From the January 2006 Idaho Observer:

BLM proposes to overspray 17 western states with herbicides

Allegedly to control "invasive plant species," the federal plan will actually promote non-native plant propagation and ripen the bird population for a flu epidemic

By The Idaho Observer

The Bureau of Land Management is proposing to apply herbicides to nearly one million acres in 17 Western states. The plan has sparked a wave of opposition from a variety of groups who do not believe the government should overspray the west with toxic chemicals to control the spread of plants the government prefers to identify as "invasive species."

The Idaho Statesman Journal reported that Verlin Smith, BLM branch chief for renewable resources in Utah, said the weed killer is needed to combat the rise of cheat grass, tamarisk, Russian olive and other invasive species, which he said are strangling rangelands and wildlife habitat while sucking up precious water resources. Smith said herbicides are one of the tools at the BLM’s disposal to reclaim land overgrown with invasive non-native plants. Much of the herbicide application will be from the air.

Opponents believe that chemical spraying promotes invasion of non-native species by changing soil chemistry in a way that diminishes the viability of native plants, giving aggressive "invaders" an advantage. The plan promotes a vicious cycle—kill the invaders with chemical poisons to make room for the natives that cannot thrive in soil that has been chemically-poisoned.

The proposal, which was in the "public comment phase" through Jan. 9, is the preferred method of action by the BLM. Though the agency has no way of controlling non-targeted plant, animal and human exposure to aerial applications of the herbicides (all of which are known carcinogens), it will likely take extremely vocal opposition to stop the plan.

It should also be noted that wild animals exposed to toxic chemicals are more vulnerable to sickness and disease. This consideration is particularly important in an era where we are being told that an outbreak of avian flu could jump species and kill millions of people.

For more information about the BLM plan to poison the west this year, go to www.organicconsumers.org/Politics/backlash122905.cfm.

Note: Ingri Cassel and Don Harkins have been editing a book by Dr. Sherri Tenpenny that will be entitled "Fowl." This book, which is expected to be available in March, will be the definitive work on the avian flu scare and the toxic realities of commercial interests that have been planning and creating the environment for this hysteria. Once her book comes out, our comments in this article about how the BLM overspray plan will conveniently promote the likelihood of an avian flu outbreak in the U.S., will appear more lucid. Go to www.BirdFluHype.com for some introduction to the "proposed" avian flu pandemic sceduled to kill 2 million Americans.