Below is a press release from the California Dept. of Pesticide
Regulation. For further information, contact Nan Gorder at
<ngorder@cdpr.ca.gov> media contact: Veda Federighi
<vfederighi@cdpr.ca.gov>
****************************************
Kathy Brunetti, Senior Land and Water Analyst
California Department of Pesticide Regulation
830 K Street, Sacramento, California, USA 95814
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California Department of Pesticide Regulation
May 30, 2000 (00-14)
DPR Funds $780,000 in Projects
to Reduce Pesticide Use and Risks
SACRAMENTO - The California Department of Pesticide Regulation has
awarded nearly $780,000 in Pest Management Alliance grants to fund
nine large-scale projects aimed at reducing the use of high-risk
pesticides. The projects include a major effort to help schools
reduce pesticide use, another that will focus on non-pesticidal
alternatives to methyl bromide use in strawberries, and a third that
will help growers of nursery plants find reduced-risk alternatives to
pesticides now used to stop the spread of red imported fire ants.
Other projects will seek to reduce pesticide use and risk in almonds,
walnuts, beets, winegrapes, tree fruit, and turkey production.
This is the third year of DPR's Alliance program, which is designed
to encourage industry-wide adoption of pest management techniques
that reduce pesticide risks to workers, consumers, and the
environment. In these public-private alliances, recipients receive
up to $100,000 from DPR, and provide matching funds at least equal to
the grant.
AI am especially pleased at the goals that our grant recipients have
set for both reducing pesticide use and for getting the word out to
their industries on how this can be done," said DPR Director Paul E.
Helliker. Typically, Alliance groups focus on communicating
information through demonstrations, field days, and publications
about reduced-risk practices.
For example, the Almond Board of California-whose project is being
funded for a third year-has already attracted nearly 600 growers and
pest control advisors to six regional field days to learn about
reducing pesticide risks and use.
The California Turkey Pest Management Alliance-a newly funded
project-will have several demonstration and training sessions in the
San Joaquin Valley, and has a goal of reaching more than 95 percent
of the state's turkey producers through meetings, handouts, and
mailings.
"The state's walnut industry-which is receiving a third year of
funding-has set a noteworthy goal of reducing by 75 percent the use
of organophosphates on 12,000 acres of demonstration orchards," said
Helliker. "This is critical to demonstrating to other growers that
finding ways of controlling pests that don't involve the use of
highly toxic pesticides is both technically and economically
feasible."
The school project funded by a $100,000 grant will develop a
model integrated pest management plan for schools. (IPM works with
the environment to make it difficult for pests to survive, while
encouraging beneficial organisms to flourish. IPM uses a combination
of cultural, biological, and mechanical techniques to control pests,
using pesticides only when necessary and then choosing the most
environmentally friendly chemicals.)
"This project will build on what was developed under a 1998
Alliance schools grant," said Helliker, "and take it up to the next
level." The earlier grant allowed a group of school districts to
develop an IPM school training manual, pest management education
videos, and a computerized system for keeping pesticide use records.
All were distributed to more than 70 county offices of education and
school districts.
The new schools grant will be used to develop model school
IPM programs in Marin, Ventura, Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Luis
Obispo counties. The project will allow IPM experts to conduct site
assessments that can be used for specialized training of facility
managers. Additionally, regional and local alliances will be
developed to foster IPM in school facilities. Concurrently, critical
information about pesticide use and pest control will be provided to
all levels of school staff.
Six Alliance groups received continuing or renewed funding
for their projects. For four projects, it was the third consecutive
year of funding:
* The Almond Board of California, based in Modesto, to promote a
reduced-risk system of almond production through use of alternative
products and practices, on-site demonstrations, and grower education.
($98,756 )
* The California Beet Growers Association, based in Stockton, to
improve integrated management of insect pests in sugar beets.
($67,849)
* The California Tree Fruit Agreement, Reedley, to develop a model
IPM system for stone fruit growers to mitigate the risks associated
with routine organophosphate use. ($51,251)
* The Walnut Marketing Board, based in Sacramento, to continue
development of a project designed to encourage adoption of
reduced-risk pest management strategies in walnuts statewide.
($100,000)
Two projects had not received grants last year, but had 1998 grants
renewed for the 2000 season:
* The California Strawberry Commission, based in Watsonville, for a
multidisciplinary approach to methyl bromide replacement in
strawberries using nonchemical alternatives. ($93,300)
* The Marin County Department of Agriculture and Office of Education
for a multi-county effort to develop a model IPM plan for schools.
($100,000)
Three projects are newly funded this year:
* AgriLynx Corporation, based in San Diego, in cooperation with the
California Poultry Federation, for promotion of reduced-risk multiple
pest control program in turkey production through field-level IPM
tactics, demonstrations, and worker training. ($100,000)
* The California Association of Winegrape Growers, to demonstrate and
expand outreach on sustainable sulfur application and reduced-risk
weed management strategies. ($100,000)
* The University of California, in association with the containerized
nursery industry, to find reduced-risk alternatives to pesticide soil
drenches required for quarantine purposes in areas of Southern
California infested with red imported fire ants. ($67,849)
DPR distributes grants under three major programs: the two-year-old
Alliance program, which focuses on major regional or statewide
projects, and the pest management demonstration and pest management
applied research grants, established in 1996, which focus on local
and smaller regional projects. DPR has now awarded nearly $5.7
million in its grants programs.
One of six boards and departments within the California Environmental
Protection Agency, DPR protects human health and the environment by
regulating pesticide sales and use and fostering reduced-risk pest
management.
(A list of Alliance grants with additional details and contact names
will be available shortly on DPR's Web site at www.cdpr.ca.gov))
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