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In recent years, farmers have been spraying an increasing amount of volatile herbicides - namely dicamba and 2,4-D - that are causing widespread damage to trees, native plants and natural areas across the Midwest and South. https://investigatemidwest.org/2020/06/16/weve-got-it-everywhere-dicamba-damaging-trees-across-midwest-and-south/
“Symptoms are showing up in backyards, school yards, cemeteries, forested lands, prairies, land enrolled in taxpayer funded conservation programs, orchards, vineyards, and even over large areas of small rural towns,” said Kim Erndt-Pitcher, of @IlliniPrairie.
More than 60 areas managed by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, including state parks and nature preserves, reported herbicide damage in 2018 or 2019, according to records obtained by the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting. @ilenviro
“These protected areas, these refuges, are so few and far between. They’ve dwindled so much over the years, and have increased so much in their importance. Any damage is magnified to that extent,” said @Nathan_Donley of @CenterForBioDiv.
The damage is across IL: the public library in Clinton; outside of the Adams Wildlife Sanctuary in Springfield; right in front of the courthouse in Petersburg; at the large public park in Pekin; at Kickapoo Creek Park in Logan County; and at the Postville Courthouse in Lincoln.
Most crops, like soybeans, are hurt once. Trees are hurt year after year after year. Dicamba could lead to less insects, which are sensitive and may not eat affected leaves, which could lead to less food for birds.
Here's a breakdown of some of the most affected place in Illinois:
- A couple dozen dead oaks at Marissa Woods
- 30 oaks died at Julius J. Knobeloch Woods
- At Big River State Forest, "All new growth was affected by brown patches or cupping at margins.” https://investigatemidwest.org/2020/06/16/weve-got-it-everywhere-dicamba-damaging-trees-across-midwest-and-south/2/
- A couple dozen dead oaks at Marissa Woods
- 30 oaks died at Julius J. Knobeloch Woods
- At Big River State Forest, "All new growth was affected by brown patches or cupping at margins.” https://investigatemidwest.org/2020/06/16/weve-got-it-everywhere-dicamba-damaging-trees-across-midwest-and-south/2/
