In The News – Lake Tahoe’s fire restoration plan includes controversial herbicide use across thousand of acres
May 11, 2026 | Member Submitted
Originally published by the Tahoe Daily Tribune, 5/11/2026, Written by Petra Molina
A yearlong investigation by Mother Jones is casting new scrutiny on the use of glyphosate in California forests at the same time the U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit plans to use the controversial herbicide across thousands of acres in the Lake Tahoe Basin.
Glyphosate, commonly sold under the brand name Roundup, is widely used to kill shrubs and hardwood vegetation that compete with replanted conifers after fires and logging operations.
However, the herbicide has long been controversial. In 2015, the cancer research arm of the World Health Organization classified glyphosate as a “probable carcinogen,” and manufacturer Bayer has paid more than $12 billion in settlements tied to lawsuits alleging the herbicide caused cancer.