State experiments with alternative weed-killers on island highway

Published 8:00 pm Wednesday, July 19, 2006

The state Department of Transportation is now battling weeds on the side of the highway with “compost tea,” an eco-friendly alternative to weed-killers.

It is a trial project that grew from the cooperation between the Whidbey Island No-Spray Coalition, or WINS, and the state after three years of negotiations and study.

For the next three years, the state is testing the compost tea spray on a ¾-mile stretch of Highway 525 just north of Greenbank Farm. The other side of the road will remain untreated so the state will be able to see comparable results.

The spray is supposed to thicken vegetation and drive out invasive weeds, said Seaneen Hummel of Creative Gardens, Inc. The tea brew will bulk up native plants and make them hardy over a period of a year and cause resistance to any invasive varieties, she explained.

Traditional chemical-based herbicides, pesticides, fumigates and some fertilizers kill not only weeds but also beneficial organisms.

Three applications per growing period are planned, she said.

If the state likes the results, tea spray may replace conventional weed-killing methods on Whidbey roads.

For the Whidbey Island No-Spray Coalition, the trial is a small step in the right direction and a huge pay-off for their hard work.

“Through slow and careful negotiations as well as public pressure tactics with WSDOT, we are now at a stage where they have cut back considerably on their spray of the highway, the 4 feet or so bordering the highway pavement,” said Mark Wahl, president of WINS.

After a lot of pressure — internally WSDOT refers to WINS’ acronym as meaning “Whidbey Is Never Satisfied,” Wahl joked — the transportation department is now cutting back on spray in many parts of the state. It’s also undertaking 20 experiments in various areas of Puget Sound involving alternative methods for handling weed problems. Four of these experiments are on Whidbey Island.

“This represents quite a victory,” Wahl said.

The transportation department has contracted with Hummel, a Whidbey Island compost tea expert.

The offer came as somewhat of a surprise. Hummel said she had offered her services a few years ago but was declined.

But times have changed.

Wahl said it is good to see that the transportation department and road crews are now more open to alternative methods.

Alternative weed-fighting methods are initially more expensive during the trial period, but down the road the investment will pay off, not just for the environment, but also financially.

“Alternatives are initially more expensive up front, but long term expenses will be lower and provide sustainability,” Wahl said.

Experiments of this nature have been successful in Jefferson and San Juan counties, Wahl added.

Ray Willard, who is in charge of the WSDOT trials, said the state is currently investigating several different alternatives to get rid of weeds.

“This is all part of a larger set of experiments,” Willard said.

For the next three years, the state is going to study the cost and effectiveness of the different methods. The experiments are based on a research project with the University of Washington and environmental experts and activists. The study and the experiments are funded from the transportation department’s maintenance budget, he said.

The voices of more than 2,000 people, primarily on the South End of Whidbey, brought about a major change first in Island County, then in the whole state of Washington, Wahl said.

WINS activists persistently kept the public aware of the resistance of WSDOT on changing the agency’s approach to the use of herbicides.

“We kept up face-to-face diplomacy, research, lobbying of officials, media exposure and legal pressure until WSDOT felt they had to make substantive changes. This began to create changes first mainly on Whidbey and Camano, then the policies used here were translated to other Puget Sound counties and, finally, new roadside plans were written for every area in Washington,” Wahl said.

The results of the experiments will be used wherever applicable throughout Washington.

Additionally, the secretary of transportation has been moved more toward a general policy of herbicide reduction, Wahl said.

And roadshops statewide, formerly entrenched in herbicide use, are now more open to trying less toxic, approaches, he added.

“A terrific boon to the health of the state came from activity on our little Island,” Wahl said.

Michaela Marx Wheatley can be reached at 221-5300 or mmarxwheatley@southwhidbeyrecord.com