FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT THE GYPSY MOTH SUPPRESSION PROGRAM
A record number of Township residents turned out for the Township Committee Meeting on Tuesday, June 19, 2007. These residents were most severely affected by the 2007 Gypsy Moth crisis which is affecting the region. They took the Township Committe to task for declining to participate in the N.J. Dept. of Agriculture Gypsy Moth suppression program this year. The 2007 Gypsy Moth season has been one of the worst experienced in Southampton Township in recent years. Committee members attempted to explain why they made the decision not to participate in the State's program in 2007, which would have cost taxpayers $200,000. They indicated that they labored long and hard before reaching their decision based on last year's disastrous results, despite the fact that they used the State mandated chemical,BT. In 2006, Southampton Township, unlike some other municipalities in southern New Jersey, agreed to participate in the New Jersey Cooperative Gypsy Moth Suppression Program, at a cost of $110,840 (the township was subsequently reimbursed by the State of New Jersey in the amount of $27,322.06 - only about one-fourth of our cost!). Approximately 2,771 acres of township land were designated for spraying, which took place in May, 2006. Because other communities opted out of the program, and also because 2006 was an unusually heavy infestation season, many complaints were received at the Township Clerk's office regarding the failure of the program. Unfortunately, except for agreeing to participate in the State sponsored suppression program, the township has little control over the nature and timing of the project.
At Tuesday's public meeting, each member of the Committee made a statement, admitting to having made a mistake in judgement in deciding not to spray, and promising to take steps to make sure that proper action will be taken to use every means available to fight this devastating plague. Calls for the governor to declare a state of emergency; petitions to permit the use of stronger chemicals than have been allowed to date, and other pro-active initiatives were heard. The Committee voted to spray in 2008 and to seek the involvement of other communities and state agencies in order to remediate the situation. The Township Committee agreed not to rely soley on the state's determination of infestation areas, but to include those areas we know were affected this year.
In order to provide our residents with answers to questions which have been raised due to this year's unusually damaging infestation, we are providing a list of FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) and the responses provided by the New Jersey Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Plant, Pest and Disease Control.
Last June (2006), Committeemen Joe Laufer and Ed Budd, along with Township Administrator Jack Lipsett, Solicitor Brian Guest and Public Works Director Chuck Oatman met with Joseph W. Zoltowski, Chief of the Bureau of Plant, Pest and Disease Control to discuss this year's problems and potential remedies for next year. We posed several other questions not on the official FAQ list, for which responses have been provided by Mr. Zoltowski and are also posted here.
We urge those most affected by the defoliation not to act precipitously in removing apparently damaged trees. We are already receiving reports of buds appearing and the revival of the trees. Nature has a way of recovering. However, after multiple seasons of defoliation, some trees will definitely not survive.
We hope this information will be helpful to those most affected by the infestation. Your township officials are doing everything within their power to deal with the current situation and to take adequate steps in advance of next year's peak infestation period.
Click below for the most commonly asked questions about the New Jersey Cooperative Gypsy Moth Suppression Program:
Responses to FAQs submitted by Committeman Joe Laufer to Joseph Zoltowski