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9 <br /> are adapted to the open habitats once maintained by fire and grazing. <br /> Prior to European settlement much of Orange County was <br /> predominated by prairie-like and open woodland ecosystems <br /> maintained by frequent, low-intensity, fires and grazing (by buffalo). <br /> Mowing has been the standard roadside management tool for over a <br /> century and is still commonly used across the US, which to a large <br /> extent mimics the effects of fire and grazing by removing woody plants. <br /> Herbicide use, therefore, threatens these remnant ecosystems within <br /> rights-of-way. <br /> 2. Application of herbicides, even those that target broadleaf and woody <br /> plants, can kill grasses and other monocots through soil activity. In <br /> addition to refugium disruption, soil erosion is greatly increased without <br /> a consistent herbaceous plant cover. <br /> 3. Rights-of-way are vulnerable to invasive plant colonization, which is <br /> compounded when gaps are created with herbicide use. Invasive <br /> plants are a serious threat to native plant communities, and their <br /> colonization and spread should be discouraged. <br /> 4. Herbicide application often results in unavoidable, inadvertent, or <br /> careless drift onto non-target plants outside the right-of-way. <br /> (Herbicide drift is the reason that the herbicide complaint was made to <br /> the County Commissioners in the first place.) While applicators must <br /> be State certified, there are inevitably mistakes made, such as <br /> excessive drift and overspray. <br /> 5. Rights-of-way with dead or dying plants during the growing season are <br /> an aesthetic concern. The NC DOT Roadside Environmental Unit's <br /> mission is: "To provide roadside elements for a statewide highway <br /> system that are safe, environmentally sound, attractive and responsive <br /> to the public's needs." The Orange County CfE fully endorses this goal <br /> and believes that a no herbicide policy best supports the Roadside <br /> Environmental Unit's mission. <br /> Recommendations: The CfE recommends that the County engage all <br /> companies and public agencies that use herbicides to control woody <br /> vegetation in order to determine: 1) what herbicides are used and in what <br /> manner, 2) what are the limitations of returning to mechanical rights-of-way <br /> clearing, and 3) the locations of rare plants, specialized plant communities, <br /> and sensitive ecosystems (e.g., stream sides) that should only be maintained <br /> with mowing or hand-cutting. <br /> These discussions should seek to remediate our concerns and lead to <br /> changes in woody vegetation control practices. These talks should be <br /> coordinated, if possible, with any similar existing negotiations between <br /> concerned governmental agencies such as the NC Natural Heritage Program, <br /> NC Division of Parks and Recreation, NC DOT, and the various utilities. <br /> Covc vu issLav�far the Fkw raven teki t <br /> 0/0 orakuge oauvi.t,Y ER-O'D <br /> Po?,ox 81821306 A Revere Road <br /> HilGs6arauc�G <br /> NO <br />