A citizens group in Lincoln County will gather signatures for a ballot measure to ban aerial spraying of pesticides. If it qualifies, the initiative would be on the May 2017 ballot.

A landowner in Lincoln County challenged the proposed ballot measure in court. The judge said it can go forward with some tweaks to the title. Maria Sause is with Citizens for a Healthy County which sponsors the measure. She wants to ban the spraying of pesticides on nearby forests because she believes it affects human health.

Sause: “Because it is extremely dangerous to, not just to humans, but to wildlife to anything that is alive. I mean those pesticides are poisons that kill. They’re designed to kill what they’re sprayed on.”

It’s legal for state and private forest owners to spray pesticides from the air. A number of citizen groups are trying to change that. There’s an effort underway in Lane County. Supporters are gathering signatures.

