Native Leaders Denounce 70,000-Acre Glyphosate Plan in California Forests as Legal Fight Looms
Updated
Updated · Mother Jones · Aug 21
Native Leaders Denounce 70,000-Acre Glyphosate Plan in California Forests as Legal Fight Looms
2 articles · Updated · Mother Jones · Aug 21
Summary
Native American leaders across California say the Forest Service’s expanding glyphosate use is poisoning traditional gathering areas and threatening basket weaving, medicine collection, and religious practice, with some now weighing new legal action.
More than 70,000 acres of Eldorado National Forest near Lake Tahoe are slated for treatment as the agency uses herbicides after fires and logging because manual clearing around replanted trees can cost three times as much.
A 2001 California pesticide study found basket-weaving plants could retain glyphosate and triclopyr residues for 80 weeks, yet the Forest Service said warning signs are typically removed within 48 hours and disclosed some 2025 Tahoe spraying only this spring.
The dispute comes as the Trump administration moves to roll back protections on 45 million acres of national forest after Trump called for a 25% increase in timber production.
Assemblymember James Ramos’ California Indian Freedom Act of 2026—now before the state Senate—would strengthen protections for tribal customs and allow lawsuits when government actions infringe on them.