Base Decision on Science, Not Politics

Central Record, July 5, 2007

To the editor:

Whether to spray dimilin next year to control gypsy moths should be a scientific decision, not a political one responding to the ill-informed emotionalism of the public. And the science should be honest and unbiased, not manipulated to conform to what people would like to hear.

I hope the DEP will resist the political pressure and carefully evaluate the gypsy moth situation. The last two years we have had severe infestations in this area, this year's being the most widespread and devastating ever. (The relatively warm winters the past two years may have been conducive to their exceptional proliferation.) However, gypsy moths are cyclical and under average conditions predators and disease would cause the population to crash. Based on past experience, their numbers would greatly diminish in another year or so, after which they would not be a significant problem for another five or 10 years.

So, while we should probably spray (hopefully something benign) next year, it is unlikely major spraying will be necessary in subsequent years in the areas that have currently been defoliated.

Rick Walnut
Vincentown