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JACKSON RESIDENTS OUTRAGED OVER GYPSY MOTH PROBLEM
By Keith Hagarty
 | | --Photo By Keith Hagarty These trees are marked for removal after being devoured by gypsy moths. |
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JACKSON - Portions of Jackson Township are being ravaged by gypsy moths.
And critics of the administration there say it could have been prevented.
After deciding not to use $500,000 from the 2007 municipal operating budget for gypsy moth spraying - an amount that would have been cut in half after matching federal funds came into play - residents flocked to the township council meeting last week to target their frustrations squarely at Jackson Mayor Mark Seda and the governing body.
Jackson hasn't experienced a gypsy moth problem this severe in decades, said Gloria Carlon, a 30-year resident of Willow Lane.
"The last time we had this kind of infestation
was probably in 1984," said Carlon. "It's absolutely horrible."
Lynn Urben of Reed Road said the amount of barren trees and dead caterpillar carcasses littered on her property and home are disgusting.
"My property has been destroyed. I am devastated," said Urben. "I have spent $700 trying to get it under control. My house is filthy. Myself and my daughter
live there and we spend so much time just
trying to clean these bugs off my house … I live next to Colliers-Mills (Wildlife
Management), which is also being destroyed. This has been overwhelming."
Seda has insisted that the township's decision to not be part of this year's state gypsy moth spraying program was because the program was not cost-effective and would have hurt the taxpayers even more. He argued that of the approximate 66,000 acres in Jackson, the state had only offered to spray 7,604 acres, meaning a majority of the town's residents would not have even been in the spray zone.
Seda has repeatedly assured residents that even though it is too late for the township to do anything to deter the current gypsy moth problem, plans are in the works to remedy the situation next year.
Despite the explanation and assurance, not all residents are convinced.
The trees on Mike Christie's Harvard Drive property are so bare and eaten away by gypsy moths that he said his property currently looks like it's the dead of winter. Christie wonders why the town put millions of dollars into upgrading the sports facilities but not $500,000 to battle the gypsy moth infestation.
"I think this is a little more pressing than a new football field or lacrosse field," he said.
Bennetts Mills Road resident Lorraine Lombardi blasted Seda and the council for cutting the gypsy moth spraying funding from the budget.
"You've ignored the situation, and now we're devastated," said Lombardi, "We are the people. We are the ones you have to answer to."
Township forester Gary Lovallo answered questions from residents about what can be done to address the gypsy moth infestation.
"In order to move forward, we have to look to the future," Lovallo told the residents. "I know you have issues with the decision, and I can respect that, but I'm not here for that decision process. I'm can't answer those types of questions, but what I can do is try to prevent it from happening in the future."
To help in that goal, Lovallo proposes the township use Dimilin next year as a cost saving to the alternative bacterium, Bt, currently used in the state's spraying program. In order to use Dimilin, a municipality must file for waiver for its use with the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). Jackson had filed for the waiver earlier this year, but was denied.
"The Dimilin we propose to use is going to cut the costs. It's going to cut it signifi- cantly," said Lovallo. "Because when we spent $21 per acre for Bt, we spend only $5.27 (per acre) for Dimilin. Where we use 96 ounces per acre in the air (for Bt), we only use half an ounce of Dimilin in the air. You have a better product with almost 100 percent control. Dimilin is recommended as an eradication not a suppression, so you can get more effective control for cheaper costs, but it takes time to get that done."
Lovallo would like to see the town get the ball rolling on the waiver process as soon as possible, hoping the backing of residential support could convince the state to change its mind and allow its use in Jackson.
But for some residents, looking to the future did not address the here and now.
With surrounding towns facing similar gypsy moth threats during the months of their own budget processes, Carlon wondered why Jackson did not take better precautions.
"You're telling us it's got to be the right time, the right weather conditions and (spraying Bt) wouldn't work anyway, well I just want to ask you why did Lakewood, Lakehurst, Brick and Howell all decide to spray?" Carlon posed.
However, comparing other towns to Jackson is an unfair example, Councilman Scott Martin argued.
"Toms River sprayed 300 acres at a cost of $13,000 and Brick sprayed 76 acres at a cost of $2,997," said Martin. "To put this in its proper perspective, the mayor was being asked to allocate over $500,000 of a $37 million budget on a project where the insecticide being used has questionable results at best, whereas Toms River was being asked to spend $13,000 of a $80 million budget and Brick $2997 of a $71 million budget."
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