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P A N U P S
Pesticide Action Network Updates Service
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California Town Bans Pesticides on City Properties
March 10, 2000
By a unanimous vote, the Arcata City Council passed an ordinance to
eliminate use of pesticides on all properties owned or managed by the city.
The ordinance is unique among California cities in that it creates an
outright ban on all pesticide use, rather than a phased reduction. For the
past 15 years, Arcata, a town of 16,000 on the Northern California coast,
has had an informal ban on pesticides, but this policy was made official in
February of this year.
The ordinance directs city staff to create a pest control management plan
that establishes all permissible pest control materials and methods,
emphasizing preventative measures such as building techniques to keep pests
out and using non-toxic commercial sanitation products. In addition, a plan
will be developed to educate the public and private property owners about
these non-toxic methods. In the ordinance, the definition of pesticides
includes fungicides, herbicides, insecticides, nematicides, rodenticides,
dessicants, defoliants and other materials used to kill pests.
"Arcata is proving that pest problems can be solved without harming people
or the environment," said Jennifer Hanan, Arcata Vice Mayor. "This will
surely serve as a model for other cities that care about their community's
health and safety."
Arcata has experimented with maintaining its parks and facilities without
pesticides since a moratorium was first proposed. The city's semi-pro
baseball field is managed completely without herbicides or other pesticides.
Special tarps covering infield dirt retard weed growth between games, and
tailored lawn mowing cycles fight weeds before they become established. To
eliminate use of herbicides, a special street sweeper sucks dirt out of
pavement cracks to discourage weed growth. To control rodents, park
maintenance crews use traps rather than hazardous pesticides.
From a management perspective, it is actually easier not to use pesticides,
according to Arcata's Park Superintendent. The amount of training and
paperwork that is required for pesticide use is very time consuming, and
cultural maintenance practices for grass -- such as timely mowing and
irrigation in addition to aeration and thatching -- can be just as
effective.
"Arcata once sprayed herbicides on city streets and on trees and lawns in
its parks," said Patty Clary of Arcata-based Californians for Alternatives
to Toxics, which helped draft the new ordinance. "Change wasn't easy, but it
was successful. We're happy to see this city create an outstanding program
that other cities can adopt for their own use."
Source/contact: Californians for Alternatives to Toxics, P.O. Box 1195,
Arcata, CA 95518; phone (707) 822-8497; fax (707) 822-7136; email
catz@reininet.com; http://www.reninet.com/catz.
The City of Arcata, attn: Jennifer Hanan, 736 F Street, Arcata, CA 95521;
phone (707) 822-5953; fax (707) 822-8018; jenhanan@hotmail.com.
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