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| dead pines along Hwy 20, credit: R. Benneke |
Route 20 is a highway that crosses the Cascades from the Willamette Valley to the high desert. It is scenic in spots, primarily because of the stands of old growth ponderosa pine that line the highway. However over 1400 of these magnificent specimens have died and more will die because the state's department of transportation uses a pesticide to spray the roadside, keeping it clear of unwanted growth (aka weeds). State and federal investigators say that the chemical used, aminocyclopyrachlor, is also killing the pine trees. The compound, once sold by DuPont under the brand name Imprelis, was taken off the market after
30,000 customers complained it was killing their trees. The company estimated its liability in the hundreds of millions. Shortly thereafter the EPA banned the herbicide.
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| dying evergreen in Ohio, credit: A. Spear |
But clever capitalists take clever actions to manipulate consumers. DuPont also marketed the product under a different name, Perspective, using different instructions on the label and marketing it to public users such as golf courses and departments of transportation. The brand was later sold to Bayer and it stayed on the market, licensed by federal regulators. Same substance, different label, sound familiar? It is called in the capitalistic vernacular, "branding". After a decade of causing havoc with homeowners' evergreens in the Midwest, apologists said other factors such as road de-icer or drought could have caused the die off. Ponderosa pines living along Hwy 20 still have toxic levels of the chemical in their systems six years after the last roadside spraying. The dying pines caused public outrage among the many "tree huggers" resident in Oregon. In September, state regulators placed a temporary ban on the substance. The Oregon Department of Agriculture is slowly moving toward a partial ban on the herbicide, restricting its use to small areas and prohibiting its use on roadsides. But the damage to centuries old pines is irreversible.
Its continued use has predictably divided interested parties. Environmentalists want it banned completely, agriculturalists say it still has beneficial uses were there are few trees and invasive species, such as eastern Oregon. State officials point their fingers at the EPA for failing to remove the product from the shelves when its tree killing affects were first discovered. However, they defend its continued use in the state. In 2013 the state legislature passed a law to prioritize non-chemical control of weeds, by establishing a "Pest Management Committee" but the legislation has apparently not produced results.
