Gypsy moth spraying: no funding in ’07

Federal and state lawmakers cite budget concerns

By TOM KANE

HONESDALE, PA - The federal and state governments will not fund a gypsy moth spraying program for 2007.

The cuts were announced by Mike Roche of the Wayne County Conservation District at the county commissioners meeting on July 11.

What was the reason for the cuts? “Budget concerns on the federal level as well as on the state level,” Roche said. “This will leave the cost of spraying at $36 an acre to homeowners.

“In the current year, the federal and state cost share covered two-thirds of the total cost of $36 an acre,” Roche said. This left a cost of $12 an acre to the homeowners. “The county contributed half of that amount, leaving the homeowners to pay $6 an acre,” Roche told the commissioners.

In 2006, Wayne County homeowners requested 2,667 acres for spraying, he said

“For 2007, I predict that there will be a request of a minimum of 5,000 acres for spraying,” he said. “The only way the cost can be lowered is through county government cost sharing, or possibly by landowners seeking help from private consultant or spray contractors,” Roche said.

The state will still take care of bidding out the areas to be sprayed and supervising the spraying. The conservation district would still be able to conduct egg mass counts to determine whether a property qualifies for spraying.

There are some advantages to homeowners if there is no funding from governments. “Landowners would be able to choose where the spraying is done, what type of spray to use and when spraying is to be done. They would be able to control the cost if neighbors group together to form larger spray areas.”

The commissioners said they would discuss possible support of the program at a future meeting.

In Pike County, Jessica Yoder, coordinator of the gypsy moth program for the county planning department, said that there was a possibility that the funding could be restored.

Attempts to reach the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Natural Resources (DCNR), which manages the program in the state, were unsuccessful at presstime.