Marin Agricultural Commissioner Stacy Carlsen has negotiated a new contract with the state that will give his department nearly $150,000 to eradicate the Light Brown Apple Moth (LBAM) in West Marin. The contract, which gives Carlsen about $80,000 more than he expected, will pay for crop inspection, quarantine adjustment, pesticide spray and pheromone–saturated twist ties, which are attached to trees and other structures and designed to disrupt mating.

The funding has renewed anger and frustration from environmental groups and local activists, who believe the twist ties are potentially harmful and say that the moth has not caused damage to crops in California.

“We are honestly stunned that the state continues to waste our tax dollars as it moves ahead with an ill-conceived program that puts kids at risk—all for a moth that has not caused damage in the state,” said Debbie Friedman, chairwoman of Mothers of Marin Against the Spray. Friedman, along with a coalition of environmentalist organizations in the Bay Area, unsuccessfully filed a lawsuit to challenge the LBAM eradication program.

The moths have devastated crops in their native Australia and New Zealand, and caused a panic when they started spreading across California in 2007. In the last two years, thousands of LBAMs have been caught in Marin County, although they have not yet caused damage to crops.

Carlsen believes the twist ties will help farmers within the LBAM quarantine—which encompasses almost all of West Marin—continue to remain viable. “I think this whole alarm thing is premature and out of place,” he said. “A limited use of twist ties can prevent pesticide spraying, as well as prevent [the farmer] from having to remove his product from the market.”

The state will also begin using twist ties, which contain a synthetic pheromone “perfume” that confuses the moth and prevents successful mating. Aside from negating the need for harmful pesticide spray, the twist ties allow organic farmers to maintain their certification while complying with the state’s strict quarantine protocols. If inspectors find LBAM larvae, however, Carlsen says farmers must use pesticides to eradicate the pest before the crops can be exported.

Of the new funding, $28,000 will go to overhead, $10,000 will be given to Carlsen himself for spearheading the effort, and $3,000 will be given for transportation reimbursement.