Forest spraying is not necessary

The B.C. Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations is up to its old tricks.

If you live in the Elk Lake/Bear Hill Regional Park area of Saanich, you are going to be or already have been sprayed with pesticide from the air. It will be in your water, in your gardens, in the air and on your lawn. Symptoms reported after a spray have included: flu-like symptoms, nausea, skin rashes, itchiness, allergic reactions, breathing difficulties, asthma and headaches.

The pesticide they are using is a product called Foray 48B (Btk/chemical formula).

The British Columbia Environmental Appeal Board ruled in April 1998 “that aerial spraying of Foray 48B over the proposed, heavily populated areas is unreasonable,” “that aerial spraying will create an unacceptable risk to health problems among the residents of these densely populated areas,” “that there is a risk to the health of children, people of all ages who have allergies, asthma and respiratory ailments, people with immuno deficiencies, chemical hypersensitivities and the elderly. It also poses an unreasonable adverse effect to the environment (non-target species).”

Foray 48B kills most spring feeding butterfly and moth caterpillars, including rare and endangered species. Birds, bats and some fish are also affected.

The Ministry of Forests sprays for one reason: to ensure they can continue to export raw logs.

Alternative methods of gypsy-moth removal, such as ground spraying the few pockets where they are detected, would more than suffice. Maureen Fitzmaurice Victoria