moorhead city council

Nancy Edmonds Hanson

The Moorhead City Council unanimously approved a plan developed by the city’s Public Works Department to manage and reduce herbicide use on the city’s public lands – an issue that council members have repeatedly debated since August 2020, when the death of thousands of monarch butterflies after aerial application of pesticides brought the use of chemicals to the forefront.

Presented by public works director Steve Iverson, the plan details where and when weed control measures will be undertaken on the more than 1,000 acres of public land within the city boundaries – 460 acres of parks and athletic fields, 311 acres of right-of-way along city thoroughfares, 206 acres of storm water ponds and drains, and 29 acres of lifts and pump stations. It was developed jointly with the Parks Advisory Board, whose president James Hand was on hand to endorse it, along with Clay County Extension educator Randy Nelson.

Iverson told the group his department’s park maintenance division’s goals are to “enhance green space, restore turf with prairie vegetation where practical, and enhance pollinator habitat within the city.” He noted that 170 acres have been converted to natural prairie and pollinator plantings in the past year, “more than 15 percent of the land we manage.”

Last year, the council charged his department with weighing the option of switching from chemical to organic herbicide to control weeds on its acreage, especially Canada thistle – considered a noxious weed by the state – as well as broad-leaf plantain and dandelions. He reported Monday that the organic alternatives are “neither economically nor operationally practical.” They not only would require five to six applications over the summer, compared with the present practice of spraying once in spring and again in fall. Cost is also significantly higher, he said; the cost of what’s presently used is $12,500 per year, while the organic option would be nearly $125,000.

Iverson said the goal is to balance concerns about herbicides with maintaining healthy turf – grass-covered areas – in areas receiving often-heavy foot traffic, including playing fields. He outlined a trial experiment by park maintenance staff this year that includes spot spraying of herbicides and fertilizers instead of widespread application in areas within 50 feet of pools and playgrounds. Larger signs will be installed before general spraying, and staff will continue to monitor wind speed and direction, postponing spraying if the wind exceed 10 miles per hour.

Council member Steve Lindaas amended Matt Gilbertson’s original motion to accept the plan as presented by Iverson. He suggested also canceling herbicide use in a large portion of M.B. Johnson Park, which includes both playgrounds and picnic areas, along with extensive natural areas and the new Food Forest of fruit trees and shrubs planted in 2021. The no-spray area would include the new trees and extend westward to the Red River.

Dandelions had their defenders. Council members Shelly Dahlquist, Heather Nesemeier and Deb White proposed extending the no-spray amendment to the entire park, citing pollinators’ appetite for dandelions’ early blooms and human foragers who harvested their leaves and blossoms for salads and wine-making. But their move failed by a vote of 3 to 5.

The council went on to approve the resolution endorsing the Public Works Department proposed plan, amended to exclude the area from the Food Forest to the river.