Lake Tahoe residents ‘horrified’ by plans to spray cancer-linked glyphosate in public lands

Katherine Levy remembers a childhood deeply rooted in the natural offerings of Lake Tahoe – water-skiing in the summer and working as ski instructor on the surrounding snow-covered mountains during winter months. She recently moved back to live out her retirement along the lake’s north shore. But she doesn’t like what she has found upon her return: a US government plan to spray multiple types of herbicides, including the cancer-linked glyphosate weed killer – within national forest property that abuts the community’s cherished lake. “I was horrified to find out what has been going on,” Levy said. Levy is among a number of Lake Tahoe-area residents and officials who are fighting to block or alter the US Forest Service project, which is aimed at restoration of areas damaged by the 2021 Caldor fire . The wildfire burned through more than 200,000 acres, including land in and around the Lake Tahoe basin. The Forest Service manages more than 156,000 acres (63,000 hectares) of national forest land within that basin. The agency’s restoration plan states that the use of glyphosate and other herbicides is needed to help clear areas of shrubs, brush, and other vegetation before new tree plantings and to manage vegetation that might interfere with the growth of the trees after planting. …