I’ve been a resident of Picabo for 34 years. Living in an
agriculture area, I’ve been able to watch how crops are grown and paddocks are
irrigated. In fact, I look out my front windows to the east where hundreds of acres
are irrigated.
Over the years I’ve seen a lot of abysmal agricultural
practices. I guess in the modern day world, these are the profitable ways to get it
done. Growth retardants aerial sprayed on the Beer Barley crops to the entire
Silver Creek Valley sprayed with Malathion to eliminate the grass hopper
populations causing damage to farmer’s crops. Should I mention the toxic
spraying of the Seed Potatoes crops as well?
It’s ugly, toxic and quite frankly, smelly! In many cases these
chemical applications are done within a few yards of Silver Creek or its
tributaries. I’ve even been warned by a
ranch hand while fishing/guiding along the Creek to leave since the Seed Potato field
had just been spayed the day before. Oh, that’s what the funny smell is.
I’ve
had a few tense words with a helicopter pilot applicator flying over my house
loaded for bear, with chemicals. Illegal to say the least, but hey, who’s
enforcing.
Today as I was out for a Sunday bike ride, I came across
something I’ve never seen before. Here was an old flat bed Dodge pickup parked
just off the Gannet Rd., next to Loving Creek. As I rode by, I notice some
apparatus operating off the flat bed. I immediately turned around to check it
out. Here was a box of some chemical that someone was injecting into Loving
Creek with an electric powered applicator and hose. It didn’t look good. The hose was
running off the back of the truck and into the headwaters of Loving Creek.
At further inspection, I noticed that it was an aquatic
herbicide.
I read the “environmental
hazards” on the box of Cascade herbicide. It said in the first sentence; This
pesticide is toxic to fish, and then, This pesticide is toxic to wildlife.
Whoa, this is not looking good. Why would this landowner and farmer inject this
stuff into one of the major tributaries of Silver Creek?
I rode home and researched this chemical online. Cascade is
typically use in irrigation canals/ditches to kill aquatic vegetation. I
suppose this landowner/farmer considers Loving Creek nothing more than an
irrigation ditch. It makes me wonder how long this practice has been in use in
the Silver Creek drainage. It can’t be good for the aquatic communities as
well.
Why have we seen such a significant crash in Mayfly
populations on Silver Creek over the past 20 years? Who knows for sure and some more recent transplants don’t think it’s
happened, but these farming practices can’t be helping.
I contact Mr. Doug Megargle, our fishery biologist with the Idaho Fish & Game. He went to work on this immediately in order to get some information. Doug contacted the DEQ and they forwarded my info on to the EPA. The EPA responded to the DEQ and forwarded their info to Doug.
This Casdcade Herbicide is sold over the counter to anyone. Mr. Dirk Helder from the EPA says this if this product is applied by a private landowner and not a contractor:
Under the NPDES Pesticide General Permit (PGP)
they would not have to obtain a permit from EPA nor would they have to notify
EPA of their pesticide applications.
Small applicators have few responsibilities
under the PGP, larger applicators and weed control Districts have extensive
permit requirements. Under the CWA even as a private landowner, they would
still need to follow the PGP but for a private landowner making this type of
application that would require them to calibrate their equipment correctly to
ensure the proper amount of pesticide is being applied and to follow the
pesticide label.
I know if I was a hatchery operator I'd be
pretty concerned along with the fact that Silver Creek is downstream. From a
good neighbor perspective it seems like the applicator could have done more,
but they would not need an NPDES permit and would only need to primarily follow
the label to meet EPA's requirements.
Apparently if this Herbicide is introduced into a waterway correctly, and in the proper doses, the claim is that it is not toxic to fish. Still, it is risky business and mistakes can be made. From a aquatic ecosystem perspective, it can't be healthy.
Once the IDF&G had the opportunity to run the license plates on this Dodge truck, the owners identity was shared with me. Picabo Livestock, Nick Purdy owner of the Picabo Angler a newly created outfitting and guiding business. His response to the IDF&G about injecting Aquatic Herbicides into Loving Creek was, "we've been doing this for years".
Wow, I'm dumbfounded but not entirely surprised.
Once the IDF&G had the opportunity to run the license plates on this Dodge truck, the owners identity was shared with me. Picabo Livestock, Nick Purdy owner of the Picabo Angler a newly created outfitting and guiding business. His response to the IDF&G about injecting Aquatic Herbicides into Loving Creek was, "we've been doing this for years".
Wow, I'm dumbfounded but not entirely surprised.
.
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