Botanical Death for Community Improvement

Whole Earth,  Spring, 2001  by Pw

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It's hard to kill a tree, no matter how it disrupts the dreamed-of forest or grassland. There are giant eucalyptus out West that citizens will defend with unmuted passion. Big trees are somehow special, sacred--even if they harm the soil or nuture no other species. It's a means-to-ends issue (the goal being a more ecologically linked and supportive community), but hard, since this generation may never live to see the new forest.

Root Jack
$95.95 from Michael
Giacomini
PO Box 726
Ross, CA 94957
415/454-0849

Weed Wrench
$54 to $148 from New Tribe, Inc.
5517 Riverbanks Road
Grants Pass, OR 97527
541/476-9492,
newtribe@cdsnet.net

Two tools to ease backbreaking work. Both extract the unwanted bush or shrub by pincering the root and leveraging out the plant. Michael Giacomini, inventor, came by the office and left us a Root Jack. I jack out French broom outside our office during lunchtimes. The Root Jack has a steel hoe-like, blade that helps clear litter so you can find a good stem on which to jab the pincers. It's a one-size-fits-all (up to 1.5" in diameter) and a workout for the wrist. You do it standing up.

Weed Wrench comes in four sizes for 1-2.5" stems. The mini requires sitting and squatting. The maxi requires tallness and good muscles. Wherever you go, among aggressive banana puka on Molokai, Brazilian pepper trees in the Everglades, or French broom in California, you'll encounter weed wrenchers at work. --PW

Ringer Tree Girdler About $150 from Forestry Suppliers (see page 31)

The alternative to herbicides for offing unwanted trees. Slices quickly through bark and cambium, deep enough to kill. Remember to ask forgiveness or say a little prayer. --PW

E-Z-Ject [R] Lance Hypo-Hatchet [R] Tree Injector For prices and necessary equipment, see Forestry Suppliers

No herbicide danger to you or other critters. Lance the tree with your E-Z-Ject or, if this is big-time, hatchet the sapwood with the Hypo-Hatchet tree injector. Both release herbicide into the unwanted tree. For amine herbicides only. --PW

Plateau [TM] (Imazapic) RoundUp [R] (Glyphosphate) Plateau from BASF, www.basf.com RoundUp from Monsanto, www.monsanto.com

Tom Barnes of the University of Kentucky convinced us (he sent us a pile of reprints) that there's a place for herbicides in restoration. By combining herbicides with seed equipment, he's been able to reduce or eliminate tall fescue grassland and replace it with native grasses in one to two years. The imported tall fescue, formerly promoted by the feds, now covers 34 million acres. Bobwhite and cottontail populations have plummetted in tall fescue. Songbirds and Canada geese become deprived of nutrients. Tall fescue grasslands can be seen as a "cancer." and a drastic disease of the landscape requires drastic measures. --PW

COPYRIGHT 2001 New Whole Earth LLC
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning