What is the Parks Department thinking here just above the salt-water marsh?
According to this, they’re applying Triclopyr by “hand placement” for the control of Cottonwood (Populus deltoides). But if they’re doing it by hand, why don’t they physically weed out the potential trees instead of putting another biocide down? Yeah, Cottonwood is a bear: a sprout can drill down a root feet deep in a very short time, but:
a hundred yards away is a serious thicket of Cottonwood. The species is a very prolific seed disperser. The understory here is now practically a wall of Cottonwood saplings (along with some kind of bedstraw). Won’t this just continue to spread out into the wetlands and necessitate continued applications of poison? What’s the end game here? 
Our old friend Ranger Robin, gone rogue, can’t believe this nonsense still goes on.
Pesticide Terminal
Published July 24, 2018 Art Culture Politics , Fieldnotes 2 CommentsTags: Brooklyn, Bush Terminal Park, Ranger Robin
Maybe Ranger Robin could round up a posse to wrangle out those trees by hand, as you suggested. Conservation Corps reboot!
This is a good idea, but the its manifestations in NYC leave much to be desired. Volunteers are called upon in parks throughout the city. It’s an understandable response to the defunding of public spaces and services. (Such a hallmark of neoliberal capitalism to channel money upwards and then fall back on woefully inadequate charity for the peasants below!)
I’ve taken part in such projects, including at Bush Terminal. They’re quite disorganized and may do more bad than good.
Good will and gung-ho volunteerism simply can’t take the place of professionalism and expert knowledge.