Pacific Power has contracted with a company called Growth Solutions to manage trees near power lines. Growth Solutions intends to prune trees but also to apply paclobutrazol to trees near power lines. PBZ is toxic. The US National Institute of Health states that “the risks of PBZ to the health of organisms and ecological systems have become a serious concern. “Concerns” about PBZ include cancer, mutations, impacts on human fertility, on embryonic development, and on overall health. In addition, PBZ is toxic to aquatic life and can build up in rivers and streams.
    Many Applegate Valley residents are concerned about the use of PBZ on their own land and in our beloved valley. Our concerns include our own health, our families, and generations to come. We are blessed to live in a beautiful place named for the Applegate River, and we are concerned about impacts on the water we drink, swim and fish in, and impacts on all the living things that share this valley. 
    We appreciate Pacific Power’s commitment to reducing the danger of fire by taking down dead trees and pruning live ones. We strongly oppose the application of PBZ In our area. There is reason to believe that individual requests to “opt out” may not be honored, and even when PBZ is applied at a distance from our individual homes it can still impact our larger home, the Applegate Valley. We the undersigned are asking Pacific Power and Growth Solutions to cease the application of PBZ, herbicides, and other toxic chemicals. We are asking Pacific Power to suspend application of PBZ as soon as possible and to acknowledge and respond to this petition.