Washington State Department of Agriculture is planning for three (3) aerial sprayings of Btk from helicopters over a 725-acre site (about one square mile) in the communities of Ballard and Magnolia.

Considering the following, I urge you to stop these sprayings.

• The infestation for the state of Washington in 1999 was 42 moths 13 of which were in King County and only one of which was in the area to be sprayed. This seems like overkill.
• More than 97% of the contents of the patented pesticide they plan to spray (Foray 48B) are "inert" ingredients and are undisclosed. The impact of these ingredients on the soil food web and the life web remain untested and unknown.
• The environmental review was done by WSDA for WSDA. This would appear to be a conflict of interest. Non-target butterflies and moths in larval stage will be affected as well as the many species of beneficial parasitic wasps that depend on caterpillars to complete their life cycles (parasitic wasps deposit eggs in the heads of caterpillars) Caterpillars are an important food source for birds.
• The manufacturer admits those citizens with asthma and those with allergies could be affected.
• WSDA literature states organic gardeners' use Bt. Many organic gardeners question the use of Bt and never use it in the concentrations used with aerial spray. There is mounting evidence that Bt is not as benign as once thought.
• The spray will drift up to 12 miles from target. There is no way that the spray can be contained in the proposed geographic area.
• There are effective natural species specific predators for Asian Gypsy Moths should an infestation break out. This should alleviate the fears of the forest industry.

WSDA is not mandated to conduct public hearings nor do they plan to conduct hearings. They will accept "comment" through March 14th on their plan to spray. As an elected representative I urge you to do what you can to intervene and stop this spraying. Our first concern should be the "web of life."

Sincerely,
Ray Schutte

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