Aerial Pesticide Spraying Over Cities Stopped

links on website listed above

June 19, 2008

3:20pm BREAKING:
State stops aerial pesticide
spraying over neighborhoods
"In a victory for thousands of Northern California residents, state officials today announced they will no longer aerially spray urban areas with pesticide to fight the invasive light brown apple moth. ...Instead, planes will spray the pesticide CheckMate LBAM-F over agricultural or undeveloped areas only"

Sam Farr Press release "Aerial pheromone application over urban areas off the table"

2: 55 BREAKING:Stay posted we will get the info to you asap!
"It appears that spraying over urban areas is now off the table," Huffman said. "It's a sterile moth and the state thought it was two to three years away as an option, but they have been able to ramp it up," said Huffman, D-San Rafael."

2: 45 BREAKING:
USDA and the CDFA will be discussing a major scientific breakthrough in the program," said Steve Lyle, spokesman for the California Department of Food and Agriculture. "It will be of great significance to the project."

IMMEDIATE ACTION NEEDED:

Please fax the members of the Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee immediately and ask that the $2 million in SB 1067 for "support staffing and logistical support for the Light Brown Apple Moth Eradication Program" be stricken from the budget. NOTE that faxes are the most reliable and effective way to contact legislators. Sample letter/ Fax (Phone & fax numbers)

News:
"Lawmakers Question USDA About Moth Spraying" Anna Werner

"Another lawmaker speaks out on spraying" -Genevieve Bookwalter - Sentinel staff writer

CONGRESSMAN SAM FARR
17th Congressional District of California

News Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 19, 2008
http://farr.house.gov

CONTACT:
Tom Mentzer
tom.mentzer [at] mail.house.gov
202-225-2861

FARR: NEW LBAM PLAN TURNS THE CORNER
Aerial pheromone application over urban areas off the table

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The California Department of Food and Agriculture and the U.S. Department of
Agriculture have announced that aerial pheromone application to control the light brown apple moth will no
longer take place over urban areas and will be limited to agricultural land and undeveloped regions as a tool of
last result.

The decision was made following meetings over the past month between Congressman Sam Farr (D-Carmel)
and federal and state officials. It was announced by CDFA Secretary A.G. Kawamura and APHIS Administrator
Cindy Smith, along with a new program that will employ sterile moths.

“The meetings I held in Washington over the past month have been fruitful,” Rep. Farr said following the
announcement. “We were able to illustrate that the lawsuits and objections raised by aerial application have
become a lightning rod for public protest, robbing focus from the goal of eradication. The decision that aerial
application will not occur over urban areas will allow CDFA to focus on the other tools it has available to
eliminate the threat this moth poses.”

“The bottom line for eradicating this pest has always been safety,” Rep. Farr said. “The public was never
convinced that spraying was safe or the only option, and the result has been protests, anger and a series of
lawsuits. It’s vital that we don’t delay in our efforts to control this pest. CDFA was correct to recognize that
aerial application was becoming a distraction. A shift in strategy is the right move.”

The goal of eradication remains the same. A short-term strategy of maintaining quarantine boundaries will
dovetail into long-term eradication efforts. With aerial pheromone application over urban areas off the table,
attention will turn to alternative strategies. The pheromone will still be used in ground-based applications that
have been used for years, with alternative pesticides employed in special circumstances. CDFA also announced
that the sterile moth program, a new tool, will also be available earlier than previously predicted.

“This is the best possible outcome,” Rep. Farr said. “CDFA will be able to direct its full efforts toward ground-
based eradication efforts and our communities will not have to worry about the planes overhead. I look forward
to working with CDFA and USDA officials to keep the public informed as work proceeds.”

“I thank CDFA and USDA leaders who realized that they needed to adapt to the situation,” Rep. Farr said.
“Working together is the only way we’ll be able to get rid of this moth. One thing we have all learned from this
experience is that transparency is necessary from the get-go; the public must know what actions the government
is taking.”

# # #

So now they'll just spray (more) poison on our food, and the soil (which of course means it will eventually get into the water supply), and the innocent animals who live in the wild. And less people will resist it, too. Great.

Thank you for posting the audio! It was used on KZYX&Z for the Friday AM News and will be used on the KZYX&Z community news as well!

"The public was never convinced that spraying was safe"

No mention of the fact that it was actually not safe. Only public perceptions matter. If they could have fooled us, them bombs away for all he cares.