Will Sonoma County follow suit or cave to big ag?
Coastal Commission votes for pesticide restriction in Malibu LCP
A BIG WIN FOR MALIBU’S WILDLIFE, PEOPLE, CHILDREN, AND PETS
The Coastal Commission took a giant step today, May 13, for the city of Malibu and coastal California.
It voted to restrict pesticide use in Malibu by certifying an amendment to Malibu’s Local Coastal Program, the document that regulates development in the Coastal Zone.
Here is an excerpt from the amendment:
“… development that involves the use of pesticides, including insecticides, herbicides, rodenticides, or any other similar toxic chemical substances, shall be prohibited in cases where the application of such substances would have the potential to significantly degrade Environmentally Sensitive Habitat Areas or coastal water quality or harm wildlife.”
This amendment is urgently needed to preserve wildlife in Malibu and the Santa Monica mountains.
As is well documented by studies by scientists from the National Park Service, UCLA and the California Department of Fish & Wildlife, 80-90% of predator wildlife – hawks, owls, foxes, bobcats, coyotes, raccoons, mountain lions, etc., are exposed to poisons put out by pest control services targeting rodents.
The monarch butterfly population has been decimated, with a 99% decrease from the 1980’s in California. Herbicides have contributed to eliminating their food supply – milkweed.
Pollinator bees are well-known victims of insecticides and recent studies show that bumble bees are highly susceptible to the herbicide RoundUp.
Pesticides are in the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat, and are absorbed through our skin.
Pesticides including neurotoxins, endocrine disruptors and cancer causing agents are implicated in health risks including Parkinson’s Disease, autism, ADHD, cancers and birth defects.
Poison Free Malibu has been working with the city of Malibu for this day since 2014!
We especially thank Planning Director Richard Mollica for working with us and Coastal Staff to obtain the final effective amendment language.
The enthusiasm from the Coastal Commissioners with a unanimous vote recognized Malibu’s pathbreaking accomplishment.
They encouraged using the amendment language as THE example which can now be spread up and down coastal California, protecting wildlife in our precious Coastal resource areas.
Poison Free Malibu