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Agriculture Commissioner Gus R. Douglass recently announced that the West Virginia Department of Agriculture (WVDA) and U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service (USDA-FS) will be treating 6,930 acres of state, federal and private lands in West Virginia for low level gypsy moth infestations. The proposed treatment is part of the Gypsy Moth Slow the Spread (STS) Program and will occur in McDowell County.
Treatment will consist of pheromone flakes applied by aircraft. The tiny flakes (1/32" X 3/32") are impregnated with a pheromone that mimics the scent of the female gypsy moth and disrupts gypsy moth mating by confusing the male gypsy moths. The pheromone is specific for the male gypsy moth and affects no other insects. The treatment results in a reduction in the rate of spread of the gypsy moth to uninfested areas.
The aircraft involved in the treatment project will likely work out of the New River Valley Airport at Dublin, Virginia. It is anticipated that the project will begin June 21 and should be completed in two or three days, depending on the weather. The contact phone numbers for this operation will be 304-552-6169, 304-813-9625 or 304-550-3887.
Public notifications, environmental assessments, biological evaluations, work and safety plans and decision notices have all been completed for this project, which is a cooperative effort with the USDA-FS, West Virginia University Cooperative Extension Service, West Virginia Division of Forestry and landowners to protect the state’s forest resources.
The STS Program began as a pilot project to demonstrate that the gypsy moth spread rate could be reduced in a cost-effective manner. In 2000, STS became a formal program with eight states from North Carolina to Wisconsin participating. Minnesota joined the program in 2004. A variety of techniques are used to manage isolated gypsy moth populations in the transition zone between the generally infested area and the area where no detectible populations can be found. Most of southern West Virginia falls within the STS Program area.
For more information on the STS Gypsy Moth Treatment Program, you may contact WVDA Plant Industries Division Director Gary Gibson or Assistant Director S. Clark Haynes in Charleston at 304-558-2212 or Gypsy Moth Program Manager Butch Sayers in New Creek at 304-788-1066.
The West Virginia Department of Agriculture protects plant, animal and human health through a variety of scientific, regulatory and consumer protection programs, as mandated by state law. The Commissioner of Agriculture is one of six statewide elected officials in West Virginia. Currently, Commissioner Gus R. Douglass is the longest-serving agriculture commissioner in the nation. For more information, visit www.wvagriculture.org.
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