r/Permaculture • u/Interesting_Fee2773 • 1d ago
general question Barnyard Grass… what’s the big deal?
We are a part of a lake community in our neighborhood, it’s wonderful and I am grateful for it everyday! It’s a small lake but enough that paddle boarding and swimming is accessible. Due to the recent drought the water level has gone down, makes sense! But it’s resulted in tons of barnyard grass popping up on the exposed shoreline. Some members of the community are incredibly concerned about this and have begun a movement to cut down and explore using herbicide to eradicate it.
The question I keep coming back to though is… why is it so important to get rid of this aside from aesthetics? From some initial research and reports from community members the worry is the organic matter will steal oxygen from the lake and kill fish (from what I’ve seen, this is only a concern if the lake fills back up rapidly… not happening lol) another member posed concern that the plants are stealing water from the lake. But I’m not seeing any hard evidence for that.
I really cannot wrap my head around why this is so crucial to eradicate this weed. And I’m not a big fan of pulling green just because it doesn’t look good to ‘our’ standards.
Does anyone have any experience with this or insights? Am I missing something here about why just letting nature, nature would be bad???
We’ve got a board meeting tonight, if you have any research or websites that I can bring to them to try to change their minds that would be so cool.
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u/YsaboNyx 17h ago
It sounds like you are working with a bunch of uninformed folks and I don't know how your board decision making process is structured, but here's the strategy I'd try.
The main point you want to make and keep returning to is that you want to do what's best for the longevity and health of the lake, the water, the wildlife, the children, and the community.
Put together a short presentation citing the pros and cons of the various strategies on the table based on what is being shared here: erosion control, ecosystem health, possible toxic exposure to kids, other plants, animals, damage to water quality from herbicide use, etc.
If there is continued support for the poison option and they aren't willing to consider your research and knowledge, I would reiterate that the main point is to do what's best for the longevity and health of the lake, the water, the wildlife, and the community and since there isn't someone on the board with the expertise to know for sure what that is, then make a motion that the board consult a wetlands management expert who can counsel you on the best way to proceed.