[MAIPC] Non-chemical Viburnum control

[Stephen Hiltner]

I encourage people to think of herbicides, when used in highly targeted and
minimalist treatments like stump treatments, as a form of western medicine
for nature. We don't deprive doctors and ourselves of the use of
manufactured medicines, all of which have some level of toxicity. Why,
then, are we depriving land managers of similar options for the healing of
nature? It's unfair to us, and yet another example of how people adopt
attitudes that fill their need to feel good about themselves, rather than
figuring out what's best for nature.

The NY Times feeds this sort of thinking with articles like this one
<https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/17/dining/drinks/climate-change-regenerative-agriculture-wine.html#commentsContainer&permid=103173259:103173259>,
a couple days ago, which leads with a wine grower denying the reality of
invasive species. NY Times columnist Margaret Renkl has also characterized
all pesticides as poisons. Oftentimes, these blanket condemnations come
from the same people who claim all plants are good. It's lazy thinking,
usually by people who don't actually have to do the work, and represents a
failure to make important distinctions. Few people would take seriously the
contention that all bacteria are good, and that we shouldn't use
antibiotics because they are overused in agriculture. What's actually being
said is that people matter, and nature really doesn't. And land managers
are left holding the bag.

Steve
https://www.newscompanion.com/search?q=invasive (writings about invasive
species denial)

On Sat, Oct 19, 2019 at 7:07 PM Nathan Hartshorne <nshartshorne at gmail.com>
wrote:

> That's good to know.  There must be ways that are still avoiding
> pesticides, but less obtrusive and easier to manage than tarps.  Maybe
> something thick and environmentally safe painted on (if allowed by
> herbicide regulations), or string/stakes and a biodegradable plastic.
>
> On Sat, Oct 19, 2019 at 6:10 PM Mark Frey <runcator at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> It resprouts well from the stump when cut and it does, in general,
>> resprout some from roots. My observations though suggest that no new root
>> sprouts emerged from tarped or cut plants.
>>
>> On Sat, Oct 19, 2019 at 4:33 PM Nathan Hartshorne <nshartshorne at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> Without a tarp, would this plant typically resprout from the stump or in
>>> a bushy manner with shoots at some distance away, and if so, up to how far
>>> away?
>>>
>>> On Sat, Oct 19, 2019 at 3:45 PM Mark Frey <runcator at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> All
>>>>
>>>> Over the last couple of years I have been volunteering for Montgomery
>>>> County, MD as a Weed Warrior. As part of that work I have been faced with a
>>>> stand of Viburnum and I have been restricted from using chemicals. I tested
>>>> a few treatments and learned that tarping is very effective and gained some
>>>> other insights. It isn't really a robust study but the results are
>>>> nonetheless conclusive and directly pertinent to land managers. I'm
>>>> attaching it here in the hopes that others managing woody plants in the mid
>>>> Atlantic will consider tarping when chemical control is not an option.
>>>>
>>>> Mark
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