April 2003: Monsanto and Scotts submitted to USDA-APHIS a petition asking that their genetically engineered creeping bentgrass not be regulated(meaning it could be sold freely and used by anyone -- for this product that would primarily be golf courses). The genetic engineering had modified a common bentgrass to make it resistant to the herbicide glyphosphate (available commercially as Roundup).

(Golf courses would be able to use the GE grass on putting greens or other areas [as they have used normal bentgrass for decades, if not centuries] which could then be sprayed with glyphosphate to kill other grasses and weeds, with the GE grass surviving because of it's resistance. Golf courses operations would save money on maintenance and Monsanto/Scotts would make money selling the grass seed. This is not bad in and of itself. The key problem, as I see it, and as stated in a study done for APHIS by the Weed Science Society of America [http://www.wssa.net/society/bentgrass.pdf] is that "The off-site movement of glyphosate- or glufosinate-resistant creeping bentgrass or hybrids is anticipated to occur at some time if deregulated." And right now we have no idea of the consequences if that should happen.

Bentgrass is considered a weed which needs control in some situations now, though not extensively. But, if it were resistant to a widely used herbicide, could it turn into a "super weed"? There is also concern that heavy spraying of unwanted plants would, over time, build up a resistance in them to glyphosphate. (Then we have another problem.)

January 2004: APHIS takes comments for 60 days regarding the deregulation petition. USFS and BLM, among others, go on record as opposing the petition.

September 24, 2004: APHIS announces it will prepare an Environmental Impact Statement as part of it consideration of the petition, with comments related to the EIS accepted until 10/24/04. The comment period was later extended until 12/2/04. (I have never seen an explanation of why the period was extended.)

(On the same day, in a purely serendipitous occurence, a study by an EPA group was published online detailing that pollen from this same genetically modified bentgrass had been carried by wind a minimum of 13 miles from a test plot in Oregon, and had pollinated [crossed with] natural species of wild related grasses. So it seems that the Weed Science prediction was correct, but in a time frame much shorter than I suspect they had in mind! A New York Times article in September, reprinted on the

INFORMATIVE WEB SITE ABOUT THIS ISSUE http://groups-beta.google.com/group/GE-bentgrass/browse_thread/thread/4d26b6bf43 794b66/65cba50ac4dfe931#65cba50ac4dfe931

tells about the study and covers several related issues well.)

April 11, 2005: Two public "scoping forums" are announced, ". . . to allow the public a venue to interact with APHIS representatives and to allow APHIS to solicit further information from the public . . ." According to the announcement, these are not meetings with speakers or discussions, but "informal forums," consisting "of informational posters and comment stations. Attendees will be able to walk through the forum during the open hours and interact with other attendees and APHIS personnel." (A full description of the format is in the official notice, http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/EPA-IMPACT/2005/April/Day-11/i1641.htm.) Comments may be submitted in writing at the forums or sent by email until June 1.

One of these forums is in Corvallis on May 18. Details are on the web site given above.

-- Then APHIS will then "consider" all comments received since January 2004, and develop a draft Environmental Impact Statement. This will be published, 30 days allowed for comments on it, the the final Record of Decision issued.