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.