maha activists lobbying the EPA. Opponents include Katherine Levy, Maha leader Kelly Ryerson, South Lake Tahoe mayor and TRPA board member Cody Bass, wakesurf operator Hannah Teter, and CBD environmental-health director Lori Ann Burd. Mayor Bass called the plan “a major concern,” and locals fear contamination of lake’s famed clarity.

The Guardian

The Forest Service says each herbicide is registered, passed a biological review, and is “the best tool for forest health.” EPA officials deem glyphosate “unlikely” to cause cancer; WHO classified it “probably carcinogenic” in 2015. Bayer, which bought Monsanto in 2018, says its glyphosate does not cause cancer. TRPA sent a May 27 letter requesting a meeting and urging reduced herbicide use. Scientific assessments differ, and Forest Service has not released monitoring data on glyphosate runoff into Lake Tahoe, leaving long-term water-quality impacts uncertain.

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• “I was horrified to find out what has been going on,” — Katherine Levy, resident

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• “The greater Tahoe community is shocked that the US Forest Service would even consider spraying glyphosate in its treasured, pristine forest, and is rapidly organizing to push back,” — Kelly Ryerson, Maha leader

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• “I had no clue that glyphosate was still being used in the forest.” — Cody Bass, mayor of South Lake Tahoe

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• “The idea of spraying thousands of gallons of herbicides across the Tahoe basin in an effort to dictate which species regrow after a natural wildfire is deeply troubling,” — Hannah Teter, wakesurf charter operator

The Guardian

The TRPA has scheduled a meeting with Forest Service officials to discuss mitigation. Local groups plan legal challenges and outreach, while monitoring herbicide residues in lake tributaries is expected to become a focal point of negotiations.

The Guardian