U.S. Forest Service, timber companies spraying record amounts of glyphosate in California

Key Points:

• The Trump administration proposed opening nearly 45 million acres of national forestland to roads and logging to increase timber production, coinciding with increased use of glyphosate herbicides in California forests.
• Glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, is being sprayed at record levels by timber companies and the U.S. Forest Service, despite concerns about its carcinogenic potential and health risks, especially near residential areas.
• Investigations revealed that the Forest Service's safety assessments of glyphosate relied heavily on studies manipulated or ghostwritten by Monsanto, raising questions about the integrity of the scientific evidence supporting its use.
• Local residents and business owners near affected forests, such as Joe Van Meter and Olympian Hannah Teter, express serious health and environmental concerns over glyphosate spraying, feeling excluded from decision-making processes.
• The Forest Service defends glyphosate use as essential for reforestation and timber growth but has declined to address concerns about the scientific validity of its safety claims, while glyphosate spraying continues in sensitive areas like Yosemite, Lassen, and Lake Tahoe.