Thread: Feds to poison plants along the border where criminals hide

Feds to poison plants along the border where criminals hide

The U.S. Border Patrol plans to start poisoning the plant life along a mile stretch of the Rio Grande to try to eliminate places were smugglers, robbers and illegal immigrants can hide, The Houston Chronicle reports.

The pilot program will test three methods for getting rid of carrizo cane, which has thick stalks in which people can easily evade detection.

Teams will try to cut the cane by hand, dig it out by the roots with mechanical equipment, or spray it with herbicide from helicopters.

If the pilot program in the Laredo area works, it could be used all along the U.S.-Mexico border, the paper says.

Although Border Patrol and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency officials say the chemical is safe for animals, critics question the possible long-term effects. They point to the U.S. military's use of Agent Orange in Vietnam to try to strip foliage to make it easier to spot guerrillas along the Ho Chi Minh trail, The Chronicle says.

(Photo of Webb County officers at a border area near Laredo, Texas, by Hector Mata, AFP/Getty Images)

Posted at 08:54 AM/ET, March 24, 2009
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USA TODAY actually used the word "CRIMINALS" to describe illegal aliens.

Critics oppose Border Patrol herbicide plan



1 hr 44 mins ago


HOUSTON – The Border Patrol plans to poison vegetation along more than a mile of the Rio Grande riverbank in Texas to eliminate the dense foliage used as hiding places by illegal immigrants and smugglers.

The Houston Chronicle reports opponents of the action compare it to the Vietnam War-era Agent Orange chemical program and say it could have harmful long-term effects.

Members of the Laredo City Council also have raised concerns about the spraying program.

Mexican officials are worried the herbicide could threaten the water supply for the city of Nuevo Laredo.

The Border Patrol says the project is designed to protect the country and keep its agents safe.

The $2.1 million pilot project is set to begin this week.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090324/ap_ ... WbopdvzwcF

Here is the long version of the story.

Border plants to be killed to reveal smugglers

By DANE SCHILLER Copyright 2009 Houston Chronicle
March 24, 2009, 12:11AM

The U.S. Border Patrol plans to poison the plant life along a 1.1-mile stretch of the Rio Grande riverbank as soon as Wednesday to get rid of the hiding places used by smugglers, robbers and illegal immigrants.

If successful, the $2.1 million pilot project could later be duplicated along as many as 130 miles of river in the patrol’s Laredo Sector, as well as other parts of the U.S.-Mexico border.

Although Border Patrol and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency officials say the chemical is safe for animals, detractors say the experiment is reminiscent of the Vietnam War-era Agent Orange chemical program and raises questions about long-term effects.

“We don’t believe that is even moral,â€

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From Wikipedia:

It has been planted widely through South America and Australasia (Boose and Holt 1999; Bell 1997) and in New Zealand it is listed under the National Pest Plant Accord as an "unwanted organism".[3]

It is among the fastest growing terrestrial plants in the world (nearly 10 cm/ day; Dudley, 2000). To present knowledge Arundo does not provide any food sources or nesting habitats for wildlife. This results in resources provided by the crowded-out native plants not being replaced by the Arundo (Bell 1997; Mackenzie 2004). For example, it damages California's riparian ecosystems by outcompeting native species, such as willows, for water. A. donax stems and leaves contain a variety of harmful chemicals, including silica and various alkaloids, which protect it from most insect herbivores and deter wildlife from feeding on it (Bell 1997; Miles et al. 1993; Mackenzie 2004). Grazing animals such as cattle, sheep, and goats may have some effect on it, but are unlikely to be useful in keeping it under control (Dudley 2000).

A. donax appears to be highly adapted to fires, which are unusual in native Californian riparian habitat. It is highly flammable throughout the year, and during the drier months of the year (July to October), it can increase the probability, intensity, and spread of wildfires through the riparian environment, changing the communities from flood-defined to fire-defined communities. After fires, A. donax rhizomes can resprout quickly, outgrowing native plants, which can result in large stands of A. donax along riparian corridors (Bell 1997; Scott 1994). Fire events thus push the system further toward mono-specific stands of A. donax.

A waterside plant community dominated by A.donax may also have reduced canopy shading of the in-stream habitat, which may result in increased water temperatures. This may lead to decreased oxygen concentrations and lower diversity of aquatic animals (Bell 1997).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arundo_donax

It is among the fastest growing terrestrial plants in the world (nearly 10 cm/ day; Dudley, 2000). To present knowledge Arundo does not provide any food sources or nesting habitats for wildlife. This results in resources provided by the crowded-out native plants not being replaced by the Arundo (Bell 1997; Mackenzie 2004). For example, it damages California's riparian ecosystems by outcompeting native species, such as willows, for water. A. donax stems and leaves contain a variety of harmful chemicals, including silica and various alkaloids, which protect it from most insect herbivores and deter wildlife from feeding on it (Bell 1997; Miles et al. 1993; Mackenzie 2004). Grazing animals such as cattle, sheep, and goats may have some effect on it, but are unlikely to be useful in keeping it under control (Dudley 2000).

Thank heavens there's that info because I figured the environmentalists would be screaming about wildlife habitat.