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MARK YOUR CALENDARS! Marin County IPM Commission Meeting on Fri. Jan. 22nd @ 9 AM

Marin County Integrated Pest Management Commission
1 McInnis Parkway - First Floor Board Room
San Rafael, California
January 22, 2016
9:00 AM PT

MARK YOUR CALENDARS! Please attend the Marin County Integrated Pest Management Commission meeting on Friday, January 22nd at 9 AM & ENDORSE OUR ATTACHED LETTER

- This meeting will determine whether or not the toxic herbicide Glyphosate, the main ingredient in Roundup, will continue to be used in the County in 2016.


Hi Neighbors and Friends,

Please mark your calendars for the first quarterly Marin County Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Commission meeting of 2016 on Friday, January 22, 2016 at 9 AM.

WHAT: Marin County Integrated Pest Management Commission
WHEN: Friday, January 22, 2016 at 9 AM
WHERE: First Floor Board Room, 1 McInnis Parkway, San Rafael, CA

This may be the IPM Commission's most important meeting of the year since it's when they will approve the list of pesticides that can be used in 2016. The "2016 Proposed Allowed Pesticides" list was distributed at their October meeting. Of note is that toxic Glyphosate, the main ingredient in the herbicide Roundup, remains on the list, or more specifically on the Exemption List. (In order for a County employee to use Glyphosate an "Exemption" is required, which essentially means more paperwork is involved.)

Please join us on January 22nd and urge the IPM Commission to remove Glyphosate-based herbicides from the "2016 Allowed Pesticides" list. Better yet, urge the Commission to support an herbicide-free approach to vegetation management.

In addition, please send letters to the IPM Commission c/o Chris Chamberlain, IPM Coordinator and Carla Corde-Scott, IPM Commission Administrative Assistant (see below for their email addresses). If you don't have time to write your own letter and you agree with our attached letter, then please send the Commission a quick email endorsing our letter:

cchamberlain@marincounty.org
ccorde-scott@marincounty.org

Concerns about Glyphosate, the main ingredient in the herbicide Roundup:
Respected scientific studies show that there is a strong correlation between Glyphosate and Glyphosate formulations and serious health and environmental hazards, including disruption of hormonal systems and beneficial gut bacteria, damage to DNA, developmental and reproductive toxicity, birth defects, cancer and neurotoxicity. Glyphosate-based herbicides can harm all facets of an ecosystem, including the soil biology and composition, water, and non-target plants, aquatic organisms, amphibians, reptiles, invertebrates, animals, and humans. Glyphosate use could foster herbicide-resistant super weeds. Glyphosate is a patented desiccant (a drying agent) and could greatly increase the risk of fire. Glyphosate’s effect on the soil composition could lead to greater risk of runoff and erosion. Glyphosate and its metabolites can be highly active and mobile and persist for many years in the environment, depending on conditions. Glyphosate formulations with extra-added ingredients (adjuvants) are up to 1000 time more toxic than their isolated active ingredients. Using toxic Glyphosate and Glyphosate formulations could not only harm beneficial vegetation and wildlife but could also jeopardize public health and safety.

Furthermore, Glyphosate was recently identified as a probable human carcinogen and therefore classified as a Group 2A carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the specialized cancer agency of the World Health Organization (WHO).

Based on that listing and pursuant to state law, the state Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) has issued a notice of intent to list Glyphosate and several other chemical insecticides and pesticides as chemicals “known to the state” to cause cancer under the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 (Proposition 65).

For more detailed information, please read the attached letter, dated January 12, 2016, from Sustainable TamAlmonte to the Marin County Integrated Pest Management Commission.

In our letter, we urge the IPM Commission to support an herbicide-free approach to vegetation management or, at minimum, to direct staff to permanently eliminate Glyphosate-based herbicides from their "Allowed Pesticide List". We further urge them to advise and persuade the Marin County Board of Supervisors, who are also the Marin County Open Space District Board of Directors, to officially bring the Marin County Open Space District under the Integrated Pest Management Ordinance.

Thank you in advance for taking action. Together we can make a difference!

Sharon Rushton


Contact Email: