Farmers Claim BLM Spoiled Their Land

Idaho Farmers say the U.S. Bureau of Land Management damaged their land and crops by spraying a broad-spectrum herbicide on wildfire-scorched rangeland. The herbicide, Oust, is not intended to be used to control weeds on cropland, the farmers say. The Neibaur Farms say the BLM sprayed the DuPont-made chemical indiscriminately, from land and helicopter, and that it damaged their crops and property and increased their debts. DuPont is not named as a defendant. "DuPont has alleged in various correspondence to Idaho governmental officials, to growers and to media that the United States improperly applied Oust and was, in fact, 'off label" in its applications,'" according to the federal complaint. "Further, DuPont has alleged that the United States also failed to heed the warnings of the Section 3 label, ignored site conditions, and failed to follow legal mandates and its own regulations." The BLM sprayed the chemical after wildfires left rangeland with virtually no vegetation to prevent soil erosion. The BLM wanted to re-establish native plants and chose Oust as a tool to control invasive weeds...more