Gypsy Moth Spraying & Forest Owner Needs

Gypsy Moth Spraying & Forest Owner Needs. I'm Greg Martin with today's Northwest Report.

The Washington State Department of Agriculture will conduct the first of several treatments beginning this weekend to eradicate Asian and European gypsy moths, highly destructive, invasive pests found in several Western Washington sites. In total, WSDA will treat about 10,500 acres with Btk, which is approved for use on organic food crops and has been safely used in previous gypsy moth eradication projects for many years. Btk only targets caterpillars and is not considered harmful to humans, pets, birds, fish, or bees. The Oregon Department of Ag is also planning spray events for Portland this weekend.

Private, family forest owners and their involvement in collaborative conservation efforts is important in maintaining water quality. Tom Martin of the American Forest Foundation talks about what these people need.

MARTIN: There's modern marketing tools to predict what these people are interested in and to get them to be a part of it. For us to get them to engage there's two big things they tell us they need. One: they've got to have technical assistance. They want to do right by their land but they're not exactly sure what it is they have to do on their ground. And secondly, in too many places where they'd have to go in and actually thin their land, there's no market for that wood and so the cost to them is astronomical. We've got to figure out how to overcome that.

That's today's Northwest Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network of the West.