BIOLOGY and POLITICS

Why are there toxic plants along our roadsides?

By Mike Kaill

posted 09/06/2007
For a few years, we had a program to remove/control noxious weeds. In the interest of disclosure, I was one of the weed control contractors. My wife and I were out pulling Scotch broom one day, and Rich Lee, the field coordinator for Noxious Weed Control Board, asked me if I would like to get paid for doing it. I liked the idea of controlling noxious weeds, and got seriously into it. I had not worked that hard since college days, working pipeline installation in summers. I had a vigorous crew of volunteer helpers, and some neighborhood activists interested in cleaning their local areas. There were other contractors on at least Lopez and Orcas. We pulled out dump-truck loads of scotch broom, and many, many trash bags of tansy ragwort flowers. These are not the only noxious weeds in our county, but were the focus of our work at that time.

I did that job until three summers ago. That spring, assuming I would be contracted again for the work, I called asking where the priority sites for control might be. I was told that the County was going to use hourly employees, instead of contract workers. (No, I am not interested in getting back on the weed-pulling payroll.) But, for the last two and a half summers, I have watched for these hourly workers, and have seen only thick stands of scotch broom coming up in the areas that we had cleared. And this year, lots of tansy near the road edge.

The sad part about noxious weeds on the road edge is that when the county crews come along to mow the road shoulder, they chop up the seed pods of weeds growing there, and sprinkle them into the road where they are blown about by cars. We would have to think seriously to come up with a better way to help the weeds disseminate their seeds.

Tansy ragwort is toxic, and it kills livestock. It produces alkaloids that are broken down by the body into liver toxins (progressive and irreversible). Most animals smell the green plant, and avoid it. But when tansy is dry and mixed in with hay, it is possible for livestock and other grazing animals to unknowingly eat it.

There are pastures in the county with tansy ragwort, and I have seen cattle grazing in areas where earlier in the year, and in other years, there were tansy plants.

I called Public Works to find out just what is happening. I talked to Shannon Wilbur, a recently-hired, very helpful engineer. She informed me that there is a program underway. There is an outside consultant working on a plan, and a person (one person for the county, I believe) pulling weeds from the roads. There is in the works a map showing where all the toxic plants are located. I think many of them are growing in the locations where my volunteers and I pulled them!

Rich Lee tells me of a toxic plant called spurge laurel, Daphne laureola that is becoming more common in our area. It produces a sap that causes contact dermatitis, which if rubbed in the eyes can be serious. On San Juan Island, it occurs, sometimes in high density, on some of our trails. For example, the trail near Skagit Valley College.

Spurge Laurel photos from the state Noxious Weed Board Web site

What is missing from current Public Works efforts (aside from low horsepower) is the personal touch. Those of us who were working on this in the past saw noxious weeds on private property, and politely invited the land owners to become involved in control. There was universal acceptance of our efforts. Neighborhoods organized weed pulling parties. When people drove by and saw us working, they were stimulated to do something themselves. I fear that momentum has been lost.

But at least Public Works is now doing something (I wonder why they have not cheered us with at least a press release). I think that they should do more. And I humbly ask that when you are out on your walk or litter patrol, you bring gloves (these are poisonous plants, after all), garden snippers, and a plastic bag. Unless it is in a pasture, Tansy can be dealt with by cutting off the flower, putting that in a bag for disposal, then pulling the plant out and leaving it on the ground.

There are a lot of yellow flowers out there. But tansy flowers (pictured at right) can be identified by 1) the fuzzy, rounded center of the flower, and 2) the 12 or 13 flower rays coming off the center. It also has a characteristic look, with the flowers blooming together, forming a rounded aggregate at the highest part of the plant. And the leaves have a characteristic crinkly look.

The spurge laurel and scotch broom are more difficult to pull (I have taken out scotch broom with wood-like trunks as big as my thigh). Sometimes it is better to cut them off at ground level. Broom should be cut or pulled early in the season. When seed pods mature they pop, and shoot seeds in all directions which helps distribute seeds.

Rich is ready to help. His office number is 376-3499. Or via computer, rich@sanjuanweeds.org.

Mike Kaill is a local resident of eighteen years. He retired as a biologist for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, prior to which he was a professor at the University of the Pacific.

Information, like the ocean surface, seems to be a barrier to understanding and action. For example, we worry about the introduced bunnies at South Beach, but allow our rockfish to be overfished. Kaill is trying to penetrate that barrier by providing some insight to the public. He operates the Port of Friday Harbor’s Aquarium at Spring Street. He has written biology texts and manuals, and is now writing a child’s guide to local harbors and beaches, and a novel on single-handed travel in the inside passage.

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