Statewide hearings receive few comments on light brown apple moth

By CECILIA PARSONS

Capital Press

The light brown apple moth, that voracious ag pest, continues its march down the California coast.

It's been found in San Luis Obispo County as the California Department of Food and Agriculture held statewide hearings on its plan to eradicate the pest before it becomes entrenched. So far, the pest seems to be nibbling around the edges of the Central Valley, and state officials believe they can stop it.

Nearly 3,500 square miles of the state are now in quarantine and more then 110,000 moths have been trapped since the pest was discovered in the Bay Area in the spring of 2007. Currently, about one-fifth of all winegrapes in Sonoma County are under quarantine.

Earlier this summer the moth damaged organic berry crops in the Watsonville area. In San Luis Obispo County, Agriculture Commissioner Robert Lilley said eight nurseries, five vegetable producers and a green waste facility have been impacted by state quarantines. The federal quarantine encompasses the county.

To date, public comments on the 1,500-page draft environmental impact report at the three CDFA hearings have been sparse. Mike Jarvis, CDFA spokesman, said no comments were received at the Long Beach meeting. Three comments at the Carpenteria meeting concerned the gypsy moth. At the Fresno meeting on Monday, Aug. 24, a single comment came from Barry Bedwell, speaking for the grape and tree fruit industry, who noted the difficulties the pest and quarantines could cause for industry.

Meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday in Sacramento and Sonoma were expected to draw more attention, Jarvis said. The series concludes with an Aug. 31 meeting in Watsonville and at a Sept. 1 meeting in Oakland. CDFA's deadline for written comments on the draft report is Sept. 28.

The $1.3 million draft impact report explains why CDFA has chosen an eradication plan rather than control and evaluates a number of strategies for eradication.

The department has been criticized by urban residents over previous eradication tactics. Some environmental groups have even questioned whether berry crops in Watsonville were damaged by light brown apple moths. Jarvis said scientists confirmed the identity of those moths after DNA testing. He said the state remains convinced of the pests' potential for damage to the state's agriculture industry.

Rick Tomlinson from the California Strawberry Commission said input on the report will come from the strawberry industry.

"We hope they resume active treatment," Tomlinson said. "It's clearly spreading and can be a significant problem."

Lilley said the USDA is planning a trace-back investigation into the San Luis Obispo infestation in an effort to determine how the pest arrived there.

Three adult moths were found in an insect trap in a residential area of Los Osos. The county and state have since placed an additional 300 traps within a 1.5-mile radius of the find.

The county has set up compliance agreements with the nurseries and growers inside the state quarantine zone, Lilley said. County inspectors have to check the buildings and growing areas before plants or crops can be moved. The federal countywide quarantine also restricts movement, but Lilley said no vineyards would be affected because they are not moving grapes out of the state.

The light brown apple moth, a native of Australia, feeds on more than 250 plant species and destroys crops in its caterpillar stage. It has never been the target of an eradication program in other countries where it has been found.

CDFA has chosen eradication over control before it becomes permanently established in the state. Control measures would be necessary continuously.

Eradication measures selected in the environmental impact report are pheromone mating disruption, release of parasitic wasps, ground sprays of organic formulas and release of sterile moths.

The draft can be read at www.cdfa.ca.gov/go/lbameir. Comments on the impact report can be sent to Jim Rains, CDFA, 1220 N St. Second Floor, Sacramento CA 95814.

Cecilia Parsons is a staff writer based in Ducor. E-mail: cparsons@capitalpress.com.