s2ary
09-13-2007, 06:05 PM
Conservationists feel that OWMM, OMWM, and IMM techniques are short lived alterations that have a limited effectiveness for mosquito control and long lasting negative impacts on salt marsh ecology.
Roger J. Wolfe Ph.D. with the Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife, a leading authority on OWMM, OMWM, and IMM techniques on the Mid Atlantic Coast, refers to OWMM, OMWM, and IMM techniques as effective point source reduction techniques with an effective lifespan of less than 20 years and that these techniques should not be incorporated into locations where the effects of the project will negatively impact the existing plant community. In New England by saturating the marsh soils and bringing the sulfur cycle up into the active root zones of the existing plants OWMM, OMWM, and IMM techniques have long-lasting negative effects on the project area and the outlying coastal waters.
During a recent site walk in the marshes adjacent to the Rye Recreation Area, the attending selectman appropriately posed the question of what would prevent the mosquito breeding in the marsh areas outside of the created pools. The Town of Rye’s mosquito control contractor stated he would hope to achieve a 35% reduction in the use of pesticide in that area by incorporating the OWMM, OMWM, and IMM techniques. It would seem that the negative impacts described above are a heavy price to pay for a proposed 35% success in the reduction of mosquito breeding.
As the stewards of natural resources we feel that our concerns with the potential negative effects of OWMM, OMWM, and IMM techniques are well founded. Many other New England resource managers including the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, The Essex County Green Belt Association, and The New Hampshire Fish and Game share our concerns.
Roger J. Wolfe Ph.D. with the Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife, a leading authority on OWMM, OMWM, and IMM techniques on the Mid Atlantic Coast, refers to OWMM, OMWM, and IMM techniques as effective point source reduction techniques with an effective lifespan of less than 20 years and that these techniques should not be incorporated into locations where the effects of the project will negatively impact the existing plant community. In New England by saturating the marsh soils and bringing the sulfur cycle up into the active root zones of the existing plants OWMM, OMWM, and IMM techniques have long-lasting negative effects on the project area and the outlying coastal waters.
During a recent site walk in the marshes adjacent to the Rye Recreation Area, the attending selectman appropriately posed the question of what would prevent the mosquito breeding in the marsh areas outside of the created pools. The Town of Rye’s mosquito control contractor stated he would hope to achieve a 35% reduction in the use of pesticide in that area by incorporating the OWMM, OMWM, and IMM techniques. It would seem that the negative impacts described above are a heavy price to pay for a proposed 35% success in the reduction of mosquito breeding.
As the stewards of natural resources we feel that our concerns with the potential negative effects of OWMM, OMWM, and IMM techniques are well founded. Many other New England resource managers including the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, The Essex County Green Belt Association, and The New Hampshire Fish and Game share our concerns.