Thanks Jim And all. We have been at this for a year and are now submitting bills to the legislature. We have a very powerfully Noxious Weed Control Board in WA
. 
http://www.nwcb.wa.gov/default.asp

The state is divided, most people in the west, Seattle and the I-5 corridor, most agricultural area in the east, tree fruit, crops and range and a lot of managed bees. The board is largely influenced by the cattle/ag. group that are interested in improving/maintaining grass. We have in my county a massive Yellow Starthistle eradication program with thousands of acres aerially sprayed with Tordon, 2-4d, and Picloram. Needless to say bee forage is devastated. All broad-leaf species destroyed with residual ground effect of 18 months and more. In the west Himalayan Blackberry is listed and by far it is the main forage crop for those beekeepers. So the board while ostensible there to control invasive weeds in environmentally sensitive areas, and they do do some of that to their credit, is in effect a tool of the cattleman (IMHO). They make a blanket statement about the treats and simply state that while some noxious weeds are beneficial to pollinators that the harm greatly out ways the benefit. We want to challenge that and require scientific justification and a risk/cost/benefit analysis with a little teeth. Any ideas?
    
http://www.nwcb.wa.gov/publications/Noxious%20weeds%20in%20WA%202011.pdf

Paul Hosticka
Dayton WA


  

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