In the next few weeks, residents in Laguna Beach may see more mowing, weed whacking and hoes being used in parts of the community where crews will remove invasive weeds that fuel wildfires.
Their work will be a welcome sight to dozens in town who attended a recent City Council meeting discussing options for this vegetation to reduce fire risk, including ending the use of the herbicide glyphosate, often sold as the product Roundup.
The plant removal is done in 27 areas identified as fuel modification zones, making up about 400 acres in the community, as part of a wide-ranging fire management plan started in the city in 2019.
The council’s decision to forgo spraying the weed killer – last year, 113 acres were treated, and 3,719 ounces of glyphosate were used – comes after a group of South Laguna residents raised concerns after becoming aware of the spraying of the herbicide in the hillsides above their homes and along community streets and trails. They started a petition and lobbied the city to stop its use.
There was also support from the city’s Environmental Sustainability Committee, which urged city leaders to follow in the footsteps of other communities, such as the cities of Irvine and Malibu and Los Angeles County, where the herbicide is no longer used.
“Everyone here has a love for the environment and human health,” Councilmember Alex Rounaghi said, referring to nearly 40 residents who packed council chambers last week to rally the council against the spraying.
Residents spoke of their love for the outdoors, of choosing Laguna Beach as their home because of the city’s focus on its environment and gave examples of eating edible plants and recreating in the city’s vast canyons and along its hillsides and trails. One mother said her children were covered with blue-tinged soil after playing in a canyon, only for her to hear later that glyphosate had been sprayed nearby.
“It was a screw-up on the city’s part to have glyphosate sprayed…
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