The Vancouver Sun, Saturday, May 5 1990
Dangers of the 'toxic lawn'
A lawn as lush as a golf course fairway might seem like a worthwhile goal. But according to Seattle Times environment columnist Susan McGrath, some of the lawn chemicals commonly used to achieve that deep green perfection not only zap ornery weeds and insect pests but also kill earthworms, bees, ladybugs and songbirds, all of which are beneficial to a garden's health.
In fact, McGrath says, those perfect golf course grasslands to which gardeners often aspire have been the scene of some of the US's most blatant examples of inadvertent pesticide poisoning.
She cites the 700 Brant geese that keeled over after grazing on a Long Island golf course just sprayed with its bimonthly dose of diazinon, a common lawn-care pesticide. And then there were the 85 widgeons that dropped dead after dining on a similarly treated Bellingham course.
Pesticides threaten local streams
On October 15, 1990, golf course lobbyists in Vancouver attempted to persuade federal pesticide review authorities to exempt golf courses from federal environmental protection regulations. They claim they need to use excessive amounts of pesticides to maintain good turf. Heavy rainfall at the proposed Hollyburn Ridge golf course will wash these poisons down into the forest and community below. Cypress Creek, which drains part of the area, provides essential pure water for the federal fisheries research laboratory on Marine Drive.
Pure water from this forest drains into Cypress Creek
