Fruit fly quarantines lifted in two South State counties
ing Agoura Hills and Westlake Village in Los Angeles County. More than 300 crops can be hosts for the Mediterranean and Queensland fruit flies. CDFA said potential commercial host crops were required to meet stringent treatment or processing standards before being harvested or moved. “Last year, California experienced an unusually high population of invasive fruit flies, and the response required coordina- tion from residents, agricultural industry members and agricultural commissioners
in both counties,” said Victoria Hornbaker, CDFA director of the Plant Health and Pest Prevention Services Division. In a statement, she said county, state and federal agencies “have successfully achieved the eradication of several species of invasive fruit flies in Southern California, including Mediterranean, Queensland and Tau.” She added, “But the threat is never completely gone.” One active quarantine remains, for the Oriental fruit fly in the Redlands-area of San Bernardino County.
Four state grazing projects get funds for conservation The U.S. Department of Agriculture has awarded $22 million for 29 projects, in- cluding four in California, to provide con- servation technical assistance for livestock producers and increase use of conserva- tion practices on grazing lands. The California entities and projects re- ceiving funding include: • The California Rangeland Conservation. In partnership with the rancher-led California Grazing Lands Coalition, the project will develop long- term strategies for ecologically and eco- nomically beneficial grazing strategies in the state. • The Coastal San Luis Resource Conservation District. Working with the Central Coast Soil Hub, the project will provide technical assistance and peer- to-peer networking for ranchers while in- creasing acreage under managed grazing. • Chico State Enterprises at California State University, Chico. The project will work to expand the footprint of well-man- aged grazing systems under goals of the federal Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative. It will also create a new profes- sional course in “Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledge.” • University of California, Davis. The project will promote climate-smart con- servation practices to enhance grazing lands resilience. It will partner with UC Cooperative Extension to help diverse ranching communities increase sustain- ably managed acreage and implement strategies to track conservation benefits. Agricultural officials have lifted quar- antines in Los Angeles and Ventura counties for the Mediterranean fruit fly and Queensland fruit fly. The announcement last week by the California Department of Food and Agriculture came in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and agri- cultural commissioners in the two affect- ed counties. The two Southern California quar- antines were part of a series of quar- antines imposed in the state since July 2023. Altogether, the quarantines for Mediterranean, Queensland and Tau fruit flies have encompassed some 1,250 square miles. Santa Clara, Contra Costa, Sacramento, Riverside and San Bernardino counties also had been affected. In Los Angeles County, the Mediterranean fruit fly quarantine end- ed nearly nine months after officials first detected populations in the Leimert Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. Officials es- tablished a quarantine encompassing the cities of Inglewood, Hawthorne and parts of Culver City.
In Ventura County, the Queensland fruit fly was detected in Thousand Oaks last October and led to the first-ever quar- antine established for the invasive spe- cies in the Western Hemisphere, CDFA said. That quarantine encompassed areas around Thousand Oaks, Moorpark and the Santa Rosa Valley, as well as neighbor-
August 14, 2024 Ag Alert 11
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