Lynnwood rethinks use of pesticides
By Janice Podsada
Herald Writer
LYNNWOOD — Trudy Bialic decided if she could live with buttercups, clover and a few horsetails poking through her lawn — perhaps the city could as well.
Bialic, a longtime resident, lobbied the city council this past year to scrutinize the city’s use of pesticides. Her efforts paid off.
City operations are now pesticide-free.
"I don’t like going to meetings. I don’t like the time I’ve spent, but it is so easy to make a difference," Bialic said.
Studies have linked pesticide use to increased heath risks in humans, particularly children and pregnant women, Bialic said.
"Pesticides are rapidly absorbed by inhalation and skin contact."
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"Anyone can ask their city or school district to disclose what type of pesticides they’re using, and by law they have to tell you," Bialic said.
A year ago, Bialic asked city officials for a listing of the pesticides it used. She was given the list, but it was unaccompanied by a usage guideline. Bottom line, the city didn’t have one.
"We need to have a written policy so we know how we are going to use these today and in the future," said council president Don Gough, who introduced the pesticide-review resolution.
Bill Evans, director of the city’s Parks and Recreation Department, said: "What happened is the council said, ‘Let’s take a year and not use any pesticides, then let’s come back in a year and see what’s needed and what’s not.’ "
The no-pesticide policy has already generated public response, Evans said.
"We’ve been getting phone calls from people who are seeing tent caterpillars in the trees or weeds in the park and wondering when we’re going to spray."
There won’t be any pesticides, herbicides or insecticides being sprayed in parks or public places for the next 12 months, unless the mayor declares a "pest" emergency, an infestation falls into the state’s "noxious weed" category or human health is threatened.
"Residents need to understand that their city may not look as good this year," Evans said.
City crews are taking a "natural" approach to keeping bugs and weeds at bay.
They are pulling weeds by hand, and letting some pests such as caterpillars run their natural course, said Bob Colinas, the city’s parks operations superintendent.
"Tent caterpillars, they can eat some leaves, but they won’t kill the tree unless it’s a serious outbreak," he said.
The parks department has reduced pesticide use by 80 percent in the past 20 years, Colinas said.
"We used to spray on a regular basis back in the 1970s — at least once a year. Not only was it expensive, but since that time we have cut back on the amount of pesticides."
In 1999, Seattle and King County adopted pesticide-reduction policies.
"We’re following their lead on some of this," Evans said.
He said Lynnwood has not used restricted-use pesticides in years. "We use a lot of the same products that homeowners use."
The policy change might never have occurred if Bialic hadn’t questioned her own and the city’s use of pesticides.
"I myself used the strongest chemicals I could find, as late as 1995, on my lawn."
That all changed after she completed a project on pesticides and food as part of her work at PCC Natural Markets.
"It made me wonder — what’s being used on our parks?"
Bialic learned that cities and school districts often use pesticides for aesthetic reasons — to keep the flowerbeds free of weeds — rather than to protect human health.
Bialic also discovered that several pesticides had been banned by the Environmental Protection Agency after they were implicated in thousands of cases of poisoning.
"Parents should educate themselves about pesticides for the benefit of their children and pets," she said.
Bialic points to her own back yard as an example of what happens when you eliminate the chemicals.
"I’ve got a beautiful lawn," she said. "I have clover and some little yellow buttercups. It’s a place where kids can roll around and not worry."
Cutting down or eliminating pesticide use can benefit human health, pets, water quality and salmon.
"It’s important that everyone tries to stop using pesticides. Our waterways don’t stop at city boundaries," Bialic said, adding she hopes homeowners consider eliminating the use of pesticides.
Bialic said she hopes other cities will join Lynnwood in banning pesticide use.
"All it takes is one person," she said. "Very few people feel like they can make a difference. But it was really encouraging when people began coming out of the woodwork and said, ‘No, I can’t make the meeting, but I’m glad you’re going.’ "
You can call Herald Writer Janice Podsada at 425-339-3029 or send e-mail to podsada@heraldnet.com.
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