Published: October 29, 2007 09:52 am         

Garrett gypsy moth damage becoming more apparent

OAKLAND - The damage done by gypsy moth caterpillars is becoming more obvious as surveys continue in Garrett County.

"It's getting worse in areas where we already knew it was," Bob Tichenor, chief of forest pest management at the Maryland Department of Agriculture said. "With our preliminary results, we're seeing they are infesting lighter areas, too."

Surveys throughout the state have begun, but Tichenor said they are still very preliminary and operating on a schedule with plans for them to be complete at the end of the year.

County Commissioner Fred Holliday said that the concern, as the seriousness of the problem becomes more obvious, is where funding for the spraying and prevention of the spread of the gypsy moth population will originate.

He said that with the current budget situation and the $1.7 billion deficit Maryland is facing, additional money for this program may be difficult to come by. Even at the federal level, Holliday said, the bill to fund gypsy moth spraying is in joint committee.

"We're holding our breath," Holliday said. "We did have the governor here and he saw the damage. He seems willing to help."

Holliday said that when the governor visited the county in the beginning of October, an option for revenue to cover the cost of the gypsy moth damage was presented. At the meeting it was recommended to the governor that an additional forester and additional assistants on the ground would cost around $150,000, but would allow for $1.3 million to be earned from timber sales from the state forests.

Currently, some people feel that only 25 percent of the possible timber is being utilized, Holliday added.

The commissioner said that in speaking to the governor and others at the state level, he has mentioned Garrett County's continued payments to the Chesapeake Bay Restoration Fee, despite the fact that nearly all the county's watershed does not reach the bay.

"We've contributed our fair share to restore the Chesapeake Bay," Holliday said. "Now we have a devastation that is just as important as the bay, in my opinion."

Holliday said that he spoke to State Comptroller Peter Franchot about the issue at the Maryland Rural Summit last week and the commissioners plan to attend the Maryland Association of Counties meeting Wednesday where more information on the state's budget will be available.

Contact Sarah Moses at smoses@times-news.com.