No more herbicides on Prairie Path

I live with my husband and three young children directly south of the Illinois Prairie Path in Glen Ellyn. Since we moved here 10 years ago, we have had a birds' eye view of the destructive topping off trees that ComEd and Asplundh call "tree trimming."

We've seen the beauty of the Prairie Path slowly destroyed, with no regard for best practices in landscape management or the safety and well-being of families using or living next to the trail. Although I understand that the power lines need to be protected, ComEd and Asplundh have shown that they cannot be trusted to do this in an environmentally safe and prudent way. DuPage County should prohibit ComEd from spraying herbicides on the Prairie Path and require that they take a more judicious approach to managing tree height. They should be prevented from topping off trees-a destructive method that ultimately results in the death of the tree, and which is likely the result they want.

I write not only as a concerned mother, but also as a concerned scientist with a doctorate in neuropharmacology-the scientific study of drugs and other chemicals that modify brain and central nervous system function. So many chemicals that were originally deemed safe have ultimately been found to be unacceptably toxic. Protect the wildlife habitats, the trails used by my young family and hundreds of other children, and prevent the use of herbicides on the Illinois Prairie Path.

Susan Dudish-Poulsen, Ph.D.

Glen Ellyn