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The U.S. Forest Service is turning fire-scarred public lands into open-air chemical laboratories, spraying record volumes of glyphosate on vast burned areas in California and beyond. This exposes forest workers, nearby families, watersheds, and children to a herbicide with proven links to cancer and developmental damage—while cheaper, non-chemical restoration methods sit unused.
Record spraying volumes documented in California
Mother Jones reporters Nate Halverson and Melissa Lewis examined 35 years of California forest spraying records and found glyphosate use at historic highs. In 2023 alone, the state applied 266,000 pounds on forests—five times the amount used 20 years earlier. Forest spraying now stands as the fastest-growing market for the chemical in California.
The purpose is explicit: kill native shrubs and broadleaf plants so commercially valuable conifers like pine and Douglas fir can dominate. These needle-bearing trees tolerate glyphosate, unlike surrounding vegetation. Halverson and Lewis reported the agency deploys backpack sprayers and plans repeat applications after initial planting.
Health experts sound alarm on children’s vulnerability
California pediatrician Dr. Michelle Perro, co-author of What’s Making Our Children Sick?: How Industrial Food Is Causing an Epidemic of Chronic Illness, and What Parents (and Doctors) Can Do About It, warned that cumulative glyphosate exposure appears daily in clinics.
“Children are not simply mini adults. Their developing neurological, endocrine, immune and detoxification systems are uniquely vulnerable to environmental exposures like glyphosate,” Perro stated. She sent an open letter to USDA officials and Rep. Jared Huffman demanding transparency on chemicals, methods, monitoring, and watershed impacts—plus a shift to proven non-chemical methods.
Local residents report wind drift and creek contamination affecting drinking water. A Change.org petition has mobilized opposition.
Retracted Monsanto study still anchors agency policy
The Forest Service’s 2011 risk assessment justifying continued spraying relies heavily on a 2000 study that claimed glyphosate poses no significant human health risk at typical exposures. That study was quietly retracted in November 2025 over ethical violations, including secret Monsanto authorship.
Agency biologist Russell Nickerson told Mother Jones the Forest Service still uses the outdated 2011 assessment. A 2024 Lassen National Forest plan he helped draft calls for up to 8 pounds of glyphosate per acre in spring/summer 2026, followed by fall reapplication, with ongoing spot treatments around growing conifers.
Nickerson cited EPA approval as sufficient justification, despite the retracted science.
Lake Tahoe and multi-state expansion
The Caldor Fire Restoration Project targets up to 75,000 acres near Lake Tahoe, including campgrounds, trailheads, and areas close to homes. Oversight remains lax even in heavily regulated California. Mother Jones found most site inspections produced no reports; existing ones documented unprotected workers handling chemicals without gloves or training.
A 2020 EPA study based on industry data showed 16 southern states account for roughly 90% of U.S. forest spraying. The Forest Service admits non-chemical mechanical methods achieve similar timber yields but at triple the cost—expense is listed as the “major factor” in choosing sprays, per a 2024 agency report. That same report cites a 40-year-old study on hand-clearing injuries while ignoring chemical risks to spray crews.
Broader glyphosate legacy of harm
Bayer, which acquired Monsanto in 2018, has paid over $12 billion to settle lawsuits linking glyphosate to non-Hodgkin lymphoma. More than 60,000 cases remain. A pending Supreme Court case involves John Durnell, who developed cancer after gardening exposure. Children’s Health Defense filed an amicus brief highlighting children’s routine ingestion through food, parks, runoff, and contaminated objects.
Perro’s letter referenced researcher Carol Van Strum’s documentation of contaminated water, wildlife decline, and community health effects from forest herbicide use.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s emergency order last year waived normal safety protocols for Cal Fire and other agencies, relying on a 2015 state report still tied to Monsanto studies.
Human revival demands chemical-free public lands
National forests belong to the public, not as subsidized timber factories or testing grounds for industry chemicals. Spraying record amounts of a retracted-science herbicide on burned landscapes directly undermines clean water, wildlife, and the health of surrounding communities—especially children. Non-toxic restoration exists. The only barrier is cost preference over human safety.
The public is watching. Transparency and a shift away from glyphosate are non-negotiable if these lands are to support genuine ecological and human recovery.
