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Beall Park, Bozeman, MT
Pregnant Mom Leads Effort to Eliminate Pesticides in Beall Park
by Mary Ann Deuth, Dandelions Unlimited Volunteer
In June, 2005, Nancy Clair Laird and a neighbor took their children to play in Beall Park, located in downtown Bozeman. There was a truck on the other side of the park with a 10-gallon metal barrel and spray nozzles. Nancy's son, Will, loves trucks and went chasing after the park truck. It was spraying 2,4 dichlorophnoxyacetic acid, an herbicide used to combat dandelions, thistles and other broadleaf weeds, which is most harmful to children, pregnant women and dogs when it is wet. Nancy asked the driver to stop spraying. Not only was her child in the park, she was also pregnant. There were no signs or newspaper warnings about the times or the safety (or lack of) of spraying herbicides. She was surprised to learn that the park was routinely sprayed during early morning hours every three weeks. Nancy and her friend, Ann Dye, embarked on a campaign to increase awareness of the dangers of pesticides and gather community support to eliminate the chemicals in the park. They contacted the Parks and Recreation Board, who agreed to make Beall Park a pilot project. The women also had the support of the Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides (NCAP), a 30-year-old NPO based in Eugene, OR, which has a website with extensive information on pesticide content, dangers and alternative methods.
The project was successful with community support. The women organized an annual Dandelion Pull every May and work with the Parks and Recreation Board making suggestions on changing turf management practices. There are complaints from people about grass covered with dandelions creating uneven turf for little league, team sports and just overall enjoyment. But Ann says, “...I bet if more people knew about what they were spraying on the grass, they might take a difference approach to the dandelions. Really there is a better way.”
Sources
The New West Magazine 5/17/07
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Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Magazine Summer 2007
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