Coos County officials retreated Wednesday from a plan to spray insecticide over 10,000 acres around Bandon to kill mosquitoes.
At a meeting, the Coos County Board of Commissioners only approved spraying about 300 acres in the Bandon Marsh National Wildlife Refuge. The original plan was also to spray insecticide on 10,000 acres of outlying residential, rural and recreational land that has been infested with an explosion of mosquitoes.
But that plan prompted an outpouring of opposition, with
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Coos County officials retreated Wednesday from a plan to spray insecticide over 10,000 acres around Bandon to kill mosquitoes.
At a meeting, the Coos County Board of Commissioners only approved spraying about 300 acres in the Bandon Marsh National Wildlife Refuge. The original plan was also to spray insecticide on 10,000 acres of outlying residential, rural and recreational land that has been infested with an explosion of mosquitoes.
But that plan prompted an outpouring of opposition, with residents crowding a county meeting, expressing their objections to aerial spraying.
So Wednesday, the county retreated.
John Sweet, chairman of the board, said the spraying will begin Thursday afternoon or evening, depending on the wind and weather.
The plan is to apply MetaLarv, an insecticide that kills mosquito larvae. It has a time release mechanism, making it effective for 42 days, according to Nikki Zogg, Coos County health officer.
Scott Hoffman Black, executive director of the Xerces Society, applauded the scale-back but said the application of MetaLarv will still harm wildlife in the marsh. He said the insecticide interferes with the development of all aquatic insects, not just mosquitoes, and is toxic to crustaceans including crabs, shrimp, and crayfish, and fish, including protected salmon.
In October, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which manages the marsh, will work on a plan to rectify the mosquito problem by filling in ditches where standing water has become a breeding ground for the pests.
— Lynne Terry