Lawn herbicides in DC: aesthetics over beauty.

The DC Metro area is has many organic grocery stores. Vegan/organic options exist on most restaurant menus. Given these bits of information, one would assume that DC area residents are very concerned about pesticides. However, this does not extend to their lawn care practices. Every year since moving to DC, even though we do not use herbicides on our property, our garden receives herbicide applications from our neighbors via drift and/or volatilization. This year the last week of April was hot and auxin-mimic herbicides were applied by commercial lawn services/pesticide applicators on several properties in the neighborhood. Sure enough trees in the neighborhood were showing signs of auxin-mimic (2,4-D, dicamba) damage.

Herbicide damage on redbud. NE DC. 2 May 2024.

This has happened every year we have lived here. Some of our neighbors actually did not know that the lawn care company was spraying their property with pesticides. The very same pesticide active ingredients that people are concerned about being used by farmers are being used by homeowners and lawn companies on residential lawns. Another big use here in the DMV is on parks. Parks are nice places. I have walked the pup to local parks and turned around because it was obvious that pesticides had been applied recently (smell, stains, wet foliage on a dry day, etc.). Pesticide applications are not always signed, but if the turf you are about to use has minimal clover and other low weeds, you can assume that it sees pesticides fairly often.

Herbicide damage on mulberry. NE DC. 2 May 2024.

It is easy to blame farmers for pesticide problems, according to the US Department of Agriculture, there were 895 million acres of farmland in the US in 2021. The amount of turf (lawns, parks, etc.) in the US is difficult to estimate, but is likely 50 million acres. It is also difficult to estimate pesticide use on lawns, I ran into studies that found 2 to 10 times more pesticides were used on turf compared to agricultural fields. Here in DC, we do not have farms. Our DC pesticide issues are entirely turf.

It is interesting to me that the very people who are buying organic foods, are poisoning themselves, their neighborhood, and greater environment with their lawn care routines.

It is also apparent that by eschewing the values of of biodiversity, biological integrity, and nativity to the gain the aesthetics of a chemically-maintained monoculture suitable for a European Lord. You sacrifice the true beauty of creation for a devil’s bargain of an ugly beauty.

Yet another form of kayak activism

There are so many reason to despair: climate change, litter, habitat loss, invasive species, etc. I have always been a fan of what can I do to help out? That is why I try to have a big garden, plant native plants, and use my kayak for purposes of good.

Carp (Cyprinus carpio) removed. Mid-Snake River, ID. 5 April 2005

The Mid-Snake River is the economic life blood of the surrounding Idaho high desert. The Snake River is irrigation for the surrounding agricultural lands, hydro-electric power, tourism, and even a convenient place to outflow sewage systems. It is a pretty river, but all of the uses make it impaired. The Snake River has numerous introduced and invasive fish species. I chose to make my kayak a vessel for removing common carp (Cyprinus carpio). There are many studies that show that the presence of carp is detrimental to native species. Learning how to flyfish for carp took a bit: they require a very precise presentation and spook easily. When I hooked my first carp on my kayak, I was not prepared for being towed up and down the river in my kayak. Because the goal was removal, this was catch and kill. The fish would then be turned into fertilizer for my garden.

A view of the habitat. Mid-Snake River, ID. 10 April 2005

I pulled so many carp out of the Snake River. I took other people out to learn how to fish the species productively. Just like plastic bottles that are my current kayaking practice, I found that the carp seemed endless. However, endless isn’t hopeless. As long as we are willing and able. Choose something and do it with the goal of making the world a better place – and don’t be surprised if you succeed!

Another Dueling Creek Adventure: To the Road!

We had heavy rains and resultant flooding in the area. Kelly and Ani were busy, so I took the opportunity (and a saw for downed wood) to see if I could paddle Dueling Creek all the way up to the road culvert in Colmar Manor Park. I have been stuck in Dueling Creek in low tides before and I figured the extra flood water on top of a high tide would be useful.

As far as a kayak can go. On the other side of the road culvert the creek is in a concrete ditch and not deep enough for a kayak. Dueling Creek, MD. 11 May 2024.

The flood water was definitely helpful for this adventure. At the first downed tree across the creek, I was able to simply paddle up on what normally is land and float past the obstacle. The extra water in the creek allowed me to paddle over many of the logs I expected to be stoppers. I only had to cut through 5 downed logs – which was fine by me.

I was not prepared for how beautiful Dueling Creek can be. Dueling Creek, MD. 11 May 2024.

Even with all the extra water, tides do not wait. I was aware that I was going this far up the creek with the blessing of the tide and the floodwater, but when the tide goes out the journey downstream and homeward may not be as easy. I did pick up a bit of trash, but my focus was get upstream and back downstream before the tide went out.

On the way out. This is normal kayaking water. Note the saw in the cockpit. Dueling Creek, MD. 11 May 2024.

I was really surprised how different the upper creek was. Down low the creek is sunny and marshy, but the upper reaches are in woods and under a tree canopy. There was a really interesting bit about 250 meters from the road where the creek channel is braided (multiple channels) and without all the extra water I would not have been able to continue upstream. There were beautiful mummichogs (Fundulus heteroclitus) spawning in the the spots where sun was hitting the creek.

After I got to where I did not need to worry about water quantity issues, I did pick up some trash: TV (CRT = heavy), big piece of auto plastic, plastic bucket, and a bag of plastic bottles. Anacostia River, MD. 11 May 2024. Photo courtesy of Jeff Ouellette.

I could have had a pleasant paddle as it was a very nice day, but instead I had an adventure paddle and took a kayak someplace that kayaks have not been for quite a while. It is amazing that even within the DC Metro Area there are opportunities for solitude – it just takes a bit of work.

Invasive honeysuckle: Lonicera mackii

Dueling Creek Natural Area is a wonderful place. A little oasis of trees, plants, and even a little tidal creek within the urban blight of the DC Metro Area. It is a great place to escape from cars, pavement, and the general city crush. However, this is not a nature preserve, this is an area that has been let go.   Invasive plants rule this landscape and spring is a wonderful time to explore the non-native plants.

Lonicera mackii. Dueling Creek Natural Area, MD. 1 May 2024.

It starts with the early blooms of garlic mustard and the buttercup Ficaria verna. In places where English ivy and periwinkle do not cover the ground the carpet of yellow blooms of Ficaria are the promise of spring, but not a North American spring. Next up is the bloom of Pyrus calleryana (Bradford or callery pear). Because these pears are the dominant tree the woods are glistening white in the sunshine, the petals fall like warm snow in the breeze, and the entire area reeks of the semen-smelling floral abundance. As the pears wind down, the honeysuckles (Lonicera mackii and Lonicera japonica) begin their bloom. The most common shrub is Lonicera mackii and the entire area smells sweet and the ground is covered with spent flowers.

Anacostia Riverpup on trails carpeted with fallen flowers of Lonicera mackii. Dueling Creek Natural Area, MD. 3 May 2024.

Of course, this isn’t good for native plants and the animals that depend upon them. Soils change in response to the botanical perturbation. The term “invasional meltdown” is used to describe a situation in which non-native species facilitate the establishment of other non-native species and exacerbate the impacts that the non-native species have on native species. Toward that concept, this year I was very excited to see a young fringetree in bloom in the woods, but when I got close it wasn’t Chionanthus virginica. It was Chionanthus retusus from Asia. It is still a beautiful plant, but may be harbinger of further change in this ‘ecosystem nouveau’.

Chionanthus retusus. Dueling Creek Natural Area, MD. 3 May 2024.

Anacostia River: some recent trash we have found.

We pull a lot of trash out of the Anacostia River. Handling lots of trash gives us opportunities to find weird and unusual items. This post is just some thoughts about a couple items.

Not one, but two pairs of flip-flops! Also a children’s food cart?? Anacostia River, MD. 26 April 2024.

Most people have two feet. However, that is not the conclusion that space aliens researching river trash would reach. It is very rare to a pair of shoes in the river. In the wild shoes are solitary things. Rarely you will find both shoes of a pair, however, they usually will not be traveling together. Finding two pair of the same kind of shoè is just beyond any statistical probability, but as the photo above shows, it happened.

Two trashmas ornaments, two river beers (unopened), and a teeny-tiny toilet. Anacostia River, MD. 28 April 2024.

Ahh, there is nothing better than a refreshing river beer! In the Anacostia River system beverage containers (in the form of plastic bottles) are the most common form of trash we remove. Finding a bottle of some sugary drink bobbing in the Anacostia River isn’t very appealing, but river beers are protected from spoiling by their alcohol – so I consider them safe to consume. Again, one river beer is rare, two river beers is unheard of (in the Anacostia River).

Ever river has a unique ‘trash signature’ that reflects the human communities along the river. If you ever get the chance, go back to the late 1970’s and do some overnight trips on rivers and creeks in the Ozarks. I was already enthralled with canoes, but these rivers and creeks were magical and turned me into a river rat. Occasionally, I would paddle the Current River. The Current River is still a very pretty river, but was not a first choice for paddling back then. There were many canoe liveries on the river and paddling the river was a loud, crowded, frat party sort of affair. We would easily fill a canoe with trash – mostly beer cans and bottles. The Current River isn’t a difficult paddle, but at certain inebriation levels it is. Drunken paddlers would capsize and lose their beer to the river. As such a very high percentage of the beer containers that you would remove from the river would be unopened. The late 1970’s Current River was an astounding source of river beers – if you are into that sort of thing.