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Town of Mancos Says Weeds in Parks Were Too Aggressive to Eradicate Organically

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Boyle and Cottonwood Parks in Mancos were closed for a day each last week as a firm hired by the town government killed weeds in the parks using non-organic chemicals. That might have surprised some people, especially because the Town of Mancos had adopted a plan to move towards more organic methods of weed control. The town had also put up signs in the parks saying so.

But the Mancos Town Board members had decided in June that the weeds had gotten out of hand and were too aggressive to manage in a fully organic manner. They also said that some of the seeds from foxtails and cheat grass were hazardous to dogs and needed to be eradicated quickly. That’s according to minutes from the Board's June 8th meeting. At that meeting the Board directed staff to spray the weeds with non-organic chemicals.

The town placed notifications in The Journal and on the town website a week before the spraying. According to town documents, the mix of fertilizers and herbicides they applied included Speed Zone and Plateau, which kill a variety of weeds including cheat grass. The Environmental Protection Agency says those two herbicides can cause harm to the eyes, skin, or lungs if in liquid or spray form. In a statement, Mancos town administrator Andrea Philips told KSJD that the town sprayed chemicals for an hour each day and then closed the parks for a full day each after they sprayed. According to the spray company, the sprays take about two hours to dry.

The town’s Integrated Pest Management and Weed Control plan is different from an organic certification in that it does allow for non-organic pest control in certain cases. Phillips says the town is not abandoning the plan, and they're looking for more organic controls in the future. They plan to aerate and re-seed the soil this fall to help prevent more weeds from growing.

You can find a copy of the town’s Integrated Pest Management and Weed Control by contacting 970-533-7725.

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