Subject: Dead fish found in pond on Rotonda golf course
Date: Tue, 6 Mar 2001 07:26:15 -0500
From: Stephen Tvedten <steve@getipm.com>
Organization: Get Set Inc. (www.getipm.com)
To: Paul Helliker <phelliker@cdpr.ca.gov>
Director, State
of California, Department of Pesticide Regulation
cc: Christine Whitman whitman.christine@epa.gov
Dear Mr. Helliker,
I thought you might like to read an article dated 02/21/01 entitled:
Dead fish found in pond on Rotonda golf course By ALYSSA SCHNUGG - Staff
Writer. http://www.sun-herald.com/newsarchive2/022101/tp6ew6.htm
ENGLEWOOD -- Some residents of Rotonda smell something
fishy.
Residents of Gulfview Boulevard awoke Saturday morning to
find about 200 dead fish floating in a pond on the Oakland Hills golf course
behind their property.
"I've lived here for three years and I've never seen
any dead fish here before," Bob Shainline said Tuesday. "There was a
dead fish about every foot."
Shainline said he had seen someone spraying weed killer
in and around the pond Friday.
"This fish started popping up on Saturday morning,
and then vultures and storks started to come to the pond," he said.
"But they didn't eat the fish until Sunday. It's like they knew something
was wrong with them."
Shainline became especially concerned when he found what
he described as a double-crested cormorant, a common water bird in Englewood,
lying dead near the pond.
"Everyone on this road uses that pond to water their
lawns," Shainline said. "You just can't be spraying chemicals around
with older people living here."
Amber Lake Wildlife Refuge and Rehabilitation co-director
Louie Pierson said the golf course may only be guilty of poor timing.
"During a drought like the one we have now, oxygen
levels are very low to begin with because (the pond) has not been stirred up
by rain," Pierson said. "When vegetation is killed, it sinks to the
bottom of the water and soaks up whatever oxygen is left over, killing the
fish.
Pierson said finding one dead bird does not raise any red
flags for him.
"If we start seeing a bunch of dead vultures or
storks falling to their knees, then we will have a problem," Pierson
said. "The golf courses are really good about sticking to using the
chemicals that are approved by the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency). They
are not going to risk any bad press that will affect their business."
(Someone should tell this government "official" that
EPA does not "approve" POISONS!)
Rotonda Golf & Country Club director of operations
Matt Mootz confirmed the golf course had sprayed to control the grasses around
the pond, but said the spraying took place on Thursday, not Friday.
"I'll continue to investigate the incident,"
Mootz said Tuesday. "We want to protect the environment of the golf
course as much as anyone." (POISONS do not "protect", they
KILL!) Mootz said he does not
think the fish die-off was because of the chemicals used, but rather due to
the lack of oxygen in water.
"We don't treat the grasses with dramatic
chemicals," Mootz said. "We use Rodeo, an aquatic form of Round-UP,
which is safe." (Someone should tell this "protector of the
environment" that it is against the federal law to say that any of your
"registered" POISONS are "safe" - even if they are used
according to your label!)
A Charlotte County sheriff's deputy was called out to the
scene Saturday morning, but could not reach anyone at the golf course for
comment. A report on the fish kill was filed with the Sheriff's Office.
Mootz said anyone with concerns or questions about the
incident can call him 697-2414.
You can e-mail Alyssa Schnugg at schnugg@sun-herald.com
Well Mr. Helliker, What
amazes me is that they sprayed your "registered" POISONS during a
drought to "control" weeds. What
a joke! I would prefer to see the "weeds" mowed rather than
to routinely POISON a water source used for irrigation. When will you allow the use of safe and far more effective
(unregistered) alternatives to actually control pest problems?
Respectfully,
Stephen L. Tvedten
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