TAHOE/TRUCKEE

The Trump administration is directing the Forest Service to expand the use of glyphosate — the active ingredient in Roundup — in national forests as part of its broader push to increase timber production and vegetation management on federal lands.

Glyphosate is the world’s most widely used herbicide, but its safety is deeply contested. In 2015, the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer classified it as “probably carcinogenic to humans.” Bayer, which acquired Monsanto (Roundup’s manufacturer), has paid more than $10 billion to settle tens of thousands of cancer-related lawsuits in the United States.

Beyond human health concerns, glyphosate has been shown to harm pollinators, disrupt aquatic ecosystems when it reaches waterways, and damage the soil microbiome that forests depend on. Critics argue that expanding its use in national forests — lands managed for the public benefit — directly contradicts the agency’s conservation mission and puts hikers, campers, and wildlife at risk.

Locals are mobilizing with Tahoe Truckee Indivisible to fight against the spraying of glyphosate (RoundUp) in the National Forest around Lake Tahoe. Learn more and join up at indivisibletahoetruckee.org.

~ Tahoe Truckee Indivisible website, Tahoe Tomorrow newsletter