©USFS

STATELINE, Nev. – During an Environmental Improvement Program (EIP) committee meeting of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) governing board on August 26, more than a hundred community members rallied – both in person and online – to speak in opposition to the spraying of glyphosate as part of the U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit’s (LTBMU) Caldor Fire Restoration Project. …During LTBMU’s presentation to TRPA and according to their EA, there are roughly 4,900 acres where natural forest regeneration is unlikely, and the project proposes strategic reforestation on 2,400 – 3,600 of those acres in 2028. The use of herbicides is considered a potential tactic to achieve this by reducing shrub layers that have out-shaded seedlings. “We have to put this tool in the toolbox,” said Ashley Sibr, Environmental Coordinator for LTBMU during her presentation. …Tensions were high during public comment, many public commenters echoed the same sentiments, voices varied between anger, passion, and concern.