Lawsuit aims to stop moth spraying
Posted: Tuesday,
Oct 2nd, 2007 BY: DAVID
CARKHUFF
A Carmel-based environmentalist
is asking Monterey County Superior Court to halt the states spraying of
pheromones to combat the light brown apple moth.
The court will hear our
arguments on Friday, and if they agree with us, then the court can stop the
spraying until we get the lawsuit heard, said David Dilworth, executive
director of Helping Our Peninsulas Environment based in Carmel. If we win our
lawsuit, it will also mean it will stop the spraying in Santa Cruz as
well.
The largest area to receive the aerial spraying is a
41.5-square-mile section that takes in Aptos, Soquel, Capitola, Live Oak and
Santa Cruz. The California Department of Food and Agriculture has scheduled this
application as well as spraying of 15.5 square miles in the Salinas area and
31.6 square miles in the Prunedale and Las Lomas areas from Nov.
4-9.
The manmade pheromone a chemical that confuses male moths during
mating, hindering reproduction will be applied aerially over approximately 60
square miles including the communities of Marina, Seaside, Sand City, Del Rey
Oaks, Monterey and Pacific Grove, the same area that was treated earlier this
fall. The application will use three planes and occur over four nights, from
Oct. 9-12, weather permitting, according to CDFA.
Additional nights would
be necessary in the event of delays. Residents within the treatment zone will
receive notices informing them of the dates.
Dilworth said his lawsuit
doesnt specifically mention Santa Cruz County, but if it succeeds, HOPE could
stop the spraying in both counties.
HOPE disputes the urgency of
eradicating the light brown apple moth, which CDFA says threatens hundreds of
crops and plants.
The basic premise of HOPEs lawsuit is theres no
emergency. The apple moth has been here for years, decades, Dilworth
said.
Not everyone agrees that pheromone spraying should be
stopped.
Steve Bontadelli, president of the Santa Cruz County Farm
Bureau, urged the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors to research pheromones
as an effective tool against invasive pests.
The broader view of the
Santa Cruz County Farm Bureau involving the use of less toxic compounds is
shared by California Certified Organic Farmers, PANNA (Pesticide Action Network
North America) and the Natural Resources Defense Council, Bontadelli wrote on
Sept. 25. This is a significant change in direction that should be encouraged
as a new paradigm for the reaction to exotic pests. We hope you come to the same
conclusion once you have asked the important questions.
Bontadelli
reminded the supervisors that the positive side of using pheromones can be
weighed by the reduction in use of chemicals known to be obnoxious, such as
chlorpyrifos, a harsh agent that nursery operators are required to blanket spray
to prevent the spread of the light brown apple moth.
CDFA defended its
plans to apply pheromones using airplanes.
Widely respected
environmental groups also consider this approach acceptable, including the
Natural Resources Defense Council, Monarch Watch, and the Monterey County-based
Otter Project. The product does not harm the organic certification of organic
crops grown in treatment areas, CDFA reported.
CDFA stands by its plan
to eradicate the light brown apple moth using a pheromone, a remarkably benign
pest management tool, to confuse the male moths and keep them from locating a
mate, thus disrupting the mating pattern, CDFA Secretary A.G. Kawamura said.
For years, environmental groups have been asking for alternatives to
pesticides. This is an excellent alternative and is, in fact, the most
environmentally sensitive eradication project in the history of the Department
of Food and Agriculture. The U.S. EPA and California Department of Pesticide
Regulation have screened and approved this pheromone and many other, similar
products.
As the department prepares to resume aerial treatment of the
apple moth in Monterey County, we commit to residents to keep them
informed.