The surveying traps for the Glassy-winged Sharpshooter have been removed for the winter season by the County Department of Agriculture. This gives us a little breathing room to get organized before the spring. Organizational activities are occurring around the county, and now is the time to become involved. Informational packets or a video of an address by Marc LappŽ of the Center for Ethics and Toxics, and Wendy Blankenheim of Community Action Network (CAN), can be obtained from the CAN office.
Because the insects are often transported into an area via nursery shipments, people living near nurseries are as much at risk of being sprayed as those who live in agricultural areas.
The substance of choice for most backyard spraying is carbaryl. Carbaryl is a nerve toxin, a general insecticide that will kill all insects, including bees and other beneficials. It is extremely soluble in water and is a common well pollutant. It kills fish, and is very easily absorbed through the skin. Applications have already occurred affecting over two thousand residences in half a dozen counties.
In Mendocino County, a draft of the Glassy-winged Sharpshooter workplan has been submitted to the state Department of Food and Agriculture where it awaits approval before being submitted to our Board of Supervisors. The plan gives our county Agricultural Commissioner, Dave Bengston, the power to mandate the use of pesticides around our home, with or without our consent, if an infestation (five or more bugs, or multiple life stages found within a 300-yard radius) is found. Nursery owners will pay the expense of the spraying if an infestation is found in a nursery, as will farmers. The nursery industry, needless to say, is extremely upset about this plan because not only do they pay the full cost of the extra labor used to fulfill the quarantine and surveying, they also have to pay for the pesticides and application.
There are no parameters specified for dealing with an infestation in sensitive areas, such as riparian or endangered species zones, and applying a general insecticide known to be toxic to fish as well would be devastating to these areas. There is planned notification of registered beekeepers, but presumably the keepers are responsible for the cost and hassle of removing their hives to a "safe" place during the application. Obviously, the bees should not be returned until all traces of Carbaryl are gone, but there is no follow-up planned to determine when that might be. The wine industry, incidentally, is not reliant on pollinators of this sort.
Chemically Sensitive Registry
Both the county Department of Agriculture and the Department of Public Health have failed to initiate and maintain a registry of people who are "chemically sensitive." The work plan does say that the Department of Agriculture "intends to initiate the development of a Pesticide Sensitive Registry...subject to volunteers being available."
CAN has initiated such a registry, and is working to publicize it throughout the county. One does not have to be diagnosed with multiple chemical sensitivity to be on the registry; one just has to know that chemicals have a deleterious affect on their health. This will be a vital tool for grassroots efforts, like the Coast Canaries who are lobbying for a one-mile buffer zone around the people on the registry when it comes time to spray.
Other Ways to Become Involved
CAN, in conjunction with other groups, is forming a pre-spray canvassing team that will go into neighborhoods where spraying is scheduled with the intent of offering alternative information about the program and generating appeals. There is a vague appeal process in the work plan, but the appeal is made to the Department of Agriculture, and there is no assurance that spraying will be postponed until the 40 day process is complete.
Direct action affinity groups are being formed, so that with one phone call, a resident can have a group present to help them defend their property. Our county simply cannot afford to send out the police and make arrests every time they want to spray someone's property. This direct action response is a powerful, and, we hope, preventive tool.
CAN is also working in conjunction with the Mendocino Cancer Resource Center to host a seminar for medical practitioners.
You can lobby your supervisor to not accept any work plan that includes the possibility of pesticide application, asking for post spray public health monitoring, environmental protections, etc. Letters to editors are very helpful towards keeping the public informed, and phone campaigns at both the state and county level can be effective. If everyone concerned takes action to the degree they are comfortable, we will maximize our ability to prevent spraying against our will.
Wendy Blankenheim is a biologist, and is founder and director of Community Action Network, an all volunteer organization dedicated to facilitating community organizing. Contact for information and making donations: CAN, P.O. Box 802, Boonville, CA 95415; 707-895-3616; email - wecan@prodigy.net.
Copyright Mendocino Environmental Center 2001
Permission granted to excerpt or use this article if source is cited