Published: October 06, 2007 12:55 am         

O’Malley sees moth damage

Governor flies over defoliated woodlands in Garrett County

MCHENRY — In an attempt to more firmly grasp the growing problem of gypsy moths for himself, Gov. Martin O’Malley visited Garrett County Friday to meet with local officials and for-estry boards and fly over some of the affected areas.

“We need to find the balance of science and best practice and the interest of the common good and come up with an approach that is both balanced and environmentally sound, but also effective that keeps it from growing exponentially as it is,” O’Malley said following the meeting.

Representatives from the local forestry boards described the problem and presented ways in which the issue could be resolved.

Marshall Stacy, member of the Savage River Citizens Advisory Committee, spoke to the governor on the ineffectiveness of one of the currently used pesticides, BT, over another commonly-used pesticide, dimilin. He said with the amount of effort that could be made, BT simply wasn’t enough, and that dimilin would have been a better option.

Though BT is effective, Robert Tichenor, chief of forest pest management for the Maryland Department of Agriculture, said the amount used as well as the manpower wasn’t enough to stop the increasing problem.

At this point, one of the greatest obstacles for dimilin remains the restrictions on that particular pesticide. Because it affects crustaceans in a similar way to how it affects the caterpillars, DNR regulations keep it from being used where it could enter any water source.

“We have to look at the way we spray,” Denny Glotfelty, county commissioner, said. “The water is important and the birds, but if we lose the trees along the stream, it’s going to raise the water (temperature). We need to do something to protect all the wildlife instead of one or two things.”

Eric Schwaab, deputy secetary for the Department of Natural Resources, said that because the continued defoliation and possible mortality of the trees would affect the wildlife, there is a possibility of liberalizing restrictions on dimilin.

Stacy suggested that not only should dimilin be used in greater amounts, but also in-creased personnel be em-ployed in moth eradication efforts.

While there would be a cost for those employees, Stacy said he felt that the available timber from the state forests would more than cover that cost if the timber could be better maintained.

Schwaab said he doubted it could generate the $1,300,000 of Stacy’s estimates and added that there remains opposition to the amount of timber that is generated from the state forest as it already is.

The need for additional employees to combat the pest problem was a topic of discussion as well. Buddy Hance, deputy secretary of agriculture, said that when the gypsy moths were first encountered, there were 62 staff members available with only 19 now.

As the meeting came to a close, several in attendance emphasized the importance of getting funding set aside for this problem early to ensure that the few companies locally that perform the gypsy moth prevention would not be booked by neighboring states who have also noticed an increase in defoliation.

“It was very helpful to hear the perspective of the people who are here on the ground and make their livings from it,” O’Malley said. “It’s important to keep in mind the tourism dollar. People come from all around to enjoy the beauty of Garrett County.”

Sarah Moses can be reached at smoses@times-news.com.