Ryan Lely/Sonoma Valley Sun
For grape growers, the problem is the quarantine, not the moth.
On Tuesday, at the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors’ meeting, the Sonoma County Agricultural Commissioner and representatives from the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) faced assorted activists, grape growers, scientists and concerned residents, along with a man who spoke in verse, two women who wore face masks and a room full of onlookers at an information session about the state’s eradication plan for the Light Brown Apple Moth (LBAM).
The presenting issue was the pheromone twist ties, which the CDFA plans to install in Sonoma Valley to thwart male LBAM mating efforts. First District Supervisor Valerie Brown called the meeting to allow the CDFA to present their case to residents, and for residents and interested others to be able to question the CDFA representatives.
John Connell, Division Director of Plant Health and Pest Prevention of the CDFA, gave a summary review of the pest, what harm it did, how economically damaging that would be, what had been done so far, and what was planned. “The light brown apple moth is one of the most recent of the invasive species attacking California environment,” he said. “We’ve been working on the eradication for about a year, beginning in the Santa Cruz area.” He showed a slide of a Monterey pine tree with its branch tips eaten away. “[The moth] is a leaf roller that attacks young needles,” he said. “For a horticulturalist, this tree would have to be hand-trimmed to provide a marketable product.”
By implication, Connell corrected those who claim New Zealand lives in harmony with the moth. “New Zealand and Australia cannot eradicate this pest so they spray with variety of insecticides because different countries and states require the crop be free of LBAM.” In addition, he said larvae may require methylbromide fumigation.
“Why eradicate it in Sonoma?” he asked rhetorically – even though only two moths had been found, and no reports of damage can be proved. (The photos he showed were of plants in New Zealand and Australia.) “Because Sonoma grows wine grapes and nursery stock, the eradication will prevent permanent crop losses, increases in pesticide use and costly quarantines,” he said. “It will prevent potential spread throughout California and the United States.” Connell reminded the audience that “this is a pest with 2,000 hosts” and like so many other invasive pests, its presence results in unregulated, unmonitored treatment – which increases the pesticide load in the environment.
He showed a slide of the twist tie, which looks like a little bow tie with a neck the size of a quarter and just snaps around a branch. He said they apply about 250 an acre, and keep them up for 90 days. At the end of 90 days, they remove them and put in another, until two breeding cycles are complete. Of the process, he said there are four parts: 1) a proclamation of eradication project to elected officials; 2) a hand-delivered letter to each residence; 3) a public meeting; 4) another hand-delivered letter to each residence.
Of the safety of the ties, he emphasized that they are not insecticides and that they have been tested as non-toxic at high dosages. To elaborate, he turned that portion of the meeting over to Moira Sullivan, a toxicologist with California’s Environmental Protection Agency, who described how the twist tie is made and what chemicals make up its ingredients.
“The two pheromones are E-11Tetradecenyl acetate and (E,E) 9,11-tetradecadienyl acetate,” Sullivan said. “These are called straight-chain lepidopteran pheromones.” In addition to the pheromones, there are also several stabilizers, but their make-up is currently protected. They are needed, she explained, because straight-chain pheromones are highly unstable. So to keep them up for 90 days, they require stabilizers, which represent five percent of the formulation. She gave a lengthy comparison of ingredients available in stores, with much higher toxicity than these stabilizers including, at the top of the toxic list, Roundup and Copper Fungicidal Garden Spray.
At the end of the CDFA presentation, Brown read a statement by California Assemblymember Jared Huffman which expressed his gratitude that the CDFA had called off the spraying and opted instead for the twist ties. “This is a non-toxic, non-controversial tool,” he said.
Subsequent comments indicated many residents – nearly 20 lined up to speak – were not so sure. “The LBAM is a pest? Surely you jest,” said one. “The LBAM isn’t a problem,” said another. “Let’s shift our consciousness.”
“I’ve been involved in LBAM from the very beginning,” said Dr. Thom Smith of the California Department of Forestry. “This is an invasive, and invasives can do a great deal of damage. This species has a number of hosts. Doug fir, pines, etc. It could kill them; it could cause them to go extinct. Between fragmentation, invasive species, urbanization, you could be pushing our forests to the point where they can’t recover.”
Steve Hill, who identified himself as having been a grape grower since 1979, said, “I want my environment to be safe. You can argue about this pest, and also the control of this pest. But because of the state statute, in Sonoma Valley we’re at the eleventh hour. If they find moths or larva within my vineyard, they can quarantine my grapes so they cannot be taken out. Twenty-five hundred acres of grapes very conservatively adds up to $75 million in gross wine sales. So the risk of doing nothing is truly significant.”
A woman with a face-mask recited a list of symptoms and claimed her health had been damaged as result of pesticide poisoning. She blamed the twist ties, which the presenters had brought into the room. (Sullivan later said they were sealed in plastic).
Sonoma resident Will Shonbrun asked about the toxicity of the product. “It states on the label of this product, to avoid contact with skin, eye and clothing. The label also cautions not to apply directly to water. Can CDFA assure there will be no harmful effects to health – children climbing trees? Cats?”
Sonoma Valley grape grower Ned Hill echoed his father’s earlier speech. “I would very much enjoy CDFA taking a closer look at the process,” he said. “As it stands right now, I don’t believe we’re in an eradication phase. I believe we’re in an exclusion phase. I do believe it’s unfortunate that some time’s been lost since the two have been discovered some months ago. I’m not too worried about the moth. The unfortunate thing is the quarantine. We can’t allow a pest to be found in our vineyards. Therefore we are treating our vineyards with chemicals. The fact remains is we’re treating two to three times what we would [normally] do.”
A man with flowing grey hair, flowered shirt and plaid apron over khaki trousers, who identified himself as a professor of systems management, said, “The eradication program is fraudulent.” He explained that the three pillars of the movement are false. They are: 1) LBAM does significant damage – none has been proven in this country; 2) it is recently arrived – University of California scientists say it’s been here 30-40 years; 3) CDFA has the tools to eradicate it – the sterile moths, he said won’t be released for three years. “Why would they go to all this trouble for a pest that is no pest? The motivation,” he said, “is the $500 million emergncy funding over five years.” But when there’s no damage, as he claims, then the whole program is invalid.
Two and a half hours after the program began, after all had had their say, the supervisors weighed in with their questions and comments. Fourth District Supervisor Paul Kelley acknowledged the quarantine’s onerous impact on the agricultural community. “The impact of a quarantine is significant to the agricultural area that we value here in Sonoma County,” he said. “I do think this type of invasive pest definitely has an impact. Ending its spread now is in my mind of key importance.” Given the options, the twist ties seem to be the lesser of many greater evils. “The twist ties is a low-risk method,” he said. “The benefit is within the quarantine area and throughout the area. It’s a small infestation and we don’t want to see spraying. So I applaud the CDFA and Supervisor Brown for arranging this opportunity for the public.”
Brown then asked several questions and expressed a final concern. First, she asked if her assumption that state would trump local power was correct. “My understanding is that any resident who wants to refuse having a twist tie can do that. Is that correct?” Connell hesitated and said, “Yes. But ultimately, the effectiveness of the program then breaks down. The state would have to go through proceedings to get a warrant ….”
Second, she implored him to offer some hope for those under quarantine. “There are a number of nurseries, a number of vineyards under quarantine,” she said. “And we’ve just seen two moths. Is there anything you can do to reevaluate the quarantine so people feel more comfortable having an agricultural crop?”
Connell acknowledged that the quarantine has been described as “draconian.” “And I suppose it is,” he said. “The requirements are designed to keep [the moth] from spreading.”
Finally, Brown said, “What concerns me is that if we don’t put the twist ties in place the farmers are going to be encouraged to use methods of their own because they’ve gotta be scared. I think that’s a huge economic impact at a time where Sonoma County already is facing economic problems.” She asked the CDFA to give a review to the grape growers and to take on board all the questions and concerns that had been brought to the meeting.
