SantaCruzSentinel.com - Sentinel

SantaCruzSentinel.com - Sentinel:
Some residents told the Sentinel they planned to leave town while the state sprayed while others have unsuccessfully tried to stop it by filing lawsuits.

Even local nursery operators like Josh Fodor, who potentially stand to benefit from the spraying, are struggling with the logic behind the state's efforts to spray. 'I just wish people would come out and say it, that this moth isn't really causing any problems but it's all a matter of protecting California and international trade,' said Fodor, the owner of Central Coast Wilds Nursery in Santa Cruz. 'Because so far this moth hasn't caused the slightest bit of damage anywhere.

MontereyHerald.com : - Scientist says moth can't be eradicated

MontereyHerald.com : - Scientist says moth can't be eradicated:

By JULIA REYNOLDS, Herald Staff Writer

A key scientist in the decades-old fight against the Mediterranean fruit fly says eradicating the light brown apple moth from California is impossible. And, he says, the most devastating economic consequences are likely to come more from trade embargoes than crop damage. 'This thing is so widespread that there is no way that they're going to eradicate it,' said James Carey, a professor of entomology at the University of California-Davis known for his research on the medfly, which in the 1980s threatened California's citrus industry.

Now he questions claims by the state Department of Food and Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Agriculture that the pest can be eradicated by disrupting its mating cycle with aerially-applied pheromones.

"The CDFA and USDA really need to do a major stock-taking," Carey said. "You have to come to grips with reality."

An Agriculture Department technical advisory panel that convened in May in San Jose disagreed, concluding that the moth was "eradicable."

In a statement, state Agriculture Secretary A.G. Kawamura said Tuesday that "pheromone mating disruption is a proven insect control technique," which, he said, was recommended by the panel as the primary tool to eradicate the moth.

Carey said the moth has spread to too many counties for aerial spraying to work and, like cancer cells in the body, can continue to grow undetected.

MontereyHerald.com : - A few areas got extra spray

MontereyHerald.com : - A few areas got extra spray:
A few areas got extra spray Pilot error at edges of zone
By DANIEL LOPEZ Herald Staff Writer Article Last Updated: 11/05/2007 08:17:57 AM PST Related Articles

Pilot error, state officials said Friday, caused some areas of the Peninsula to be oversprayed when synthetic pheromones were applied in September and October to combat the light brown apple moth.

CDFA > Public Affairs > Press Release

CDFA > Public Affairs > Press Release: "SACRAMENTO, Thursday, November 01, 2007 – The Santa Cruz Superior Court today denied a request to issue a temporary restraining order (TRO) against next week’s aerial pheromone treatment of the Santa Cruz area to combat the Light Brown Apple Moth (LBAM) infestation. The request had been filed by Santa Cruz County. Treatment will proceed as scheduled, November 4-9."

City, county team up to fight spraying - By TOM RAGAN - SENTINEL STAFF WRITER - October 31, 2007

City, county team up to fight spraying - By TOM RAGAN - SENTINEL STAFF WRITER - October 31, 2007: "SANTA CRUZ — The Santa Cruz City Council voted unanimously in closed session Tuesday to 'seek consolidation' and join Santa Cruz County in suing the state over the aerial spraying of the light brown apple moth. The county suit, filed Tuesday, asks Santa Cruz Superior Court to consider a temporary restraining order today to stop spraying. The spraying is scheduled to begin in parts of Santa Cruz County on Sunday despite the protest of many in the region. Links to the Sentinel's coverage of the moth spraying debate. Both governments now contend that the state has failed to conduct an environmental assessment of the pesticide, CheckMate LBAM-F, whose long-term health effects have never been studied and which has never been sprayed in an urban setting on such a large scale."