Local activist group Poison Free Malibu has won a victory in its mission against the use of rodenticides, pesticides and herbicides in and around Malibu.
Jerald L. Weaver, Chief of Planning, Science and Resource Management for the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area announced on April 4 that he has, “Currently put a moratorium on the use of herbicide in the Malibu area.
“My general sense is that the park needs to evaluate other treatment options before we determine next steps,” Weaver described.
Kian Schulman, co-founder of Poison Free Malibu wrote, “Poison Free Malibu has met with and had many conversations with the National Park Service concerning their use of herbicides…Weaver was very supportive about looking to alternative non-chemical controls for invasive species.”
Weaver wrote that he wants to form a volunteer workforce to assist in manual removal of “mandatory control weed species” at Zuma, Trancas and Solstice Canyons, and plans to send out specific recruitment announcements soon. He has asked Poison Free Malibu for help in getting the word out that he will be seeking volunteers to pull weeds in the near future.
“Only by working together can we successfully manage these landscapes we know and love. I’m hoping that weed management at Zuma, Trancas and Solstice we be our success story,” Weaver wrote.