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SIGN UP TO BEGIN FOR THE 2004 GYPSY MOTH SUPPRESSION PROGRAM
The West Virginia Department of Agriculture (WVDA) and the West
Virginia University Cooperative Extension Service announced that
landowners in Barbour, Berkeley, Braxton, Brooke, Doddridge, Gilmer,
Grant, Greenbrier, Hampshire, Hancock, Hardy, Harrison, Jefferson,
Lewis, Marion, Marshall, Mineral, Monongalia, Morgan, Nicholas,
Ohio, Pendleton, Pleasants, Pocahontas, Preston, Randolph, Ritchie,
Taylor, Tyler, Tucker, Upshur, Webster, and Wetzel Counties may
sign up for the 2004 Cooperative State-County-Landowner Gypsy Moth
Suppression Program beginning July 1, 2003, in county extension
offices.
Brochures answering questions about the gypsy moth and the 2004
gypsy moth suppression program, as well as egg mass survey applications,
are available at WVDA offices at Elkins, Fairmont, Inwood, Moorefield
and New Creek, as well as from your county extension agent. A landowner
living in one of the above counties that has a problem with gypsy
moth may want to participate in the 2004 program. To sign up for
an egg mass survey, contact the county extension agent where your
property is located and leave your name, address and phone number
to obtain an egg mass survey application. The application must be
submitted by August 29, 2003.
Landowners must provide a 7½-minute topographic map of
their property with boundaries clearly marked. The WVDA cannot map
your property for you.
The minimum acreage required to participate in the program is
50 contiguous acres of wooded land. If you have fewer than 50 acres,
you may contact neighbors and join with them to meet the acreage
requirement. Blocks must be made as rectangular as possible in order
to be treated properly by aircraft without significant overspray.
The presence of electrical transmission lines, communication towers,
etc. may prohibit some spray blocks or portions of some spray blocks
from being sprayed.
The 2003 landowner costs were as follows: Btk - $8.33 and Dimilin
- $7.76 per acre. However, like other everyday costs, inflation
has been driving these costs up, so 2004 costs may be higher. A
43 percent cost share on treatments will be available from the USDA
Forest Service through a cooperative agreement with the WVDA. The
total cost depends on the total acres proposed for treatment and
the cost of the insecticide and aerial application.
A final decision to participate in the program must be confirmed
by signing a contract and making a deposit to your county commission
by December 5, 2003. A final payment to the county commission will
be required prior to actual treatment. Notification of the deadline
for final payment will be by mail.
For more information, contact the WVDA Plant Industries Division,
304/558-2212.
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