A TikToker showed how destructive land management practices can devastate natural resources and ecosystems, increasing the risk of potential harm to humans and animals.
Samuel Thayer (@wellfedwild) posted a 28-second clip that showed thriving plants giving way to desolate landscapes.
@wellfedwild Aerial spraying of herbicide in pine savannahs destroys plant diversity and wildlife habitat. #foraging #herbicide #butterfly #monarchbutterfly @linda.black.elk @alexisnikole @Monarch.Mama ♬ original sound - Samuel Thayer
"Do you wonder why they call this butterfly milkweed?" he asked, filming a flowering orange plant with countless pollinators flapping about.
"Butterfly milkweed is naturally abundant in the pine barrens and pine forests of northwestern Wisconsin. But it's one of the things being selectively killed by the herbicide they spray on the pine barrens or the pine forests after they cut them, as is this leadplant, which is a legume, which fixes nitrogen in the poor, sandy soils of this area and, in the long term, will increase timber production."
Thayer then showed an area with tall grasses and small trees — as well as what looked like dead vegetation — before switching the scene to a treeline adjacent to a scrub wasteland, which covered acres.
"There used to be some growing right here," he said. "And there used to be some growing right here."
As Thayer noted, the spraying of herbicide in the pine savannahs destroyed plant diversity and wildlife habitat.
It seems like timber harvesters who rely on land to make a living should be the most knowledgeable about preservation methods, but it's not uncommon for companies to act against their best interests. Thayer even documented a similar state-sanctioned practice.
These kinds of herbicide treatments can worsen the effects of extreme weather events such as floods and wildfires.
In spring, the Badger State is at great risk of wildfires, and "herbicides will actually increase the short-term fire danger due to the dead stems and foliage left behind," Dan Zimmerman of Sierrans for Safe Passage said, according to the Pesticide Action Network.
This has become an issue in Canada, and it also sickened an entire community in Oregon.
"Jeez that poison kill looks like the worst fire hazard ever," one commenter wrote.
Another user asked: "As a fellow Wisconsinite, what can we do to help stop this?"
"Find out when and where herbicide is being used irresponsibly local to you," Thayer responded. "Then find the people responsible and contact them. Start talking."
You can also work to stop toxic spraying by engaging friends, family, and even government officials; taking local action; and going chemical-free in your own yard.
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