When it comes to the Light Brown Apple Moth (LBAM), forget about fighting The Joker.  He will not shift position, except to spray from the ground instead of from the air.

Oh, but he will spray non-residential areas and will “release” 20 million moths a month over most of the Monterey Bay and San Francisco Bay areas.  That should almost boost the moth population to the absurd numbers predicted by the Joker’s Joker scientists last fall.  So, did the anti-spray groups really win, or are they just getting more double talk?

Maybe this is just another Batman movie.  In any case, The Joker is not funny.

The bureaucrat goal of eradication was stated clearly in Sacramento in March by USDA Secretary Ed Schafer:  “This challenge calls for partnership and resolve.  The only responsible course of action is to stop the progress of this species while we can.”

In the face of strong evidence that the LBAM is not a voracious pest, that position has been reiterated repeatedly by the California Deparment of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) and--regrettably--in a July 25 newsletter by Monterey/Santa Cruz area congressman Sam Farr.

“Despite much of the rhetoric employed to combat the aerial application of the pheromone,” he wrote, “this moth is an invasive species and needs to be eradicated.”

Farr is wrong.  And we must convince him and other federal legislators to listen to the credible evidence, as well as the “rhetoric” he refers to.

What evidence?  Begin with the fact that almost everything presented as fact by the CDFA has been proved untrue, grossly exaggerated or simply absurd.

Examples:  

--On June 23, in an “Open Forum” article in the San Francisco Chronicle,  California Agriculture Secretary A. G. (The Joker) Kawamura wrote, “The LBAM  threatens not just crops but more than 2,000 kinds of plants found in our forests, our landscaping and our natural habitats.”   Yet, few LBAMs have been found in such areas, and Chris Green (PhD) from the Dept. of Conservation, Aukland Conservancy, says, “LBAM has an extremely wide host range here but we actually don’t see much of it within our true native forest areas.”

--Though CDFA maintains that the LBAM decimated crops in New Zealand, a report by Dan Harder, PhD and executive director of the UC Santa Cruz Arboretum, and Jeff Rosendale, horticultural consultant and nursery owner, found evidence from experts in New Zealand that the moth is a minor pest.

--Eradication as a goal is an impossibility, in the opinion of eminent scientific experts, led by UC Davis entomologist Dr. James Carey, a specialist in invasion biology and insect demography.”

--With fewer than 30,000 moths found in the entire state so far, the CDFA model for population growth is a champion of absurdity.  As stated in the May CALIFORNIA FARMER magazine, “The CDFA model has the LBAM growing at a demographic speed of light with one moth producing 2,000 trillion moths in five generations.  “’This is the equivalent of 50 moths per square inch in Berkeley,’ says Carey.“

CDFA insists that the drive-by sprays and twist-ties are safe for humans and the environment, but scientific data on the chemicals proves otherwise, especially for bees and aquatic creatures.

Finally, on planned aerial spraying, CDFA spokesman Steve Lyle (The Joker’s mouthiece)  said that the people have no vote.  So, how did California’s governor get the message to cancel aerial spraying?  Through protest and two court decisions, the people got their vote

Of course, it goes on.  And anyone who experienced or studied the issue could add more examples of government absurdity.  “It was an emergency,”  for instance, and “There is no connection between illnesses and Checkmate spray.”

To stop this absurdity, we must  focus on our congressional representatives.  When they return from recess, they must pay attention to this opinion from the May California Farmer editorial:

“Our ag friends, instead of supporting this sham, should be calling for a declassification of the LBAM as a federally quarantined pest.”

Yes, the mis-classification, with its costly quarantines and misguided “eradication” program, is the major absurdity.  To help bring about declassification, ask your Congressman or woman and your U.S. Senators to persuade the USDA to classify the LBAM realistically  and change quarantine rules accordingly.

Here are a few addresses:

--Congressman Sam Farr (Monterey/Santa Cruz areas), 701 Ocean Ave.,   Rm. 318, Santa Cruz, CA  95060

--Congresswoman Barbara Lee, 1301 Clay St., Suite 1000N, Oakland, CA     94612

--Congresswoman Jackie Speier, 400 S. El Camino Real, Suite 410, San    Mateo, CA  94402

--Congressman Pete Stark, 39300 Civic Center Dr., Ste. 220, Fremont, CA     94538

  --House Speaker (and San Francisco congresswoman) Nancy 

  Pelosi, 450 Golden Gate Ave., 14th Floor.

--Senator Dianne Feinsteain, One Post St., Ste. 2450, San Francisco, CA     94104

--Senator Barbara Boxer, 1700 Montgomerty St., #240, San Francisco, CA   94111

--House Committee on Agriculture member Congreeman Joe Baca, 201  North “E” Streeet, Suite 102, San Bernardino, CA  92401

--House Committee on Agriculture member Congressman Dennis    Cardoza, Merced County Administration Building, 2222 M St., Suite 305,    Merced, CA  95340

--House Committee on Agriculture member Congressman Jim Costa,    Suite 940, 855 M Street, Fresno, CA  93721