In Lanark County, backlash spreads over plan to eradicate wild parsnip

Asked aboutthe plant he calls "poison parsnip,"KurtGreavesis blunt.

"It's everywhere, and it will continue to spread unless we control it."

As proof,Greaves, thechief administrative officer of Lanark County, points toa patch of the plant growing metres from the county offices in Perth. The scourgehas literally crept to the local administration's doorstep.

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Wild parsnip is an invasive plant originally from Asia and Europethat has existed in North America since at least the19thcentury. Its reputation as a threat to public healthis rooted in recent warnings over the toxic effect of its sap, which can cause severedermatitis if it comes into contact with skinand is then exposed to sunlight.

Greavescan attest to that. As a young manhe was burned by wild parsnip sap while cutting grass.

"Big water blisters on my legs, pretty ugly," he recalls. County officials report receiving "a few dozen" calls andemailsfrom residents who say they were also burned.

"We've had people that have said it has led to severe burning and they have beenhospitalizedfor it,"Greavessays.

Spraying set to start

Jurisdictionsacrosseastern Ontario, including the City ofOttawa, have adopted spraying programs to control wild parsnip. The aim is to kill the plant before it produces seeds, stopping its spread. If it's not stopped, wild parsnip can crowd out native plants and threaten agricultural production.

InLanarkCounty, eradication efforts are set to begin in earnest Monday, with crews spraying roadside ditches withaherbicide calledClearView. The spraying will last two weeks.

But the program has been controversial, and opposition to spraying appears to be growing.

"A lot of people are now concerned. Obviously we areall concerned about using spraying. It's kind of the last resort for us as well,"Greavessays.

Opponents inLanarkCounty, including environmentalists, farmers and medical professionals,insist the scare over wild parsnip has been exaggerated, and say theherbicide poses a greater threat to human health and the environment than the plant does.

Contamination fears

FrankSammut, a dentist and a formerlake steward, says there's a risk theherbicide will leachinto thewater.

"If the chemical we are all fighting here gets sprayed into the ditches, the rainwater will of course move it into the ponds, the streams and the lakes. Nobody knows what it's going to do down the road."

MaureenBostock, an organic farmer, is convincedthe eradication program threatens thelocal ecosystem.

"If you go along and you kill all the species, except for grass, you have changed that environment. It's no longer a habitat for beneficial insects."

Ken Parks, also a farmer and a beekeeper, worries about his hives, which sit a short distance from roadside ditches.

"I'm just scared that if they start spraying thisClearViewit's going to come back somehow into my hives and kill my hives."

Parks's wifeSandysays they've been living with wild parsnip for decades and she can't understand why there is so much concern about the plant now.

"We used to pick it up, grab the seeds, spray them in the air over top of each other for fun,"she says.

Education is what people need about this plant, not a chemical that can potentially do a lot of damage.-NicoleCrausen, LanarkCounty resident

NicoleCrausen, anotherLanarkresident, arrives at a gathering of opponents holding a wild parsnip plant.She says it's perfectly safe to handle, unlike other poisonous plants.

"Poison ivyI just brush up against it and it will get me. I have to break this plant. I have to stand out in the sun, expose it to UV rays for it to affect me. So education is what people need about this plant, not a chemical that can potentially do a lot of damage."

Linda Harvey, a retired physician with a background in biology, says in 20 years practicing medicine in Ontario she only saw one patient who was suffering from burns caused by wild parsnip sap.

"We are going to raise a generation of children exposed to this [herbicide], and we don't know what impact it is going to have on them. I don't think that is fair."

Herbicide safe, county says

ClearViewis manufactured by Dow Chemical. According to the company's website, it's used for "post-emergent control of annual and perennial broadleaf weeds, invasive plants and shrubs."

According to a news release issued by the county, Public Health Ontario concluded there is "more danger to being exposed to the toxins in wild parsnip than to the chemical as long as it is applied properly."

We've looked at what other municipalities have done.ClearViewis being used in other municipalities and they are having success with it.-KurtGreaves, chief administrative officer,LanarkCounty

KurtGreavessaysbefore deciding to spray, the county consulted experts and talked to other municipalities,including the City of Ottawa. The county also conducted a limited spraying trial last year.

"We've done the test program. We've looked at what other municipalities have done.ClearViewis being used in other municipalities and they are having success with it."

But opponentsdon't trust what county officials are saying. They've mounted a campaign that includes posters warning the herbicidewill killdozens of native plant varieties ranging from wild strawberry to buttercup. A recent letter to the editor of the local newspaper started with the question,"Is the cure worse than the parsnip?"

Opponents plant signs

Residents who don't want ditches bordering their properties sprayed have hammered "No Spraying" signs provided on request bythe countyinto the ground.

Sonia Cirka,organizer of the protest group, says there are better options than spraying.

"There are no risks leaving the parsnip the way it is, mowing it and providing more education," Cirka says.

But mowing ditches is difficult, and practically impossible to complete before the plants go to seed. Not only that, saysGreaves, but it can actually help spread the plant.

"We've probably done a lot of damage ourselves by mowing our roadsides,"Greavessays."It's unfortunate that we did not get on this earlier and help slow the spread, but we are hoping to make amends now."