Dear Friends:
As of Tuesday July 11, all gypsy moth traps are in place - a full four days ahead of the Ministry of Forests July 15 deadline!
Muchios gracias for a job well done to Ray Hatch and 62 other dedicated volunteers. Ray set up a system for getting the job done and trained and co-ordinated the activities of the volunteers for this phase of our big project. We wouldn't have been able to do it without him!
Thanks also to the Driftwood for continued coverage of this issue, to our local Islands Trust trustees for their continued support and volunteer efforts, to the Fulford Community Hall for the free use of the OAP Room for our three training sessions and to Craig and Catherine of Natureworks for their assistance in publicizing the training sessions and helping us find more volunteers. Thanks to Jill Thomas of the Treehouse South, Sam Graci of Greens Plus, Tamsin Gilbert of the SS Cinema and Adina Hildebrandt and Andrew Haigh of Salt Spring Books, who donated prizes for the three volunteers who gave the greatest amount of time hanging traps. "Winners" are Paul Minvielle, Sheryl Taylor-Munro and Jane Arny.
Thank you to the Ministry of Forests for paying for Hatch-Woodlands surveyors to GPS the boundaries of the trapping area and lay strips for the volunteers to follow, thus rendering an "impossible" job doable.
A special thanks goes out to all of the property owners and tenants of properties in the Lees Hill area for giving us permission to access and hang traps on their properties. Your co-operation was key to the success of the alternate gypsy moth control program. Thank you!
Wishing you all a great summer!
Leslie Wallace
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NEW! CLICK HERE to see an aerial photo from the Ministry of Forests which shows the proposed areas of ground spraying and mass trapping (in PDF format, about 665k).
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Congratulations to our gypsy moth egg mass hunt prize winners: John "Eagle Eyes" Wilcox for three egg masses; Stephane Pigeon and Kenn Danner for one egg mass; and Marion Hargrove for the greatest number of hunting days - five!
Many thanks to our generous prize donors: Foxglove Farm & Garden, Salt Spring Soapworks, Salt Spring Vineyards, Harlan's Chocolates, Island Star Videos, Harry Warner and Salt Spring Cheese.
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Monday, 6th March, 2006
Dear Friends:
I can't tell you how pleased I am to give you this great news:
THERE WILL BE NO OVERHEAD SPRAYING ON SALT SPRING THIS YEAR!
If we are successful in implementing our alternative, made on Salt Spring gypsy moth control plan this year and every year from now on, we will not have to fight this fight again. A vital part of this plan is to complete egg mass searches on the island under the direction of the Ministry of Forests. ALL egg mass searches must be completed by the end of this month.
MOF and Canadian Food Inspection Agency Officials will be here on Thursday, March 9 to conduct a training session on how to search for, identify and mark gypsy moth egg masses. Further trainings will be offerred this month by those trained at this session. If you want to add your name to our volunteers list, please contact me directly: law@saltspring.com.
Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone for your great support.
Sincerely,
Leslie Wallace
for SSTOP
Salt Springers Targeting Overuse of Pesticides
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The provincial government plans to aerial spray 390 hectares of South Salt Spring with a biochemical pesticide called Foray 48B, to control the spread of the gypsy moth. Four overhead sprayings are planned during April – June, 2006 (See Map).
There are a number of reasons to oppose the spraying. Exposure to Foray 48B, which can drift up to 3 kilometres all around the spray zone, can cause a variety of health problems for susceptible people. Foray 48B kills all Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths) in their caterpillar stage. Four rare butterflies have been observed in the spray area. Organic farms in the spray zone will lose their organic certification if the spraying goes ahead. Wells in the area and drinking water lakes (see list below), will be contaminated with pathogenic bacillus thuringiensis kurstaki (Btk) spores and the chemical components of the spray, which may include hazardous wastes of banned pesticides.
Overhead spraying will fall not only on the designated “spray zone” but studies have shown that measurable quantities of the spray can be found in soils and water samples taken at least 3-5 km from the boundaries of this zone due to wind driven drift. Drift of the spray can be expected to fall over numerous properties that have been purchased by government and NGOs for their conservation value including Mount Maxwell Ecological Reserve, Burgoyne Bay Park, the Andreas Vogt Nature Reserve and the adjacent Trinity Western University Research Lands. A substantial portion of Fulford Creek falls directly within the spray zone. Ford Lake, the SE corner of Maxwell Lake, lands adjacent to Maxwell Lake, Blackburn Lake and Cushion Lake all fall within the predicted drift of the spray.
Detailed information on Foray 48B, what’s in it and its health and environmental effects, are available on the websites listed on this page.
Help stop the overhead spraying by signing the petition today.
—Contributed by Salt Springers Targeting Overuse of Pesticides
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Have you signed up yet?
We have the full support of:
• Our local Islands Trustees
Peter Lamb and George Ehring
• Our local CRD Director
Gary Holman
• Islands Farmers Institute
• The Salt Spring Conservancy
• Island Natural Growers
• Saltspringers for Safe Food
• Salt Spring Neighbourhoods'
Coalition
• The Water Preservation Society
• Salmon Enhancement Society
• Salt Spring
Water Preservation Society
• Salt Spring Island
Chamber of Commerce
• Salt Spring Butterflyers
• Robert Bateman
• Briony Penn
and so many others
If you can, please donate to the 'Stop Overhead Spraying' account at Island Savings, #1793447.
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The Applicant:
Forest Practices Branch
Ministry of Forests and Range
Fax: Att. Tim Ebata
250-387-2136
The Approver:
The Regional Manager
Pesticide Control Program
Integrated Pest
Management Program
Ministry of Environment
Fax: Att. Joanne Edwards
604-584-9751
Murray Coell, MLA
Suite F
2412 Beacon Ave.
Sidney, BC V8L 1X4
Fax: 250-356-3000
murray.coell.mla@leg.bc.ca
Islands Trust
1-500 Lower Ganges Rd.
SSI BC V8K 2N8
Fax: (250) 537-9116
ssiinfo@islandstrust.bc.ca
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