Kathy Brunetti
Department of Pesticide Regulation
Environmental Monitoring and Pest Management Branch
1020 N Street, Room 161
Sacramento CA 95814
(916) 324-4100
brunetti@empm.cdpr.ca.gov
Release No. 95-41
Date: November 30, 1995
INNOVATORS GET 'GOOD BUG' AWARD
OAKVILLE, Calif. -- Four pioneering groups that are paving the way
to 21st-century pest control were honored today with "IPM Innovator" awards
by Cal/EPA's Department of Pesticide Regulation in ceremonies at the Robert
Mondavi Winery.
Receiving DPR's annual "IPM Innovator" awards were the Napa County
Resource Conservation District, Magalia Nursery of the California
Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, the Imperial County Whitefly
Management Committee, and the California Clean Growers' Association.
"IPM Innovators" are leaders in adopting techniques that increase
the benefits and reduce the risks of pest control. DPR Director James W.
Wells presented the four groups with an IPM Innovator award plaque, along
with baseball caps and lapel pins featuring the IPM Innovator logo--a
ladybug, the best-known beneficial insect, or "good bug", and something of
a symbol of integrated pest management (IPM). IPM is an approach to
managing pests that combines biological, cultural, physical, and chemical
tools in a way that minimizes economic, health, and environmental risks.
Also on hand to applaud the Innovators were Cal/EPA Undersecretary
Jack J. Pandol and Nita Vail, Director of Natural Resources and
Environmental Planning, California Department of Food and Agriculture.
"California is not only a leader in agricultural production," said
Pandol, "but a leader in the development of reduced-risk methods of pest
control. The Wilson Administration is proud of its IPM Innovator program
which helps groups and organizations like these new 'IPM Innovators' find
environmentally friendly systems to fight insects, weeds, and other pests."
"We believe that the most workable innovations in pest management
come from pest managers in the field," said James W. Wells. "Because their
methods are worked out--and therefore work--in real-world situations, they
are trusted by other farmers looking for new solutions to old problems. DPR
commends these groups for the skill, inspiration, and courage they have
shown in pursuing new systems of pest control, and applauds their efforts
to share their experiences with others."
The 1995 IPM Innovator award recipients are:
_ The Napa County Resource Conservation District, a county-wide
agency that excels in bringing together local growers, community groups,
private citizens, and governmental agencies to work on problems they all
share. The District has received both local and national recognition for
its efforts in community-based resource management. In helping protect the
natural resources within the county, the district and its allies promote
pest management practices that reduce the use of pesticides and their
movement in the environment. (The Mondavi Winery has a representative on
the District board and Mondavi growers participate in its projects.)
_ The Magalia Nursery of the California Department of Forestry and
Fire Protection, which has succeeded in finding a solution to one of the
most difficult problems facing agriculture: how to control soil pests
without using fumigants such as methyl bromide. Without controls, soil
pests routinely destroyed 70 to 75 percent of the nursery's young trees,
but fumigants were previously the only available treatment. Magalia
Nursery's system is specialized for producing forest trees and they have
begun to share their innovative methods with the staff of other forest
nurseries.
_ The Imperial County Whitefly Management Committee, organized in
1991 after a new strain of whitefly caused disastrous losses among many
crops. The committee fought back with programs that changed the crop
production practices that most favored the whiteflies. They also began
research into trap crops, monitoring devices, new natural enemies,
resistant varieties of crop plants, and the biology of the new pest.
Farmers, University and government researchers, and townspeople in the area
have all helped in the committee's efforts.
_ The California Clean Growers' Association is a group of 150 farmers
and other individuals based primarily in Fresno and Tulare Counties who
share information on family farming, soil health, and methods to minimize
their reliance on pesticides. The group's farmers grow grapes, peaches,
and nectarines. Members host research projects on their farms and
participate in quarterly meetings, farm tours, and demonstration projects.
They also help produce a newsletter, Farmer to Farmer, that introduces
their ideas to others in the agricultural community.
DPR began the IPM Innovators program in 1994 to help disseminate
information on reduced-risk methods of pest management, Wells said. DPR is
also working with growers throughout the state who want to establish new
groups and increase the use of reduced-risk pest management.
"The IPM Innovators program and other highly visible activities
that promote the voluntary adoption of reduced-risk pest management
comprise only 2 percent of DPR's budget," said Wells. "But they are
directly related to Cal/EPA's mission of pollution prevention, which calls
for economically sound, voluntary efforts aimed at avoiding activities that
can create health and environmental problems."
Growers interested in more information on the IPM Innovator program
or in organizing to promote greater use of IPM may contact David Supkoff of
DPR's Environmental Monitoring and Pest Management Branch, 1020 N Street,
Sacramento 95814, phone (916) 324-4100. Additional information on the IPM
Innovator program is available on DPR's Internet Home Page
(http://www.cdpr.ca.gov).
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